Burt Reynolds’ “Treehouse” Retreat Returns to the Highlands Market

Burt Reynolds’ “Treehouse” Retreat Returns to the Highlands Market

A modernist, treehouse‑style residence with a Hollywood pedigree has come back to market in Highlands, North Carolina, asking $3.699M. Once owned by Burt Reynolds at the height of his career, the 1972 home blends sculptural architecture with sweeping Blue Ridge views—catnip for design lovers who prefer their privacy with a side of drama. 

The Setting: Forest, Sky, and Privacy

Tucked along King Gap Road on roughly 0.9 acres within the Nantahala National Forest, the property sits at the edge of a subdivision—so the sightlines are forest and ridgeline rather than neighboring roofs. It’s the kind of perch that feels suspended above the mountains (because, in places, it is). 

The Architecture: Jim Fox’s Organic Modernism

Designed by Jim Fox, a noted modernist whose Highlands‑area work is prized for its “organic” fit with the landscape, the home is all curves, wood, and glass. Signature details include flared rooflines, curved wood‑clad ceilings, a suspended wraparound deck, and expansive window walls that pull the mountain scenery inside. Think “treehouse meets yacht,” anchored by a dramatic, double‑height stone monolith at the core. 

Inside the Floor Plan

The main level centers on an intimate, sunken living room with a semi‑circular built‑in sofa facing a stone fireplace and a slanted, wood‑framed window wall—an iconic 1970s composition that still feels current. Below, the lower level gathers a game room, office, wine cellar, and a distinctive stone bathroom reportedly added during the Reynolds years. In the early 2000s, an expansion introduced a stone terrace, plunge pool, and waterfall, extending the living space further into the landscape. 

Provenance & Pricing

According to public reporting, Reynolds bought the home roughly a decade after Deliverance (1972) made him a household name, and later sold it in the 1990s. More recently, the property traded in July 2024 for $2.975M, over ask and just days after it listed. It’s now back on the market at $3.699M. 

Architectural pieces like this one—especially Fox‑designed homes—rarely come up and tend to move quickly when they do. If you’re shopping for a legacy‑level retreat with distinctive design, this is the genre (and perch) to watch.