The story behind Wildmere

Photo of Granny Hattie’s old motel signage.

Why I Started Wildmere

I didn’t start Wildmere because I wanted to own vacation rentals.

In some ways, I think Wildmere started long before I did.

My family has been welcoming people to these mountains for generations. Long before Gatlinburg became what it is today, my family lived here, worked here, raised children here, and made a living from the people who came to experience the Smokies.

There are stories in my family about Crockett Maples welcoming travelers through these mountains. Generations later, Hattie Mae Maples ran a little craft shop and motel in Gatlinburg. My parents built and rented cabins in the 1990s. Hospitality was never really presented to me as a career. It was simply part of life.

I grew up watching people come here looking for something.

Sometimes it was a family vacation. Sometimes it was a honeymoon or anniversary. Sometimes they just wanted a few quiet days in the mountains.

And somewhere along the way, I realized that what I loved wasn't simply providing people with a place to sleep. I loved creating the place they would remember.

That is where Wildmere came from.

I wanted to create something that felt like here.

The Smokies have changed tremendously in my lifetime. Growth is inevitable, and tourism has given generations of families here a way to make a living. My own family is part of that story.

But as Gatlinburg has grown, I have found myself wanting to hold onto the things that made this place special to begin with.

The old houses tucked into the woods. The craftsmen. The strange little buildings that have been added onto and changed over generations. Rhododendron railings. Old wood. River rock. Handmade furniture. Porches where you can hear the creek. Places that aren't perfect, polished, or interchangeable.

I didn't want Wildmere to feel like it could exist anywhere.

I wanted you to walk through the door and know you were in the Smoky Mountains.

Not a version of the Smokies manufactured for tourists, but the place I know.

The details matter to me.

I am probably more particular about Wildmere than is reasonable.

I care about the mattress. I care about the sheets. I care about how the room smells when you first walk in and whether the light is warm enough at night.

I care where the wood came from.

At The Framery, some of the tulip poplar was milled by my dad. There is black walnut, antique lighting, stained glass, and pieces chosen because they have character rather than because they were easy to order in bulk.

Even the building itself has a story. It was once an artist's framing shed, and we purchased it privately from the artist's family. Keeping that little building connected to the creative history of the Arts & Crafts Community mattered to me.

Those things may not show up on a list of amenities.

But I think you feel them when you're there.

Food was always going to be part of it.

Wildmere also became a way for my husband, Alex, and me to bring together the things we both love.

Alex is a chef. His career has taken him through restaurants in Kansas City and Nashville and eventually brought him to East Tennessee. I have always been drawn to design, old buildings, hospitality, and creating experiences.

Wildmere sits somewhere in the middle of all of that.

We don't want to simply hand someone a door code and tell them to enjoy their stay.

Over time, we want Wildmere to become a collection of places and experiences that introduce guests to this part of Tennessee in a more thoughtful way, through food, craftsmanship, design, and the people who make this community what it is.

And maybe, more than anything, I wanted to continue something.

The older I get, the more I understand how unusual it is to belong so deeply to a place.

My family has been in these mountains for nine generations.

That doesn't make these mountains ours. If anything, I think it gives us a responsibility to take care with what we build here and with the stories we tell about this place.

Wildmere is my way of doing that.

It is taking something my family has done in one form or another for generations, welcoming people to the Smokies, and interpreting it in my own way.

A little more design obsessed.

A little more luxurious.

Still imperfect.

Still evolving.

And always rooted here.

When someone stays at Wildmere, I hope they leave loving these mountains a little more than they did when they arrived.

Because that, more than anything, is why I started it.

Love,

Katie