Breathtaking might be a good starting point to describe the view from the Pierce House in Savannah.  We were lucky enough to be able to interview Chris and Brandy Pierce and take photos of their beautiful home on the Tennessee River near Savannah.

The front facade of the home is breathtaking in itself. The stone balustrade surrounding the balcony over the front door adds such a dignified touch to the exterior built of Arkansas stone.  “We wanted something warm,” Brandy told us. Chris added, “I kept bringing stone home and she kept shaking her head. I’m glad I waited and didn’t just go ahead with what I had found. This stone is perfect.”  The large double doors open into a foyer with a double stairway, the dining room is to the right, table set with family china all ready for a Thanksgiving Dinner. To the left is the study for her husband, Chris.  Directly behind the stairway is a room that is set so it showcases the wonderful bank of windows extending across the entire back of the house. This portion of the home faced the river and lets the beautiful view seep into the very bones of the viewer.  The warmth from the sun graces the rooms facing the river, including the family room and a sunroom that belongs to Brandy, as well as the breakfast room and kitchen. The upstairs houses the girls’ bedrooms and their parent’s master suite, which also has a view facing the river and a balcony that lures a peaceful morning.

“I loved this house plan, it had so many windows and was just perfect!” Brandy said when she explained their choice to us, “I loved being able to see the river, we love to see the water, but it also had room for our family.”  The family consists of three daughters and numerous extended family members who come to visit, play in the pool, and enjoy the views of the river. “It’s a lot of fun at Christmas with the whole family here, and in the summer, the pool is the perfect place and is usually full of kids from the youth group at Church.”  The home was started in 2010, and they moved in in 2011.  

“The sunroom is so cheerful, I love it but my favorite part of the house is the outdoors” around the home. Brandy has put most of her special touches into her exterior flowers.  “We both enjoy that.”  

One of the things that carried over from their former home that they both love is the design of the fireplace surround in the family room.  “We had this in our other house, and we wanted to make sure we had this same fireplace in our home here.” Chris explained, “It’s cast from a mold in a sandstone finish and it goes around the double fireplace.”  It was one of their favorite things about their old home and was a must for this one. Chris’s favorite room is the sitting room overlooking the pool. It’s the room where everyone congregates when they have guests.

For the Pierce children Alli Madison, Emma Katherine, and Molly Margaret, their favorite place is their pool.  It took a while to get used to the breeze coming off of the water, it makes it chilly no matter how warm it is “But we’ve used it this year more than any other year.” Brandy added, “Our pool at our other house was always warm and sunny, I guess we just had to get used to it.”  One thing that wasn’t hard to get used to was the river, the view of the water and the fun they have—watching the boaters and fishermen go by. “We even get frog giggers out here in our inlet.” Brandy explained, “I didn’t know what frog gigging really was until I say them out there one night.  They actually woke up our dog.” Chris added, laughing, “I explained what it was and now she’s fine.”

Of the furnishings in the home, most have been chosen with great care by the couple.  They have a few pieces that are extremely special and have been passed down to them, for instance, a trunk, the kitchen table, and a small table in the sunroom… “I like the kitchen table a lot because it’s from my Great Aunt.” Brandy laughed, “The chairs are sturdy, but they make noise, a comforting squeak.  We love the style of antiques but wanted to create our own, I love Beacon Hill and I’ve got to go shop!” They bought timeless, traditional classic style furniture that perfectly matched the style and grace of their home.

When touring the house, Brandy stopped and mentioned that “We had my sister’s wedding here last year, it was really fun, and I got to really make it beautiful.  We wrapped the entire stairway with live greenery, it was perfect and the house smelled so great.” Brandy smiled at the memory of making her sister’s wedding perfect.

The home was also on the Christmas on Main tour and who knows, it might be again.  Brandy loves decorating for Christmas and loves entertaining at Christmas.

They actually did get flooded this last summer, while the home is three and a half feet above the 100-year flood plain, water marched up the banks and crept into their basement. “The only thing that was actually flooded was just the basement,” Chris told us, “and we had about 2-3 inches over the top of the pool,”  Cornstalks and mulch also littered their yard all the way to the banks of the river. Clean-up was a long process.

The last room that we talked about before heading out to take in the view one last time was the kitchen.  Their kitchen is an amazing place, full of pull-out spice racks and wonderful touches. When we asked, ‘do you like to cook,’ their answer was great. “He’s the better cook,” Brandy started, and Chris added, “Aw, no she’s a good cook.” The final answer? “We love to cook for our family.”  The kitchen is normally the heart of a home, with this family, the heart of their home is truly visible in the love you see in not only the beauty of the home but the beauty of the spirit of the people who live there.