Red Dog Cottage Found Faith in the Foundations

Visit Red Dog Cottage in Williamson to find the place you didn’t know you needed.

photographed by nikki bowman mills

Every so often, you stumble upon a place you never want to leave—and people who feel like family the moment you meet them. In the rugged hills of Williamson in Mingo County, Red Dog Cottage is exactly that kind of place.

I’ve been blessed to travel every corner of our beautiful Mountain State, and I don’t say this lightly: Red Dog Cottage easily ranks among my top three favorite escapes in all of West Virginia. It isn’t five-star because of gold leaf or grandeur. It’s five-star because it is downright charming, unexpected, and thoughtful. Every single detail tells you that someone cared enough to get it right, and you feel that the moment you cross the threshold. The entire place just wraps you in a big hug.

In 2021, owners Shawn and Tonya Cool were looking for their next DIY project and decided to build an Airbnb. Something a little different than the typical trail cabins sprouting up along the Hatfield–McCoy corridor. They simply wanted to create something memorable and meaningful in the place they call home.

“We wanted to build something where, when you walk in, you think, ‘Wow. I can’t believe this is here,’” Tonya says.

And I promise you—that is exactly what you will say.

It started with a hand-drawn sketch on a paper towel. There were no blueprints or professional crew, just a husband and wife duo with a vision to create something unexpected and a lot of grit to see it through. “We just kept asking, ‘Would we love this? Would we be wowed by this?’” Shawn recalls. “That’s how every decision was made.”

The craftsmanship inside Red Dog Cottage is a love letter to Appalachian ingenuity and talent. Shawn, a self-taught carpenter who says building things helps him combat stress, constructed everything—from the exterior and the custom trim to the cabinetry and the handmade kitchen hood. He built the barn-style sliding doors right there on the property. And Tonya, who also owns Reflections Salon and Spa in town, mixed the mortar and laid every single brick and stone herself.

“Doing masonry work is oddly relaxing,” she laughs. “Back-breaking work, but it’s so fun—nobody bothering you, no phone, just listening to a book, getting extremely dirty, and creating something. There’s nothing quite like it. I loved it.”

Inside the cottage, the aesthetic is warm, inviting, and utterly mountain chic. White shiplap meets stained wood ceilings, creating a space that is airy yet deeply cozy. A comfortable living and dining area flows into a generous kitchen. Every detail is meticulously thought out. A first-floor bedroom and bath offer ease and comfort, while a spiral staircase winds its way to a lofted reading nook and second bedroom above. And the showstopper—the detail that seems to capture every single guest’s heart—is the suspended indoor hammock.

“At first I was worried it would ruin the aesthetic,” Tonya laughs. “But it ended up being one of the most beautiful and fun parts of the space.”

There is a quiet, spiritual depth here that you sense before you can name it. Hidden behind the walls are handwritten Bible verses, tucked in to bless the space and everyone who enters it. One verse, though, refused to stay hidden. It survived the build—somehow escaping the scrap wood pile—and the Cools framed it instead. “That one was meant to be seen,” Tonya says.

Step outside, and the property unfolds like something from a dreamy Pinterest board. Tucked into the hillside is an outdoor shower and deck built around the existing trees. A fire pit glows in the evenings. A covered walking bridge, romantically strung with lights, crosses the creek below. And suspended 10 feet in the air is a massive outdoor hammock that has become something of a legend among guests. “It’s the best place to do yoga,” Tonya says with a smile. “If no one’s around, I’ll go out there just to breathe.”

A year after completing the cottage, the Cools embarked on a new addition: the Red Dog Chalet. It feels like a private treehouse for two—intimate, sophisticated, and completely removed from the noise of the world. “The Chalet is a couple’s getaway,” Shawn explains. “It’s a space that encourages slowing down and reconnecting.”

With its copper soaking tub that sits open in the room and the cozy sleeping loft above, the Chalet is smaller than the cottage but equally charming. A hot tub and a private outdoor shower is nestled among the trees outside. Shawn says, “I wanted to add the outdoor showers, because not very many people have ever showered outside. We wanted to offer unique ways to experience things.”

People arrive at Red Dog from all over the country—as far as Canada, California, Utah, New York, and Texas. For many, it is their first introduction to West Virginia. Some come for the Hatfield–McCoy Trails, but the majority come just to escape and explore the area. What they find and what they carry home with them is often something they didn’t know they were looking for.

“People come here and say, ‘We finally got to rest,’” Tonya says. “They sat outside, drank their coffee, and just listened to the creek. They remind us how beautiful it is here. We forget sometimes that we live in the most breathtaking landscapes on this earth—we get so used to it.”

Shawn and Tonya set out to build something they could be proud of, something that would stand as a testament to craft, to care, and to the beauty of the place they love. “We wanted to create something that dispelled negative stereotypes that sometimes exist about our small rural towns,” Tonya says. “We just wanted to create something to be proud of.”

Mission accomplished—a hundred times over.

In a world that moves far too fast, people like Tonya and Shawn and places like Red Dog Cottage and Chalet feel like a gift. A reminder that when you create something that exceeds expectations, people will come from across the continent just to sit a while, listen to the creek, and remember what stillness feels like. Visit Red Dog Cottage on airbnb.com.

READ MORE ARTICLES FROM WV LIVING’S SUMMER 2026 ISSUE