Goldfinch: Earthen Walls & Fireside Evenings

Summary:
Stay in a colorful cordwood cabin handbuilt with cedar & recycled bottles atop Suck Creek Mountain inside Chattanooga, less than 20 minutes from downtown.

Goldfinch sleeps 5 with a king bed, sleeper couch, & twin sleeper chair.

Enjoy tall ceilings, a kitchen, indoor & outdoor showers, hanging chairs, covered outdoor dining, & a private firepit. Watch sunlight dance through the bottle glass, explore Talking Water’s wooded trails, or head to the shared pavilion when you’re feeling social.

The Space:
Cedar, bottle glass, & a little colorful light

Watch sunlight dapple through recycled bottles, breathe in the cedar, & settle into a cabin our family made by hand.

Goldfinch is an eco-friendly earthbuilt cabin with cordwood walls, colorful plaster, & plenty of details to catch your eye. Tall ceilings & an arched bedroom entry give it an open feel, while the bottle glass puts on a slightly different show as the sun moves.

Outside, you might hear chickens chatting, spot goats eating shrubs nearby, or hear kids laughing on the swing. It’s a small family retreat with life happening around you.

🛏 Settle in & sleep well

Goldfinch sleeps up to 5 guests:

- A king bed in a semi-private bedroom with an arched entry (no door; sleeps 2)
- One full-size sleeper couch in the main living area (sleeps 2)
- A twin sleeper chair (sleeps 1)
- Indoor hooks for 2 hammocks (hammocks & straps provided)

The bedroom has some separation from the living area, but no door. Keep that in mind when deciding who gets the bed & who stays up for one more episode.

Hammocks do not increase the cabin’s 5-person guest limit.

🌿 Pick your chair

Rocking chairs on the stone patio, hanging chairs under the covered awning, or a seat beside your private firepit. You may need a few days to properly evaluate them all.

The covered picnic table gives you a place for outdoor meals, card games, & spreading out whatever snacks everyone brought. An outdoor camp-style grill is available for dinner.

🚿 Wash off the day

Goldfinch has a full indoor bathroom & a private hot outdoor shower.

Come back from the creek, wash off a little trail dust, & enjoy a shower in the fresh air. The indoor shower is available year-round.

🍳 Feed your people

The kitchen has a refrigerator, stove, & cooking supplies for meals at your own pace. Make breakfast before heading out, bring home takeout, or grill something & eat outside.

There’s no dishwasher, so be kind to whoever ends up at the sink.

A TV & Wi-Fi are available for downtime inside, although watching the light move through the bottles is a pretty good show, too.

🥾 Beyond your patio

Goldfinch is one of five cabins in the Songbird Neighborhood at Talking Water, on 82 wooded acres inside Chattanooga.

The shared Songbird Pavilion has an outdoor kitchen with an electric griddle, cold-water sink, & cabinets, plus picnic tables & a firepit with chairs & benches. The slide, tetherball, & children’s climbing structures are nearby.

Explore the wooded trails & bluff, or take the steep mountain trail down to Suck Creek. Look for crawdads, cool your feet, & save a little energy for the climb back up.

Shared guest laundry is available during daytime hours outside cabin-cleaning windows.

🌱 The cabin that started something

Our family built Goldfinch with cedar, recycled bottles, & a lot of hands-on curiosity. We enjoyed the process so much that one cabin snowballed into teaching earthbuilding workshops here at Talking Water. Apparently, we found more people who also like getting covered in mortar.

The cordwood walls are 14 inches thick, & a small “truth window” in the bedroom lets you see the hempcrete inside part of the wall. The bottle-logs bring color & changing light into the rooms, giving materials that might have been discarded another useful life.

We’re a small family-owned & family-operated business with five cabins. Building, restoring the land, & sharing what we learn are all part of this ongoing passion project.

🐾 Bringing your dog?

Dogs are welcome at Goldfinch with prior approval & a pet fee for non-Airbnb bookings.

Dogs must be leashed outdoors & crated inside whenever they are not directly with their owners (crates available upon request).

Our livestock will be working in different areas of the property during your stay. Keep dogs under your control, do not allow them to approach our animals, & please clean up all waste.

🪶 A few more cabins for your crew

Planning a retreat, wedding weekend, reunion, corporate getaway, or friend gathering? Rent all five cabins: Blackbird, Chickadee, Goldfinch, Meadowlark, & Whippoorwill.

