Meet Jackie Haig | Luxury Family Focused Property Experiences

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jackie Haig and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jackie, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?Having experienced living in so many types of different homes/apartments/ townhomes around the world with a growing family has helped me develop my style and brand. We have owned various properties in Australia and now here in Atlanta and North GA. We have had the chance to experience, test and experiment with what does and doesn’t work for a large family, from flooring, fabrics, and textiles, to the floor plan layout and outdoor spaces. And not to mention how you factor in a 90 pound Golden Doodle, Aussie who we can’t live without!

If I could bring all the wonderful elements together from the houses we have lived in, it would be a combination of the original wide rustic blonde floorboards from our Richmond UK home, the backyard summer house and sauna from our house in Chiswick UK. A ‘Toto’, an automated flushing toilet (they are a game changer) from our Tokyo apartment. The internal double staircase from our first home in Ansley Park, Atlanta. The bullnose front veranda from our 200 year old Colonial Villa in Glebe Point, Sydney. And the shiplap breakfast room and oversized reclaimed rustic office barn door from our current family home, in Peachtree Heights East, Atlanta.

When tackling rental properties I believe you need to be keenly aware of the needs and wants of your target audience. When renovating and decorating its essential to have your renter/guest in mind. Do your research on what the marketplace is dictating. Would a longer term rental (versus short term) be a better option for this property? This could mean less wear and tear on the property overall, hence less maintenance and repair costs over the long term. The key, is to be flexible in your thinking and not over personalize things. Make the property appeal to the widest possible audience. One of our properties in Buckhead is a charming 1920s cottage which we were originally going to put on the market as a short term rental. However, through the renovations it became clear it was much better suited to a young family or working professionals, so we went with long term rental instead.

Property on the water has always been a dream of ours. Not only because we had moved around so much, but it was also important to us that the children grow up experiencing being on the water, boating and swimming. Not unlike our own childhoods in Australia.

In my experience sometimes hard times (or adversity) can lead to positive results. Over covid we were surprisingly successful in attracting an international clientele to rent our Lake Lanier property. Many families who had relocated to Atlanta for work were unable to travel back to their home country over summer. So a negative situation fortunately turned into a positive for us. For our guests we try to give a lot of thought to what special touches we can include for their stay. For example The Brits always need a kettle on hand for a cuppa, the kitchen has to be fully stocked for the chef of the household, the Latinos love an espresso so I had to ensure an espresso machine was available and for the Germans, some ice cold beer goes down well!

What should our readers know about your business?
The idea of Luxury Family Focused Property Experiences really came about from my own frustration, of not being able to find any quality rental houses for our large family of six. Sure there are some out there…..but have you seen inside??? …. Most are reminiscent of Grandma’s house. I can’t tell you the number of times we have hauled into a vacation rental house and the first things I hear from the children are, ”I am not sharing a room with them again!!” and ‘why is the internet so slow?’ When we travel, our only affordable option is a vacation rental house, otherwise we need three or more hotel rooms …ouch right!!

I’m totally proud of our latest venture… the farmhouse, we call The Taylor Farm ….its a French Provincial inspired property nestled amongst the wineries in the North Georgia Mountains….. I am so excited because we are just about finished with this mammoth 2 ½ year long project. The dreams for this project were endless, with 18 acres we could dream BIG! Our overall aim was to make this the ultimate family get away experience, for a couple of families or just an extended large family. Game on! We built a private pickle ball court, croquet lawn, boules court, planted a fruit orchard, and built endless back decks and seating areas, multiple fire pit areas (one with a huge cauldron for s’mores), walking garden paths and best of all, we are located at the base of the Appalachian Mountains, so easy access to hiking paths.

Now that The Taylor Farm grounds and gardens are just about complete we can focus on how to grow the business and create perfect family experiences. I feel little farm animals might be in my distant future … Just recently we were visited by a very handsome stray goat on the property. He was a character and we have no idea where he came from. We named him Gerry, and he didn’t seem to want to leave. We unsuccessfully searched for his owner for over a week, however we were able to find him a new home with a local family!

