Ellington

Writer: Audrey Cross Keown

At first glance, the row of four steeply-pitched eaves on the mountain stone façade of David Soloff’s Signal Mountain home evokes a storybook setting, but the charming Old World exterior conceals a house that brings fantasy to life, constructed with the finest materials and modern amenities. On almost seven unspoiled acres, the estate is a remarkable reserve of private mountain landscape paired with an extraordinarily crafted luxury home.

“It’s really one of the prettiest settings in the Hamilton County area with absolute privacy and year-round water frontage,” says Jay Robinson of Robinson Real Estate, who calls the property one of the most appealing his company has ever listed. Little Falling Water Creek winds along the rear of the wooded tract accompanied by walking trails that reward the wanderer with views of spectacular natural beauty and seven hundred feet of creek shoreline. “It’s twenty minutes from downtown Chattanooga, but it feels like you’re in the mountains of North Carolina,” says Robinson.

Blending wonderfully into its mountain setting, the home is the masterpiece of one of Chattanooga’s finest commercial builders, a private residence built to commercial standards just four years ago. Cedar wood shake and siding accompany the mountain stone on its exterior, which is perfected by professional landscaping that harmonizes with the surrounding hemlocks and maples. Soloff built the home as a residence for his own family, incorporating details uncommon to typical home construction. Case in point, all interior walls and floors have sound insulation so that even within the home, the family and its guests have privacy. Three dual-fuel HVAC units with electronic air cleaners ensure excellent air quality, and three on-demand water heaters powerfully and efficiently provide hot water.

Soloff’s upgrades increased not only the functionality of his home but also the aesthetic. His sheetrock walls feature rounded corners, one of many details contributing to the visual magic of the captivating interior. Custom-made eight-foot solid mahogany front doors foreshadow the wealth of trim work that enhances nearly every room. Exposed wood beams accent the angled, vaulted ceilings of the great room, kitchen and master bedroom on the main floor. Ivory picture-frame moulding and a coffered ceiling create a staging in the dining room that requires little added décor. Similar moulding, now painted a bold charcoal, drapes the walls of the great room below the chair rail, giving the generous space an elaborate framework along with two walls of transomed Andersen windows and entertainment built-ins.

Accessible from the great room, master suite and kitchen, the sizeable covered porch parallels any five-star resort lodge in ambience with its cedar siding and shake exterior walls and a massive, two-sided mountain stone fireplace. Custom glass doors cover both openings of the wood-burning fireplace, one on the porch side and the other facing an in-ground, heated saltwater pool at tree level, overlooking the creek. Mantels on both sides offer unexpected décor, including a mounted pair of antlers.

Two gas fireplaces warm the interior: a raised one is the showpiece of the decadent master suite, while the second adds a glow to the keeping room that adjoins the impressive, gourmet kitchen. Custom crafted, cherry cabinets line the kitchen, broken only by a lovely arched window with a wooded view. An expanded center island provides an L-shaped seating area and also boasts a second sink and prep center. Cherry cabinet panels conceal several of the kitchen’s top-of-the-line appliances, which include a Dacor convection double oven, Dacor cooktop and an oversized refrigerator among others. Pristine granite countertops and an involved lighting system further heighten the quality of the room.

Besides functional and visual elements, a package of the latest technological features — like Smart Home audiovisual distribution — makes living in this marvelous home ultra-convenient. The built-in stereo speaker system can be controlled from almost any room, and televisions are built into even the porch and pool areas. In a world of subdivision houses and pre-fabricated communities, the Soloff home stands apart with its intelligent incorporation of technology, function and design — a combination that’s no longer just the stuff of dreams.