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Chattanooga: Wooded acreage makes cozy home a retreat

By: Karen Nazor Hill
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Alissa Cobb

When Alissa Cobb heads home after a hard day at work, she begins to relax as soon as she pulls into her driveway.

“My home is like a retreat,” she said of her cozy, two-bedroom cottage nestled in a two-acre, wooded lot in northern Red Bank. “It’s hard to believe I have so much privacy, and I’m only 10 minutes away from downtown Chattanooga.”

When she moved into her 968-square-foot home four years ago, she faced difficult decisions in paring down her belongings.

“I moved from a 2,500-square-foot home, but I learned that getting rid of ‘stuff’ is very freeing. I learned that I didn’t need most of what I had,” she said. “Less is more.”

Ms. Cobb’s house, built in 1995, has an efficiency-size kitchen. There’s room for the appliances, sink and cabinets but no space for table and chairs. The kitchen opens to a dining room/living room area that is small but roomy enough for Ms. Cobb’s dining set, sofa, chairs, coffee tables and a cabinet.

“My house is more like an apartment, but it’s perfect for one or two people,” she said, noting that little cleaning is required.

“It used to take me all weekend to clean up my big house on Signal Mountain. It takes me 45 minutes to clean this one from top to bottom,” she said. “And I really do like that.”

The master bedroom contains family antiques that include a large canopy bed.

“I have to angle the bed so that I could have enough room to walk around,” Ms. Cobb said, referring to the bedroom’s small size. “I don’t use a cover on the canopy because it would make the room look even smaller.”

Several chests, original art and hand-crafted decorations give the bedroom a cozy atmosphere.

The master bedroom leads into one of the home’s two full baths. A second bedroom has been transformed into an exercise room, Ms. Cobb said.

“I needed a place to put my treadmill, and this was the only place I had,” she said. “So, I made it more like a den with a small leather sofa, chifferobes and a chest. It’s really one of my favorite rooms because I enjoy exercising in here and looking out the window, which overlooks the pool.”

The outside of her home is inviting.

The driveway ends by a double carport that leads into an enclosed deck surrounding an in-ground swimming pool.

“This is where I spend most of my time during the summer,” Ms. Cobb said. “It’s not a big pool, but it’s big enough for me and a few friends.”

A gate at the back of the deck leads to another of the house’s best features, a man-made pond with a waterfall constructed of stacked stones.

“Though I love it out here, especially in the evenings, August is not the best time to be hanging out around the pond,” she said. “The mosquitoes are awful, and the humidity and heat are almost unbearable. I’d much rather be in the pool.”

Lush gardens have been landscaped around the decks, and paths have been cleared throughout the two-acre lot. Timbers and monkey grass line the paths that wind around the property. Ms. Cobb estimates the paths to be almost a mile long.

“I get great exercise walking around my own yard,” she said.

Another highlight of the home is the spacious front porch, Ms. Cobb said.

“People rarely sit on my front porch because everyone enters the house by the pool; so, typically, people don’t see the front porch,” she said. “I like to go out there during the fall because I’m surrounded by woods and the scenery is beautiful.”

Two wooden chairs and a small water fountain on the porch are inviting.

“It’s not my favorite place during the summer because raccoons wreck the place,” she said. “They like playing in the fountain, and they turn everything inside out.”

Ms. Cobb, a baby boomer, is typical of many people her age who are looking to downsize their living spaces and move to an area where conveniences are close by.

“I’ve had quite a few boomers sell their big houses and move downtown or close to downtown,” said Chattanooga Realtor Emily Eiselstein. “In fact, most of the new downtown condos were sold to boomers. Many people today, and not just older people, want the convenience of what downtown offers. Younger people especially like the action of living where everything is going on.”

Also, the increasing cost of gasoline is drawing people closer to town, Ms. Eiselstein said.

Space issues were the determining factor for Ms. Cobb, she said.

“I don’t miss 3,000 additional square feet of house to clean up,” she said. “And I also like living on one level. Stairs, especially as I get older, aren’t convenient. Living in a small space has made me a better person. I’m more organized, frugal and, most importantly, happy.”

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