healthy lifestyle over 50 lifestyle over 50 Soft Surroundings travel travel over 50 Uncategorized Wellness Wednesday
Wellness Living: Serenbe
Hello, my friends! Have you ever heard of a wellness community? Maybe you live in one? Today I am going to share with you a wonderful southern town that isn’t rich in southern history like Savannah, but rich in a healthy lifestyle. I am going to take you to a little hamlet 30 miles south of the Atlanta airport named Serenbe.
I have returned to Serenbe every fall for the last 3 years to see the Serenbe Designer Showhouse that is sponsored by Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles magazine and to explore this wonderful wellness and sustainable community started by Steve Nygren and his wife Marie 24 years ago. This year I will return to Serenbe as one of the interior designers who have the honor of designing a room in the 2018 Designer Showhouse.
Steve and Marie have a philosophy behind creating this community:
They believe that if you want to change the world, you should start in your own backyard. If that’s so, then Serenbe is quite a beginning.
I have been a fan of this sustainable community after I went on a guided walking tour led by a very passionate Garnie Nygren, ( who is the oldest daughter of the founder of Serenbe, Steve Nygren.) Garnie gave us the history, the vision, and the commitment behind Serenbe’s sustainable community.
The History of Serenbe
Steve and Marie transplanted themselves and their 3 daughters from an upscale neighborhood in Atlanta onto a 60-acre farm with a 1905 farmhouse. They originally thought this would be a vacation home but made the farm their permanent residence in 1994.
Steve Nygren also ” retired” in 1994 from the Pleasant Peasant Restaurant Group ( of 34 restaurants in eight states ) and opened up a bed and breakfast on their property. The small B&B kitchen and restaurant were run by Marie’s mother, Mary McKenzie, who also owns Mary Mac’s Tearoom.
As they enjoyed their new country life, the Nygren’s came to realize that the encroaching sprawl of Atlanta would eventually threaten the serene lifestyle they valued so much, and they decided to take preventative action.
Garnie said that while jogging with her father, they noticed a bulldozer on an adjacent property. Fear of urban sprawl, Steve Nygren wrote letters to all his neighbors and asked them to contact him before they sold their land to a developer.
She said that Steve ended up accruing 1,000 acres in one week just from those letters.
He also spearheaded an initiative to change zoning laws in his 1,000 acres and the surrounding 40,000 acres of undeveloped green space. Read more about Steve’s vision here.
What is a Wellness Community?
Serenbe is one of the more well-known “wellness communities,” planned homes and neighborhoods designed to support residents’ physical, emotional, and sometimes even spiritual well-being.
We live in a very hectic world where we are connected to work and to others by electronic devices. Many people are making connections with others via their iPhones but not face to face. In Serenbe all the homes have front porches where you can sit and wave at your neighbor.
Many people want a slower paced lifestyle, a connection to nature, and to each other. The fast-paced city life is replaced by a slower lifestyle and a stronger connection to our earth. I will lovingly refer to this as the “Green Acres Syndrome.” (City people craving the farming lifestyle)
Living in a wellness community is very healthy because living a slower mindful lifestyle reduces stress which leads to so many health issues.
I love how the Nygrens are creating a genuine southern hospitality experience for the visitors who come to stay at the Inn. They also allow the visitors a chance to reconnect with nature by walking around on the farm they built.
The Nygrens serve an afternoon tea, and guests are invited to help feed the animals on Saturday mornings, to gather around a lakeside bonfire on Saturday nights, and to take a hayride on Sunday mornings.
The Walking Tour of Serenbe
We walked and listened to Garnie explain the vision of her father’s sustainable community.
Each of Serenbe’s four hamlets based on English villages, have complementary commercial centers focused on the elements of a well-lived life: arts for inspiration, agriculture for nourishment, health for wellbeing and education for awareness.
Selborne Hamlet (the Arts)
The 2018 Designer Showhouse will be in this hamlet. I will be designing an Italian inspired female office on the upper level. I have a fondness for Italy, the history, the art, their gardens, and the countryside I visited. I imagined the lady of the house coming to this room and surrounding herself with Italian art and books that transport her back to Italy.
The house is opening to the public Thursday- Sunday on September 14th and will run until October 7th. The tickets are $30.00 per person.
The artist community has the Serenbe Playhouse as its hub along with an Artists in Residence program, and art galleries.
Next to Selborne is the Inn at Serenbe which was the original farmhouse and surrounding buildings.
