Original subtitles

[wood clacks]

[fire crackling]

[engine revving]

[hissing]

JAMI JENKINS: So we first saw the property

in the first half of 2020.

So we pulled up, and we started into the pines.

SCOTT JENKINS: There's just not pine trees

all over southern Ohio.

So somebody came in and planted these trees.

So they kind of created this unique forest.

And that was one of the things I think that appealed to us.

When we saw the pine forest, it was like, this is it.

[birdsong]

[music playing]

We're at Hocking Hills, Ohio.

It's about an hour south of Columbus.

Where at The Carpenter's Cabin.

JAMI JENKINS: My dad was a contractor,

so that's how the cabin got its name.

SCOTT JENKINS: Well, he's been passed away

now 27 seven years in December.

JAMI JENKINS: He and his brother built homes,

so I grew up in that.

So it's always been a dream to create the space

from the ground up for me.

SCOTT JENKINS: So Jami's dad didn't do anything second-rate.

He'd buy material.

He'd buy the best materials.

So that was kind of his philosophy

when it came to building.

[music playing]

JAMI JENKINS: We used very durable materials.

We used materials that I felt like my dad would have used.

So the focus in this particular cabin

was wood and steel on concrete.

SCOTT JENKINS: Our son Clark was involved in several aspects

of building the property here.

He is so much a carbon copy of his grandfather.

It was just really special to know that he

was so involved in building it.

And so you hear these stories about someone

sketching out a design on a napkin,

and that's almost what happened.

For some reason, it stuck on my head to keep the exterior just

a very simple shape.

That's what I like, the unassumingness on the outside.

And as soon as you open the door, this space explodes.

You see Clark's steel staircase, that modern interpretation

of a staircase.

There's an extension ladder just above it

that goes up to the perch.

That's Jami's dad's extension ladder.

So you see both of them when you walk in the door.

So as soon as you walk in the door, I mean, this--

this is family.

You see the conversation pit on the one side.

So the inspiration actually came from when

we were living in Columbus, Indiana, which is

kind of an architectural mecca.

Yeah.

Scott worked for a large company that was headquartered

there for many years, and the owner, they had

the original conversation pit.

SCOTT JENKINS: Well, we watch movies with the grandkids,

and we can all kind of hang out down there,

just kind of lay there and watch a movie together.

The kids love to do that.

JAMI JENKINS: It's about a 72-square-foot area,

and we can seat 12.

There's no way you're going to see that many people

with traditional chairs.

The kitchen, we definitely wanted more modern.

We hired a company in northern Ohio

to create the massive concrete waterfall edge countertop.

SCOTT JENKINS: Took six guys to carry it in from the outside.

JAMI JENKINS: Six guys to install it.

[music playing]

So as you walk down the hall towards the back,

on the main floor, you'll see a bunk

room on the right-hand side.

SCOTT JENKINS: The grandkids love the bunk beds.

JAMI JENKINS: They're like the three little monkeys

jumping on the bed.

We have two primary suites.

There's one on the left, on the main floor, which

was designed for our daughter and son-in-law

so they're close to the kids.

As you go towards the back door, we purposely

made that hall a little bit wider because I

knew that I was going to hang some things of my dad's

back there.

An old tape measure.

There's an old compass.

SCOTT JENKINS: Well, it's only, like, just under a thousand

square feet on that main level.

JAMI JENKINS: It's 934 square feet as far as the footprint.

[birdsong]

We're four stories.

So as you round the conversation pit,

you'll head up the staircase that our son Clark built.

At the very tip-top, we have-- we call it the perch.

It's just a very small space.

But that's probably our four-year-old granddaughters

favorite spot to escape to.

On the same floor, that's what we consider the primary suite.

It's nice and private at there.

You have your own bath with a walk-in shower.

It also opens up to one of the best spaces, I think,

in the cabin, and that's the third-story screen deck.

And it has two amazing hammock chairs you just melt into.

I don't often get an opportunity to go up there,

but whenever I do, I'm seeking that solitude, that quiet time,

and just enjoying nature.

So if you go down to the lower level,

we actually have the lower-level walkout.

And if you want to just be on your own

and kind of get away from the rest of the crew,

you can go down there and kind of hang out.

[music playing]

We do spend some time with the grandkids.

You can go off-road, off the path,

and just explore with them, and they love to do that.

JAMI JENKINS: Lydia will look for the deer tracks,

and James is usually watching for birds.

We want it to be around 50, 60 years from now,

when we're gone, and our grandkids,

well, they're bringing their kids and grandkids here.

[music playing]

JAMI JENKINS: There's a story, old wives' tale, that

says if you see a cardinal, it's a visit from a loved one

that's passed away.

The day we finished the cabin and had it all ready,

I turned around and got ready to leave.

But there was a cardinal out in the pine.

And I just felt like I was saying, it's OK.

We're good with this.

So it was--

[sighs]

It was definitely an emotional moment,

and it's something I'm going to remember for a long time.

Not that my dad is ever far from me, I guess.

I think about him often.

But just to have this in his memory,

that's exactly what I wanted.