A Restful Retreat: Southern living magazine article
As seen in Southern Living Magazine’s Issue (April, 2026), marking their 60th Anniversary.
PHOTOS: Patrick McGough; STYLING: Kendra Surface
A Southern Living Custom Builder Showcase Home in Cashiers, N.C. lets in mountain views with Pella Lifestyle Series wood windows.
BUILDING AND DESIGNING A LUXURY HOME IN Cashiers, N.C. was a natural fit for Sherwin and Roane Loudermilk. The married couple and business partners— founders of Loudermilk Homes and Loudermilk Designs, respectively—have a personal connection to the area. “Cashiers is a true gem of a place,” says Sherwin Loudermilk. “We always feel this deep sense of tranquility and calm when we visit, with the mountain views, natural waterfalls, plants, and animals.” When granted the opportunity to build a Southern Living Custom Builder Showcase Home here, he says, “We wanted to capture that feeling.” Below, Sherwin and Roane share the details behind this luxury property.
Southern Living: Tell us about this project. How would you describe the overall concept/style?
Roane Loudermilk: We designed this luxury home with modern rustic touches, like thick wooden beams and full-height sliding pocket glass doors. It also has the European-inspired luxury touches that our clients expect, such as a gourmet chef’s kitchen, an oversized island where everyone can gather.
SL: Why did you choose Pella windows and doors for this home?
Sherwin Loudermilk: Pella delivers both superior design and performance. Their windows and doors are beautiful and timeless, so they fit nicely with a wide variety of architectural designs. We trust the durability and know they will stand up to the elements for decades to come.
SL: How do Pella’s premium windows uniquely fit the home?
Sherwin: Pella offers incredible flexibility and customization on size, vertical mull, sash set, grille, interior and exterior color and finish, and type of glass. Once our design was finalized, we worked closely with our Pella representative to order exactly what our architectural and design teams had in mind, so they could bring our vision to reality.
Pella Lifestyle Wood series windows and doors fit the home’s modern-rustic aesthetic. Pella Lifestyle Insulated Low-Emissivity SunDefense™ insulating glass helps block UV rays, minimizing damage to paint, carpet, and furniture.
SL: How did your window choices impact the indoor/outdoor flow?
Roane: Pella windows help bring nature into the home, so clients can blend indoor and outdoor living. They are easy to open when you want to let in fresh air or brighten up a room, and they offer excellent blocking of harmful UV rays that can damage furniture or cause paint to fade. They have wonderful sound control to dampen outside noise, like leaf blowers or lawn mowers. And, they’re incredibly energy efficient, which helps reduce heating and cooling bills.
SL: How does Pella suit the functionality of the home and its specific geographic location?
Sherwin: Weather and environmental conditions in Cashiers can be mild one minute, with strong winds or thunderstorms the next. We have rainy springs, humid summers, and a good snowstorm or two most winters. That’s a lot of variability to contend with. Pella helps protect and insulate our homes from all the elements year-round.
Sherwin Loudermilk, founder and president of Loudermilk Homes (r); and Roane Loudermilk, founder and president of Loudermilk Designs, are longtime members of the Southern Living Custom Builder Program.
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