Country Home magazine was a wonderful magazine for those who were into country decor, antiques, gardening and cooking.It had so may great ideas and I am going to miss it. They are replacing the rest of my subscription with Better Homes and Gardens which is a good magazine but it seldom had articles that interested me so I am not pleased with the replacement.

Our magazine serves the areas of Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and beyond in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina. Each issue features a wonderful “Home Guide” where readers can find informative articles on all aspects of their home needs. In our “Introductions” section readers can also discover the many people and businesses that make our mountain home industry thrive. Our “Design Profiles” section is very popular as it features large spreads on the most luxurious estates and communities in the area, and the builders and developers behind these projects. All our magazine articles are available through the “In The Magazine” tab and corresponding dropdowns. Or you can flip through the pages of each issue by using our new online magazine presentation provided by issuu.

As the internet plays a major role in accessing information, we have added some online tabs for readers to find more tips, advice, photos, and information. Online you will find the best ideas for every room of your home, from the kitchen and bath to the bedroom. You will find tips and advice to better your outdoor living experience and improve your garden. We are in the process of adding a photo gallery called the “idea gallery” where you can view beautiful photos of home spaces and apply the techniques and accessories to your own home. Our contributors, both magazine writers and bloggers, can help advise you on how to make your house a home. Not only can you find wonderful ideas for your space, but you can also browse really great products from furniture and accessories for interior decor to the coolest technologies. You can also find an alphabetized listing of the best estates and communities in the Carolinas. These in-depth listings showcase all the features and amenities of each estate and community as well as beautiful photos. This helps potential homebuyers determine what builder to use, which development to choose, and what area they wish to live. Browse carefully as you will find tons of helpful information, and remember to enjoy!

High Country Home is a publication that covers the north western corner of North Carolina. We are also currently in the process of developing a second magazine for the Asheville, NC area and believe that before too long we will begin to enter urban areas like Charlotte, Winston Salem, and even Greenville/Spartanburg, SC with our magazine. We are doing this out of necessity. There is very little presence in print or online media that covers the luxury home niche. We plan on solving this. However, until we reach those areas with the magazine we plan on including those areas on the web. If you are in any of the above listed areas or any other major areas in the Carolinas (North or South) please contact us with your luxury community or home listings, home ideas, estates for sale, and local Carolina products. We will be happy to add these articles and listings to the site. After all, the more information for the reader the better. Also if you are a writer or blogger in the Carolinas, we would love to include you and your articles and hope that you come along with us for this amazing ride!

A country home- especially one located on a lake, by the sea, or near other holiday destinations – can be an excellent source of income. In most cases the most important factor to bear in mind is location. However, in order to maximize profit there is another, less heralded but crucial factor to bear in mind, namely quality. A good design for a rental property doesn’t necessarily mean a country house living magazine plan featured in the pages of Country Home magazine. Rather, by quality is meant the selection of a good basic plan, as well as quality in terms of standard of comfort. This means paying close attention to the small details which beg vacation renters to return again and again. In order for a country home to give pleasure to vacationers and to return a fair profit on your investment, a certain amount of expertise is required.

Country homes should be inviting, comfortable places to live. A front porch which feels welcoming; symmetrical windows; and second floor dormers; are all marks of the average country home. Originally Southern in origin, and typical of the 1700′s and 1800′s, the basic design combines elements from different American traditional architectural styles. On many country homes the roof flares out over the front porch. The porch is actually the centerpiece of the design since it is the principal living and entertaining area in the summer months, the time when most vacationers rent. The symmetrical windows highlight the exterior while bringing natural light inside. The dormers also contribute to interior lighting, while increasing the second-floor living space. Even though the basic design is quite simple, one can find examples of the basic country home house plan all over the country.

Another popular option for income-producing rental property – for a more upscale vacationer in a fashionable resort area – is the Prairie style house. This architectural style is truly American, having originated with the Chicago architectural group known as the Prairie School, whose leader was Frank Lloyd Wright. While drawing upon Japanese architectural styles, particularly the horizontal orientation, these homes feature interior spaces which flow, hipped roofs featuring broad eaves, together with long windows which often make striking geometrical patterns. What makes the Prairie style house so suitable as a vacation rental property is its integration within the surrounding landscape. One of Wright’s tenets was that a house should blend harmoniously into its natural surroundings rather than intrude on it. Usually a Prairie style house plan is designed with wide porches, masonry piers, cantilevered floors, and exterior design finishes such as board and batten, stone, or plaster with wood trim.

Selecting the ideal plans and building a house is enough of a hassle; but to turn it into a viable rental property is equally challenging. Marketing vacation rental property is a sophisticated, very competitive industry. It is necessary to locate a vacation property rental agency which has a proven track record giving vacation property owners good advice.