Todd and Jackie — the dynamic duo behind Furnish Me Vintage — have done it again. First they created the Shaggin’ Chalet (update: no longer available for rental)in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Now, they’ve created a second 1970s-1980s-style vacation spot, a condo they call “Groovy Getaway” (update: no longer available for rental – but I’ll keep this retrolicious story up for our archive). The Groovy Getaway is decked out with wall-to-wall shag carpet, 70s and 80s decor, and there’s even a shuffleboard table and vintage Atari games to play. Super fun.
Groovy Getaway
Jackie tells the story:
Todd and I decided to sell our beloved Shaggin’ Chalet (Kleenex, please). We absolutely adored the place but it’s proven to be a bit more house than this two-person family needs. We’ve re-created the retro vay-kay dreamland concept in an easier to manage 3 bedroom/3 bath modernist condo.
Our new Groovy Getaway is located in Gatlinburg (same as the Shaggin Chalet), on Mt. Harrison with outstanding mountain views. You can even see Skiers at Ober Gatlinburg and the Gondola (tram) pass by from the HUGE 16×9 foot patio.
The condo building itself was constructed in 1982 (my birth year, yay!) in preparation of the 1982 World’s Fair in nearby Knoxville. “High Alpine” (our complex) was designed by a Knoxville architect and has a distinctively modern feel.
The structure is perched along the face of a hillside and one has to cross a small bridge walkway from the parking lot to reach the building. This bridge spans a 25 foot tall ravine that is defined by “Game of Thrones” style wall of interwoven wood beams covered in ivy. It really is quite neat!
We fell in love with this unit as soon as we saw the dramatic cathedral ceilings typically found in 1960s style A-frame mountain homes. I knew they had us sold once I spotted the spiral staircase leading up to the loft. Mr. FMV has frequently vocalized his dream of owning a home with a spiral staircase to cover in shag carpeting.
Needless to say we were under contract within a week. The day of closing we had a team on the ground ready to transform this ho-hum 80s condo into something that would make Austin Powers (aka, Mr. FMV) feel right at home. We tracked down the only U.S. manufacturer of true shag rugs and ordered 2 tons of lime green and orange carpet.
It’s lime green upstairs in the loft and burnt orange on the ground floor. Funny note, the burnt orange carpet is actually surplus from production of the TV show “Fargo.” You should have seen the carpet installers once they were done. Many of the 20-30 something year old crew had never experienced shag before. It pretty much blew their minds. I have to admit, it blew all or our minds. The intense sea of 3″ pile green and orange strands looked like the Muppets exploded in our home.
We added the usual FMV touches like vintage furniture, art, and accessories from our shop. We worked with a local contractor to enhance the space with mountain home charm like pine wainscoting and a wood beam mantel for the stone fireplace. Yet to come is a tongue and groove paneling with Tudor style wood beams on the ceiling. We kept the vintage-y 1980s patterned wallpaper which seemed dated but made sense once we enhanced it with our retro inspired shower curtains and wood trim.
The early 1980s rustic cabinets worked perfectly — so we kept it. I love 1980s country inspired decor… mark my words, this will work it’s way back into America’s hearts some day.
Mega thanks to photographers Robert Batey of Robert Batey Photography and Danielle Thompson Photography for sharing their fabulous photos with us — and to Todd and Jackie for making such a fantastic place for a retrolicious escape. Repeating the update: No longer available for rental — but I’ll keep these retrolicious story up for our archive!
Connie says
Having come of age in the 70’s I can’t say I’m a fan of shag carpet of any kind. For me, i hope that’s a fad that never returns. However I love the tile and colored fixtures of mid-century styling.
maria says
I know what you mean – shag mats after awhile and I never want to take care of it again, but I think it makes the look in this place. Somehow it’s made to go with those ’70’s rock fireplaces. Now if it just had barnwood instead of beadboard on the wall I don’t think I could tell if the photos were new or old!
Debi Van Cleave says
I sell vintage (specializing in retro) but we are also in the flooring business and you would die at all the shag my husband and his crew have to rip out of people’s houses to install something new. You did an amazing job. I think your prediction is right and ’70s and ’80s are going to explode. You are ahead of the game!
Don says
Shag rug not only absorbs sound, but anything else you drop on it! I once pulled out a shag along with a 5 gallon bucket of sand! Gotta love the feel though!
pam kueber says
Good times!
Jackie says
The shag will swallow up anything that lands on it. You definitely need to feel for anything if you drop it. If you drop something small like change, a screw or earring… best to break out the metal detector if you want to find it.
Jennie says
Looks great. Does the shag carpet absorb sound? That could be an added bonus.
Jacki says
I live in 25 minutes away in a 70’s modern and the Gatlinburg/ Pigeon Forge/ Sevierville area must have been booming in the ’70’s. Last year when searching for a mid century house, anything older than 1970’s was difficult to find in this area, but the 1970’s homes were everywhere.
Jackie says
Hi Jacki,
I have to say that the realtors in that area are not very versed in mid-century modern and the fact is that it is a detriment when marketing a house rather than an asset. Many people look to these time capsule homes as dated. That’s why it’s harder to find these during a typical online search. It’s best to call a realtor talk to them, let them know what you’re looking for. Some realtors will just not “get-it.” Luckily for us we found an excellent realtor who listened to us and found exactly what we’re looking for.
Jenée Libby says
OMG! I stayed in those condos in 1982 as part of a marching band trip. Swear to God! Recognized it immediately. I remember a bunch of kids got in trouble because they put vodka with green food coloring in a Scope bottle LOL! And of course, they were decked out in 80’s decor not 70’s 😉 Thanks for this blast from the past!
Jackie says
I would love to see pics from the trip if you have them!!
Mike S says
While I’m more a fan of ’40’s to ’60s mid mod styling, what they’ve done with this is pretty cool. There’s ’70s decor and then there’s tasteful ’70s decor, and these people have shown us how to go about it. Well done.
Faith says
I wish I could find a directory somewhere out there that lists “time capsule” vacation lodging, or revived vintage places like this. In the Northeast, all of the old Catskills resorts have been torn down. There are a few hotels in the Poconos that still have heart shaped tubs and red carpets, but are “adults only.” There must be other mom-and-pop places out there that have survived, vintage decor intact (and are family friendly :D).
pam kueber says
You could try Retro Roadmap.
Mod Betty / RetroRoadmap.com says
Thanks for the recommendation Pam!
Faith – I do have a few family-friendly vintage motels on Retro Roadmap – but not a lot, as I am very conscious of choosing places that I would feel comfortable recommending to people, based on my visits. And I haven’t been able to visit/stay in a lot of them – yet!
My site is a labor of love, because like you – I was looking for a resource to easily locate cool authentic vintage places that are still around. Since it didn’t exist, I created Retro Roadmap 🙂
Hope you find something you like there, and if you know about any cool vintage places you think should be on there, let me know!
Faith says
I’m having lots of fun exploring the Retro Roadmap site! I realized that one of the spots, Josh Early Candies, is a store that I pass every time I drive through PA on the way to visit family. I will have to stop in next time!
Mary Elizabeth says
This looks like a fun place to visit. I will keep the info. in case we are ever traveling in that area. The views are to die for! What a good job they did pulling everything together.
Chad says
I think country decor already has made it back (to a degree). I’ve gotten vintage things from a salvage yard and even though they call it “industrial” and the things mostly came out of factories and rowhouses, but my mom packed away her country decor in the attic and half of it is the same stuff.