Blackberry Real Estate is the first stop for potential owners. Once they are vetted by an in-house committee, they are required to pay an initiation fee and join a private membership club with annual dues. In exchange, they receive full access to their host properties’ amenities and programming, as well as property management and maintenance perks. There’s also priority access to events, in-home chefs, and holiday decorating services.
Prices for lots range from $1.5 to $6.75 million, with lots spanning .33 to 43 acres. Owners create their own project budgets, but plans must be approved by Blackberry’s architectural review committee, which is composed of members of the design team, as well as outside experts. There are two approved architecture firms that interested parties can choose to work with: CS Harrop, based in nearby Knoxville, and Atlanta’s Summerour Architects. There are also nine provisional firms. Builders at both the Farm and the Mountain have the option of working with outside interior designers, save those who are planning to place their homes in the rental pool (about 17 of the 66 total properties can be booked through the Blackberry reservation system).
Perhaps because most Blackberry houses are not primary residences, Bell says his on-site clients are usually ready to have fun with their interiors. “The unique beauty of what we provide our clients is the feeling they get when they stay as a guest at Blackberry—but they get to keep it forever,” Bell explains. “We reproduce the Farm or Mountain for them with their spin. We call it the ‘Blackberry state of mind.’”
Engaging regional talent is important to the design team. Bell hires local East Tennessee artisans and makers when he can, from visual artists and furniture makers to ironworkers and cabinetmakers. “We have a millworker here who’s as good as someone in New York or Los Angeles,” he notes at one point.
One project that used several local makers was the Farm home of Shai and Kate Waisman, who worked with the in-house design team. The NYC-based couple first came to Blackberry Farm in 2007 as guests and quickly fell in love with its aesthetic. Eventually, they decided to build a vacation home for them and their twin daughters.
Olivia Steele’s “Paradise Is Where I Am” light installation adds a dash of whimsy to the Waismans’ wine cellar.
“Given our deep appreciation for the soul of Blackberry and, in particular, the sophistication and care they put into everything they design and build, we knew we wanted to work with Blackberry Design,” Shai Waisman says. “We wanted our home to pay homage to many of the structures of the Farm and be consistent with the overall aesthetic of the architecture, much of which we knew had been designed by Keith Summerour. This team, working seamlessly together, crafted a home that is far beyond anything we could have imagined.”
Construction began on their 7,500-square-foot home in 2018, when the newer Mountain was nearing its completion, and the Waismans chose to integrate Mountain design features into their own plan. This gives the home a more casual feel than other Farm properties. Says Bell: “It’s rustic, but with amazing art.”