Together, the cabins sleep up to 26 guests in beds. Gather at the Songbird Pavilion for meals, games, & evenings around the fire, with your own cabins to return to afterward.

The handbuilt Ceremony Hut & Cob Oven can also be reserved for scenic, earthy gatherings where you can get back to the roots of connecting with nature & your people.

Use of the Ceremony Hut or Cob Oven, & hosting events, require advance arrangements & additional fees.

Guest Access:
Goldfinch & its immediate outdoor spaces are private to your group during your stay, including:
- The cabin
- Stone patio with rocking chairs & a private firepit
- Covered outdoor dining area with a picnic table & hanging chairs
- Private hot outdoor shower & adjacent green space
- Goldfinch’s designated parking spaces

Need more parking? Please message us before arrival so we can coordinate.

You’ll also have shared access to:
- The Songbird Pavilion, with an outdoor kitchen, firepit, picnic tables, & seating
- Hiking trails & the steep mountain trail down to Suck Creek
- The slide, tetherball, & children’s climbing structures
- The guest laundry room in the nearby garage (daytime access outside cabin-cleaning windows)

Other cabins may be occupied during your stay. Chat with the neighbors, join a game, or settle into a hanging chair with a book. Be as social as you like!

The Ceremony Hut & Cob Oven can be reserved separately. Use of these spaces, & hosting events, require advance arrangements & additional fees.

The Neighborhood:
Goldfinch is one of five cabins in our Songbird Neighborhood. Each cabin has its own private indoor & outdoor spaces, while shared areas offer room for gathering, games, & spending time together.

Talking Water comes with a mountain soundtrack: birds, bugs, frogs, wind in the trees, chickens, & yes, roosters. Nobody has successfully negotiated a later start time with the roosters. You may also hear occasional road noise.

We’re tucked into Chattanooga’s Suck Creek Mountain community & surrounded by some of the area’s best natural spaces:

- 🌲 Prentice Cooper State Forest borders the southern edge of the property.
- 💧 Nearly a mile of Suck Creek runs along the eastern side of our land.
- 🌊 The Tennessee River follows the road at the base of the mountain.

Before our family purchased the property in 2022, much of the land had been logged for decades without much stabilization or replanting. Since then, we’ve been restoring it through native planting, trail work, erosion control, natural building, creative reuse, & a lot of hands-on care.

Talking Water is still evolving. You’ll find wild mountain land, handmade spaces, quirky details, & usually a project or two underway. Our family lives & works here, slowly bringing the property back to life.

Getting Around:
We’re tucked into the mountains, but still surprisingly close to Chattanooga. A car is strongly recommended, and drive times can vary with traffic.

Under 10 minutes:
- Prentice Cooper State Forest
- Suck Creek swimming holes & outdoor recreation
- Tennessee River access
- Aldi, restaurants, and coffee

Under 20 minutes:
- Downtown Chattanooga riverfront
- Tennessee Aquarium
- Creative Discovery Museum
- Coolidge Park & North Shore
- Countless downtown restaurants, breweries, shops, & attractions *Chattanooga's restaurant scene is on point!
- Numerous climbing, mountain biking, hiking, & paddling spots

Under 30 minutes:
- Ruby Falls
- Rock City Gardens
- Incline Railway
- Chattanooga Zoo
- Big Soddy Gulf
- Erlanger Park / Chattanooga Lookouts

The drive to Talking Water follows the Tennessee River and climbs Suck Creek Mountain, so you get the feeling of a real mountain getaway without giving up easy access to Chattanooga.

Other Things to Note:
A few things to know before booking:

🛏 Sleeping Arrangements

- Goldfinch sleeps up to 5 guests.
- A king bed in a semi-private bedroom with an arched entry (no door) sleeps 2.
- One full-size sleeper couch in the main living area sleeps 2.
- A twin sleeper chair sleeps 1.
- Indoor hooks for 2 hammocks are available (hammocks & straps provided). Hammocks do not increase the 5-person guest limit.

🚿 Bathrooms & Showers

- Goldfinch has a full indoor bathroom & a private hot outdoor shower.
- The indoor shower is available year-round.

🚗 Parking

- Please use Goldfinch’s designated parking spaces.
- Two pay-per-use EV charging spaces are available beside Meadowlark.
- Need more parking? Please message us before arrival so we