Realty Check: What $520K Gets You in Brown County

Tucked away off of a winding gravel road in northern Brown County (far enough north to have a Morgantown address), this darling 2,400-square-foot log cabin could have been plucked off the pages of a storybook. But when builder and designer Lynn Smith stumbled upon the five-acre property 13 years ago, the 1982 home was far from picturesque.

Smith began transforming the exterior by cutting back the roofline and replacing the old shingles with a red metal roof. Then he painted the gorgeous hand-hewn logs black and added terra cotta trim to give the rural retreat a whimsical exterior unlike any other cabin in Brown County’s gullies and valleys. During the first phase of the interior remodel, he brought a little country glam into the kitchen by juxtaposing black granite countertops with apple-red cabinets. And he eliminated any semblance of “roughing it” by converting the basement level into a stunning master suite with a gorgeous, artful butternut headboard. Several years after purchasing the cabin, Smith infused a modern Swedish aesthetic into a second wave of renovations, replacing all the dark, rough cedar walls and ceilings with cream-colored plaster.

The charming cottage served as the perfect getaway from Smith’s permanent home in Meridian-Kessler. “It has been my place of tranquility where I could just go and chill or have friends down,” he says. Located just an hour south of Indy, the stylish oasis sits ready for someone new to hunker down and give cabin fever a try.

Want to Buy it?

Address: 7569 Fern Hill Lane, Morgantown

List Price: $519,000

Agent: Rada Adams, Encore Sotheby’s International Realty, 317-223-7232, encoresothebysrealty.com