Construction Diary: Two Friends Dream Up a Cabin-Like Home on a Tricky Lot Split by a Stream

Lisa Carolla laughs when she remembers how she and Megan Gielow became friends about two decades ago. "We both went to Syracuse for college, and basketball is a big deal there," Carolla says. "We’d camp out for tickets together in the snow, having the type of fun you can only have when you’re young."

They stayed in touch as adults, even though they settled in different parts of the country. Megan is a professional photographer, and she took the images of Carolla’s wedding—and when Carolla started her interior design firm out of California, Megan was her first major client. 

"She asked me to do a ground-up, new build in Asheville," Carolla explains. "It was this massive project, but because we have been friends for so many years, we understand each other. I was thrilled that she trusted me with her family home, but I was nervous too. It was a special project I wanted to get right." 

Megan and her husband, Brendan Gielow, had been living in the North Carolina city since 2010, and they’d spent years looking for land to build on. "The issue with Asheville is that there’s a lot of land that’s difficult to develop, and we didn’t have the budget to devote to grading," Megan says. They finally found an empty lot set on nearly an acre in a friendly neighborhood, but a stream ran right through it. In order to construct a home, they’d have to get creative. It was a good thing Megan and Brendan had a designer they could trust, and a builder who met this challenge with a precise, yet laid-back attitude.

"All of this was also happening during the height of the pandemic," Megan says. "Nevertheless, we were a team, and we pulled it off together." 

Making a Plan 

Carolla: The first thing they had to determine was the size of their home, because of the stream. It was impossible to build a big home there, because then there would be water flowing right through it. This is not to say that Megan and Brendan didn’t love the stream—they joked that they’d live in a tent by the water if they could, because of how serene it was. I remember saying, "I think between the three of us we can do better than a tent." They prefer small homes and feel more grounded in them. Megan and Brendan are sustainably minded people!