Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1233243
INSIDE VIEW Making a home with Rose Lane Leavell BY TRACI BURNS | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAVE BJORKMAN ROSE LANE LEAVELL is a woman with strong, resilient Georgia roots. Her ancestors began working the land in Twiggs County in the 1790s, and in 1981, her grandmother passed away and left her the land that would become Charlane Plantation. In the early '70s, while working at Capricorn Records in its heyday, Rose Lane met a shy young musician named Chuck Leavell who played with the Allman Brothers. The two fell for each other quick, got married and Rose Lane set about gently indoctrinating her new husband into the bucolic, remote country world she'd grown up in. Rose Lane studied fashion merchandising in college, and for 20 years owned and operated her own boutique, Cornucopia, on Second Street in downtown Macon. The shop was ahead of its time in style and hipness, and it was the go-to shopping destination for eclectic fashionistas in the '70s and '80s. Even during that foray into entrepreneurship, the forest still called her home. "I always knew I'd live here," Rose Lane says of Charlane Plantation – and she was right. Despite the rigors of being on the road – Chuck currently tours with the Rolling Stones as their musical director, and Rose Lane is on the team that does the band's makeup – the two have grown Charlane Plantation into an award-winning tree farm and hunting preserve, and have made a beautiful home for themselves in the historic Bullard House, listed on the National Registry for Historic Places. The cozy farmhouse was built around 1870 and has been renovated and expanded several times. Beautiful pine from Charlane's forests has been used on the floors, ceilings and walls, and the home's interior is a friendly, quirky, comfortable testament to the couple's creative passions, devotion to family and friends, and deep love of the natural world. Let Rose Lane tell you about it in her own words. MY GRANDFATHER PLANTED ALL THESE CAMELLIAS. Not my grandmother, my grandfather. When I was growing up, I thought it was my grandmother, but she didn't give a shit about 'em. They don't last for very long, but they're beautiful. Pink perfection! I like to bring in a little cluster, put them in a bowl. I love to have fresh flowers around when we're here. 6 8 M ACO N M AG A Z I N E.CO M | F E B R U A R Y / M A R C H 2 0 2 0