We had lunch at the Farmhouse, a premier Atlanta farm to table restaurant run by Marie and was pleasantly surprised to meet Steve Nygren. He was so gracious and went table to table to greet all of us.
The pasture is within walking distance from the showhouse if you care to talk to the animals.
Mado Hamlet ( Health & Wellness)
I saw the Mado hamlet during the 2017 Serenbe Designer Showhouse.
The premise is for it is to be the health and wellness hamlet. It will feature multi-generational living, resort destination spa and wellness center, community pool, fitness center with yoga/pilates studio, Montessori school campus ages 3-14 and child care for ages 0-3 plus a wellness center to integrate all medical and health needs of residents and visitors.
Such a wonderful but important design concept of blending wellness and a multigenerational community.
A Multigenerational living concept with Aging in Place cottages for the 55+ crowd. Or as Garnie, simply put it, “It won’t be an old people ghetto.” Baby boomers who prefer to interact with young families will love it here.
As an interior designer who believes in a wellness lifestyle for her clients, this is the most exciting hamlet for me and I hope to return someday and design a home here.
Grange Hamlet (Agriculture)
The first time I visited Serenbe was for the 2015 Designer Showhouse which was located in the Grange hamlet located on Grange Lake.
What a wonderful view of the lake from the master bedroom.
They have bocce ball courts in between the homes in the Grange hamlet. What a wonderful way to meet your neighbors and enjoy being outdoors!
The Art Farm is located near Grange hamlet. This is a wonderful complex where artists can choose to live in the community, work at the art studio, and if you’re a starving artist, you can develop your craft and be employed at Serenbe…
Another wonderful aspect of the grange hamlet is learning about the young farmer internships at the 25-acre organic Serenbe farm with a seasonal Saturday Farmer’s Market.
Steve Nygren grew up on a farm in Colorado, and I grew up on a farm in Iowa until I was eight when my father took a job as a pilot for Northwest Airlines.
You could say I am a farmer’s daughter.
I hope you enjoyed learning about Serenbe and why this is a nationally recognized wellness community.
I hope you will make a trip to Serenbe and see the 2018 Serenbe Designer Showhouse. The showhouse is open from September 14th- October 7th on Thursday-Sunday only. I would love to hear from you if you attend and let me know which room you enjoyed!
I wanted to thank Soft Surroundings for gifting me the sandals I wore while walking around the property at Serenbe. They are perfect with my Boho chic style.
Thank you for stopping by today!
Have you been to a wellness community? Does this type of lifestyle appeal to you?
I would love to know what you think about it!
Hugs,
Morning Robin,
This was so interesting to read! I understand when you say urban sprawl! It is happening here in suburbia where I am . Green space is being replaced by so many developments, my mom when visiting, mentioned there are so many places being built. One of the reasons we liked the older development, the trees, the older existing neighborhood.
This place sounds lovely. We love BnBs as well, and the Inn sounds like a wonderful getaway for peace and some tranquility. Another note, I love what you are wearing. The chartreuse tunic is striking on you with the white and your fab necklace! Sounds very exciting for you too! thats great.
jess xx
http://www.elegantlydressedandstylish.com
How fascinating! Thanks for sharing!
OXOX
Dawn Lucy
https://fashionshouldbefun.com
Dawn,
Thank you for stopping by today!
Hugs,
Robin
First of all let me say how truly stunning you are! Your boho chic look is to die for!! It’s the kind of outfit I dream of wearing but can never find, and together with your jewelry… Wow! YOU are the designer showcase! Serenbe… If only the world had more Steve and Maggie’s with the money and foresight to create such a wonderful community. It’s Nirvana! I live in a small, gated community where all the homes are built around a central courtyard, which means everyone pulls into their garage, retreats into their homes and never sees their neighbors. I’m so looking forward to seeing the Designer Showhouse and your work. xoxox, Brenda
Brenda,
You are so kind! Thank you for the lovely comments!
I love this wellness community created by Steve and Marie. I think a lot of people are moving out of the city and retiring to a slower lifestyle.
I also like the teaching farm and the artisit community.
It’s a wonderful place to visit my friend!
Hugs,
Robin
Robin, what an absolutely amazing place. I have never heard of anywhere else in the world like it. And how exciting for you. I am really looking forward to seeing the finished room x
Hilda,
If you ever come to Atlanta, I would love to show you my southern hospitality and take you to Serenbe.
It’s a very forward thinking community that believes in living at a slower pace and connecting with people and with nature.
Hugs always,
Robin