STORYTELLERS in Residence

Interior designer Stephanie Sabbe pens a new chapter for a Nashville author's guesthouse, creating a writer's cabin with muses stretching over centuries.

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SHARED AMONG NEARLY EVERY BEAUTIFUL, professionally designed house is one universal story: a tale of deftly dodging obstacles (the planning board, an obstinate spouse) and bending resources (money, time) to create an environment that portrays not just the character of the homeowners but also a canvas for their best lives. And at the center of each of these stories is the homeowner. But not here.

This Nashville cottage exists for a purpose, not a person, and to bring it to life, homeowner Donald Miller simply stepped out of its way. A longtime author and now business development guru, Miller wanted a space where his dearest friends, among them authors and artists, could think and write and be.

Each guest room is furnished as a quiet spot to write. Curtain fabric, Lisa Fine Textiles. OPPOSITE: Hand-hewn beams, a vaulted ceiling, and chinking reference rustic cabins in the Pacific Northwest.

"My dream is to have the shelves of the cottage filled with books that were written there, or at least some part of them," says Miller, sharing that the timeline-about 75 years, he figures-implies this is more of a legacy than a calendar entry.

He describes the 15-acre property he shares with his wife, Betsy, and their toddler "as a mile or two from the mall but remote in feeling, like it could be up in the Blue Ridge."