In 2024 we look forward to setting up the new summer garden. The idea is, an elevated delightful dining and sitting area where you can relax and unwind on a summer’s night and enjoy the vast valley and mountain views. We’ll plant a kitchen garden where guests can help themselves to fresh herbs for cooking. I am also working on creating seasonal photo opportunities around the property, for families to create memorable moments by booking a session with a local photographer. We even have our own a Princess Carriage in a cottage garden …..where would be princes or princesses can have their photos taken!

During our early days in Sydney, when we were dabbling in real estate, I learnt a very good lesson. Most buyers can’t visualize themselves in an empty space, so you have to create and stage the dream that appeals to them. This enables buyers to visualize themselves living in the space. Decorating and furnishing properties comes naturally to me. If we hadn’t moved around the world on international assignments, I know I would certainly have had my own successful home staging company in Sydney or maybe Australia wide!! Instead, just a couple of decades later the timing is right for us to launch our Family Focused Luxury Property Experiences business.

My philosophy …. Life is full of challenges, whether it’s family, children, property renovations or career. You will always have highs, lows, successes and setbacks. The key, if you have a great goal or a dream, keep that front and center always. If you get knocked down, pick yourself back up, re-group and never give up!

We can’t wait to have you as our guest at The Taylor Farm, Cleveland GA.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Dancing is just so good for the soul! We would catch a Reb3L Groove Dance Class with Nancy P at The Gym on Peachtree. Great news!…… no dance experience is required. It is just a fun way to keep fit and be active. Dancing certainly makes you hungry, so we would brunch at Isla & Co for some great Aussie tucker and a decent morning coffee. Their current location is in Buckhead but I am super excited they are opening a new Isla & Co in Atlanta’s Westside.

Atlanta’s Westside always has some new shop or restaurant popping up, a great area to take visitors. I do tend to spend a lot of my time at Westside Market Home Furnishings, I could spend hours there, and we probably will! With over 500 unique vendors it is certainly my playground for homewares and a great way to support local talent and entrepreneurs . Afterward we would head on over across the road and kick back at Steady Hand Beer Co for the evening and enjoy some live music.

We would then head off early Saturday morning to beat the ATL traffic heading north to the GA mountains. On the way up we would call into The North Georgia Premium Outlets … who wants to pay retail prices when you don’t have to! Of course we would be staying a few nights at The Taylor Farm, Cleveland GA. I would suggest we have dinner outside on the lawn at Trattoria di Montaluce at The Montaluce Winery in Dahlonega, about a ½ hour drive from our farmhouse. We could sample a wine or two and enjoy some amazing farm-to-table delicious Italian food on the grounds of their Tuscan inspired winery.

Sunday morning sees us stopping off for some good old country cooking from Linda’s Convenience Store at the Chevron, on US 129 (5 minute drive from our farm). Her fried chicken biscuit or burger will not leave you hungry for lunch. We would work off our brunch by spending the afternoon in the great outdoors on the farm, playing a round of pickle ball on our new court, a game of croquet, a few throws on the boules court and walking the orchard in hunt of any new fruit crops. Sunday evening we would pack our own charcuterie board and drive 3 ½ miles to Limoges Cellars. This little gem is not only a winery and vineyard but also a working farm. We would relax on the porch of their amazing barn at one of their picnic tables with a tasting flight, then indulge in our favorite bottle of wine while taking in the beautiful countryside and views of the vines.

After a few relaxing days at the farm we would head down to Lake Lanier for some lake time. On the way we would call into Tomato House Farm, Murrayville for some supplies. This place is a grocery store, butcher, fudge, ice cream shop and so much more. I have two secrets to share about Lake Lanier, mid-week stays are blissful and the northern end is so quiet, it is almost as if you have the entire lake to yourself.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Without a doubt my amazingly supportive husband and our four wonderful kiddo’s ( I totally saw those eye rolls when we called for yet another hard yards work weekend at the farm or lake house). The latest project was a group effort for sure, so much more fun when we are all in it together. Even if that means being covered from head to toe in Georgia red clay, or sweltering in the summer heat, or literally freezing our fingers and toes off during last winter’s Arctic Blast.

I have to also shout out to my always supportive and encouraging Aussie family, you guys are the best!

Website: www.vrbo.com/3543202

Instagram: @thetaylorfarmga , @asliceofsydneylakelanier

Facebook: The Taylor Farm GA

Image Credits
I have the rights to the pictures.