A gated mountaintop community in Burnsville, North Carolina, Mountainair features a private airstrip for its residents, 85 percent of who reside here only part time. And when they fly in to visit, it is often with friends and family to escape and entertain among stunning views. Such is the case for the owners of this high-altitude home.

Though you wouldn’t know it from looking at its stunning kitchen now, this home wasn’t always as primed for hosting guests as it is today. The original kitchen was confined to a small portion of the room, with a fireplace and sitting room filling the rest. It had 8-foot ceilings and was walled off from the great room’s excellent vistas. To create a kitchen worthy of its location, the owners hired Mason Elliott, AKBD, of Ashley’s Kitchen & Bath Design Studio.

The owners originally just wanted an updated design but asked Elliot what he would do if he didn’t have limits. His vision: Open up the kitchen to the great room’s 20-foot ceilings and incredible views. With a green light from the contractor and the homeowners enthusiastically on board, the new plans for a complete remodel moved forward.

Elliot repurposed the stone from the sitting room fireplace for the new hood surround and incorporated the previous island’s wood top into the new island. The rest of the room is full of fresh features such as a slate backsplash with metal decorative inserts, Magnum Gold granite on the island, antique copper sinks, and beautiful woodworking details—custom cabinetry, four-step crown molding, mullion doors, and hand-carved Enkebol corbels, to name a few examples. With their home’s interior views now as beautiful as the exterior views, these owners and their guests can experience true luxury mountain living.

Learn more about this designer: www.ashleyskb.com

View the article online: http://signaturekitchensandbaths.com/?gallery=luxury-mountain-living

View more articles from the Fall 2013 Issue.