Groovy Getaway in Gatlinburg, Tennessee

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!

Link love:

• • Furnish Me Vintage