On an idyllic 4,200 acres on the edge of Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains National Park lie Blackberry Farm and Blackberry Mountain, luxury resorts that have everything from world-class restaurants and spas to an equestrian facility and a fly fishing program. Current proprietor Mary Celeste Beall is the daughter-in-law of the farm’s original founders, who offered her the role eight years ago after her husband, Sam Beall, passed away suddenly at age 39. “[I said], ‘If y’all believe in me, I can do this,’” she recalls on the latest episode of The Business of Home Podcast. She leaned on a dedicated and experienced team to honor her late husband’s vision, and she has now grown the resort to include a more expansive in-house interior design firm.

Started by her mother-in-law Kreis Beall, the design branch of the farm originally began as a way to organize the look of the rooms and facilities on the property. “For us, it just makes so much more sense to have a designer that is committed to Blackberry 100 percent, because not only do they understand how our business is running and the priorities, but they also are very in touch with what’s working and what’s not,” says Beall. “When someone designs something, and then they go away and they’re not the one to see it two weeks later, six months later, a year later, to see how their favorite fabric didn’t hold up, or to feel the pain of ‘We splurged on this fabric, and now red wine has been spilled on it.’”

The service now extends beyond the hotel grounds: Design director Christine Carney, who has also worked for Roman and Williams and Peter Marino, leads Blackberry Farm’s off-site projects, imbuing clients’ homes with elements of their experience on the farm. “I think it is really a fun balance for our team to be able to work with me at Blackberry Farm and Mountain on our projects, but also [for them] to take those skills and talents and work with a family, where they’re getting to know them and bringing their project to life from scratch,” says Beall. “It’s a win for everyone that [the design team is] passionate about it, and they get to take their expertise and knowledge from what they’ve learned here and apply it to someone’s home that is a very different project than the hotel world.”

Crucial insight: Beall admits that even though all of their business decisions may not seem financially logical, they always come from a place of passion—a tension the team has mastered over the years. “There’s got to be a balance of how you’re making decisions and how you can afford things, but also maybe you splurge on something that makes you happy or brings you joy, or is something you’re newly passionate about, and then you save in another way,” she says. “That’s how we operate Blackberry—we splurge on things because we are taking a risk, or we know it’s right in our gut, and hopefully it pays off.”

Key quote: “A place that has heart and soul resonates with people, especially in the design world, and we make decisions that aren’t always quantifiable,” says Beall. “We can make decisions like investing in an Ida Kohlmeyer piece of art for the dining room when we redid the main house, because that’s an artist I know my mother-in-law has loved forever. I’ll never forget seeing an Ida Kohlmeyer for the first time at her house when I was 17 years old, and it was kind of the perfect mix. We can invest in different things that maybe don’t make a lot of sense to other people but it gives things a heart and a soul—and to me, that is really, truly what design is all about.”

This episode is sponsored by Loloi. Listen to the show below. If you like what you hear, subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

The Thursday Show

BOH executive editor Fred Nicolaus and host Dennis Scully discuss the biggest news in the design industry, including Perigold’s plans for brick-and-mortar stores, a housing check-in, and why the DCOTA is back on the auction block. Later, fashion designer Jenni Kayne joins the show to talk about her home line and new hospitality venture.

This episode is sponsored by Surya. Listen to the show below. If you like what you hear, subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.