Why We Built WildNest: The Story Behind the Cabins

The WildNest Collective exists because we believe the places we go to rest should feel like they were made for us—not made for everyone.

We are Jess and Michele, co-founders of The WildNest Collective. The Bluebird and The Finch, our two cabins in Pittman Center, Tennessee, are the physical expression of everything we believe a short-term rental should be: not simply a house with a keypad and a stock-photo bedroom, but a place with a name, a symbol, and an intention.

WHY THE SMOKY MOUNTAINS?

The landscape is honest. The Great Smoky Mountains do not perform for you. Mist hangs in the hollows whether anyone is watching or not. Rhododendron blooms on schedule. Leaves turn when it is time. You come to meet the mountains; they do not meet you halfway.

The region also draws visitors year-round. Families arrive in summer, leaf-peepers in October, and couples in winter when the trails are quieter and Gatlinburg’s lights still glow. The Smokies are not a one-season destination.

We also saw space between the high-end design cabin and the generic budget rental: an elevated, thoughtful experience that does not require a special occasion to justify.

THE BIRDS

Our properties are named after birds, and that choice is not decorative.

The Bluebird symbolizes happiness, hope, and renewal. We designed it for guests who are beginning something—a new chapter, a first real trip together, or a restorative moment after a difficult year. It is warm, bright, and forward-facing.

The Finch symbolizes joy in simplicity. Finches are present, energetic, and content exactly where they are. We designed The Finch for guests who want to settle in: cook a meal, sit on the deck, and stop feeling the pull of anywhere else.

Every WildNest property will be named for a bird. That naming convention is our commitment that each cabin will have its own character, intention, and guest experience.

WHAT WILDNEST IS NOT

We are not a management company optimizing a portfolio, and we are not a design firm staging a space for photography. We are two founders who chose every piece of furniture, debated every design decision, built each firepit, and wrote every word of our guest guides ourselves.

WildNest is not trying to be everything. What our cabins offer is considered simplicity—the things that matter when you have stepped away from regular life and need your surroundings to carry some of the weight.

We call this human optionality. You can disappear completely into the cabin—no itinerary, no obligations—or step outside and be minutes from everything the Smokies offer. WildNest does not prescribe your trip. It holds space for whatever you need it to be.

THE PROMISE

Every WildNest guest receives the same three things: a space designed with care, a guide filled with real local knowledge, and a stay worth remembering.

We built WildNest because we believe in the power of the right place at the right time. Come find out if it is yours.

Check availability for The Bluebird and The Finch. October dates fill first—and October in the Smokies is everything the photographs promise.

Michele & Jess building the fire pits behind The Bluebird & The Finch