What sets us apart... 
You mean, besides the incredible mountain stream?

The Black Bear Cottage in the Woods

• Let's start with the beds:   Mattresses are made locally, to our specifications.  Then they are topped with excellent mattress pads, and fine high thread-count linens.  Dual control electric blankets are triple-sheeted, quality foam pillows are on the beds and extra feather pillows on the closet shelf.  Beautiful quilts and duvets offer a luxurious finish.  And afghans (blanket throws)?  Everywhere!  All are 'Made in America'.
   

• How about the furniture?   The club chairs and ottoman in the den were also made for us, here in North Carolina.  The table between, and the phenomenal window treatment (pictured above) are the work of a local artist.  The rocking chair, an early American antique.  The hunt board, also local artistry.  The magnificent bed in the Woodland room?  More Carolina art - this time from a fellow who was later featured on HGTV's Modern Masters - it's just a matter of time 'til they discover the rest of these talented artisans.  For pure comfort, the mahogany dining table has leather club chairs.  The bedroom desks are also antiques.  The queen cherry sleigh bed in the Streamsong room?  Not an antique - just something beautiful and comfortable to add polish to the room.  Oh yes, and ceiling fans in the den and both the bedrooms.  And a well-supplied fireplace in the living room.  And charming electric fireplaces in the bedrooms (which you can run without heat, just for the ambiance!)
   

• Whirlpool Baths:   The tubs are oversized "jacuzzi bathtubs-for-two" with on deck cleaning systems.  No, we don't expect you to clean the tubs!  It's mentioned only as our assurance to you that even the inner workings (not just the 'tub') of the whirlpool systems are sparkling clean and fresh for your arrival.
   

• Amenities:   Costa Rican coffee beans -direct from our roaster to you.  Condiments and staples in the kitchen.  Good quality cookware and pretty china.  Those gorgeous carved Timberwolf Creek mugs are made for us by a family business in Idaho.  Cable TV, VCR, DVD, and CD players and a nice selection of magazines, books, movies, and music.  Candles in and out.  Bayberry soaps (a scent appreciated by men and women alike), shampoos, etc., and an ample supply of paper products.
   

• Artwork:  This is purely unique.  The waterfalls in the Streamsong room are all photos taken by your host.  And his brother (talented artist, Randy Wright) is responsible not only for the beautiful deer etching in the den, but also for the wall mural in the hallway!  Since when do "door knobs" qualify as art?  When they are hand-crafted by Twigs & Leaves of fine porcelain, overlaid with leaves.  The potter rolls out the porcelain in a thin layer, presses real leaves into the clay, and cuts them out, drapes them over the knobs she has crafted, and fires them.  The leaves burn away leaving their impressions, which the potter then stains.  Exquisite!  And the stonework in the Streamsong jacuzzi bath is comprised of a combination of Italian porcelain tile and stones that Larry took right out of the creek.  The bas relief deer in the Woodland bath?  From right here in North Carolina.  All the little woodland figurines?  Ummm... eBay?  :)  Well, yes, a few! A great many of the bears have been gifts from guests, to their favorite cottage. Throughout the little kitchen you'll find handpainted mountain artwork, like a skillet with a forest scene, a jug painted with a creekside cabin, a spatula with a barn on it, and one guaranteed to get a smile - it's a sign that says, "Don't go to bed mad.  Stay up and fight."  (Not all our artwork is serious.)

The Creek House

• Starting with the beds:   Mattresses are made locally, to our specifications.  Then they are topped with excellent mattress pads, and triple sheeted with 600-thread count Egyptian cotton linens.  Quality foam pillows are on the beds and extra feather pillows on the closet shelves.  Marvelous quilts and duvets for a beautiful setting.  And lots (lots) of blanket throws (afghans) abound, all 'Made in America'.
   

• And the furniture?  Leather! The Curve of the Creek Suite has a fine leather sofa with recliners.  The leather & carved wood barstools are made here in North Carolina.  The surprisingly comfortable twig chair is handmade by a Tennessee craftsman.  The built-in king size bed was created by Dick Milano.  The birch drop-leaf table and sideboard are family heirlooms.  And upstairs, there are two suede recliners in the upstairs den.  The bed in the Timberwolf Retreat is a family heirloom, a swirled white metal piece with a 5' headboard and footboard.  The little table in that room is actually an old sewing machine table.  The dining chairs are antique Hitchcock.  But the suite seating?  Pure comfort!  An overstuffed chair-and-a-half with a big ottoman, and a recliner.  (Can you say, "Nap time?")  In the dining room, an inlaid quartersawn pecan table is 5-foot square, so that four couples can dine in comfort and everybody has a corner seat.
   

• Jacuzzi Baths:  Ok, these are genuine Jacuzzi.  As a matter of fact, the huge upstairs tub with it's 24K gold fixtures is original to the house, placed quite intentionally under an equally large skylight.  Downstairs, we added the corner Jacuzzi with a waterfall faucet in its own alcove.  Both are maintained (tub, pipes and jets) between *every* visit to insure they are immaculate for your arrival.  (We opted for these vs. an outdoor hot tub because we know that issues of health, safety, and cleanliness are as important to you as they are to us.)  All of the stone and artfully designed tile work is that of local craftsmen.
   

• Amenities:  Elida Estate coffee beans -direct from this award-winning Panamanian estate owner to you.  Condiments and staples in the kitchen.  Good quality cookware and pretty china.  Those gorgeous carved Timberwolf Creek mugs are made for us by a family business in Idaho.  Cable TV, VCR, DVD, and CD players and a nice selection of magazines, books, movies, and music.  Candles in and out.  Bayberry soaps (a scent appreciated by men and women alike), shampoos, etc., and an ample supply of paper products.
   

• Kitchen:  This kitchen is stocked with the serious chef in mind.  If you need it, you'll find it here.  A KitchenAid mixer, of course.  KitchenAid burr coffee grinder, too.  Ovens are conventional, microwave, and convection.  Stainless steel cookware is 5-ply and copper bottom.  Scan Pans are titanium cast iron.  Yes there is a butcher block, and good knives.  Stocked canisters.  Olive oil.  Sea salt and pepper mills.  And the wood ceilings are beamed and lined with coffee mugs on horse-shoe-nail hooks!  That, and when is the last time you prepared a meal in a kitchen with a waterfall view?  Pure heaven.
   

• Artwork:   And speaking of unique...  Wait until you see the impressive 3D 'still' on the stone fireplace in the upstairs living room.  How about the fifteen foot long suspended mantle in the downstairs living room?  Take a moment to stop on the stairs and see our Bruce Garrabrandt collection - sure to generate a smile.  Wolf photos are everywhere, of course.  Howard Altman and Gary Benfield prints grace the Timberwolf Retreat (upstairs suite), as well as an original Jamie Miller collage.  A fabulous Bouguereau is in the Curve of the Creek (downstairs suite).  Even the powder room, a.k.a. The Pottyng Shed, has great photography by both Larry & Randy Wright.  The sign on the Pottyng Shed door?  That's Larry's work.  Primitive pieces are typically craft fair finds, from right here in Maggie Valley.