Welcome Inn

The front entry, as purchased

After having been abandoned for several years, the Inn did not present the friendliest of welcomes.  Though the front stone stairway was impressive as ever (if a little chipped), the peeling porch ceiling paint, overgrown ivy, and vinyl tile floor contrived to take away from the grandeur of the house. (Have I mentioned how pretty the fall leaves were?)

We pulled the ivy down first thing and scraped and painted the porch ceiling and trim shortly after at the same time as the rest of the house.  Then, distracted by other issues, we left the entryway alone for a long time.

The font entry, mostly finished

Eventually, around the time we put the laminate down in the main room, we picked up our entryway project again.  The dark vinyl tiles were replaced by white marble and a mirror and hall table were custom made for the space.  The hall table was topped by broken marble pieces and painted to match the mirror.  Last, we turned out attention to the door.  We liked the large amount of glass, but it was a very plain door for such a wonderful entrance.

 At first we looked at purchasing a new one, but, of course the doorway was an inch smaller than a standard door, which meant we would have to order a custom door.  So, instead we updated the existing door with paint (red, what else?) and a few strips of trim for embellishment.

We hope it says "Welcome Inn," when you stop by for a visit!

We used the same paint washing technique on the mirror and the hall table. Dark brown paint was used over the cream and then washed off with a wet rag, leaving softer colors and accentuating imperfections.

Prepping the door for it's makeover.  We taped off and painted the lines black first, then glued the painted wood strips over the paint to produce a cleaner finished product.

The finished entryway with marble floor, new light fixture, painted door and handmade mirror and entry table.

Winter Wonderland

In spite of the mostly mild weather patterns and the protected valley the Inn sits in, we do get a good snow storm once or twice a year.  Blizzard Jonas laid down a heavy blanket of snow over WNC.  Here at the Inn we got about 6-8 inches and were housebound for a few days.  Good thing we've still got so much to do and see on the property, even if tubing down the driveway isn't our normal mode of transportation.

Snow covered poplar tree in the upper lawn

Stairway to the pond

Gorgeous blue skies in the aftermath of the storm

Tree bench around the poplar

Ice edged stream

The upper lawn

The deck

Ceilings and Floors and Lighting, Oh My!

The main room, as purchased.  Can you spot the fireplace?

Although we originally fell in love with the falling autumn leaves and the gentle rushing sound of the streams, the Inn itself holds its own beauty.  Built into the side of a ridge, the Inn perches high on a hill and overlooks the lower lawn and pond.  Ascending the front stone stairway brings you into the main room of the Inn, over 900 square feet of open space, huge picture windows, and gorgeous chestnut paneled walls.  In spite of the many windows, the room originally was very dark, due in large part to a low ceiling and inadequate lighting.

So what's a girl to do when she falls in love with a property and goes into complete denial about any potential issues with the building?  If you don't know that answer, you haven't been following along.  We resolved to fix it, of course, by replacing the dented cork floor, the off white acoustic tile ceiling, and the skimpy track lighting.  No problem, right?  I mean, the walls were very nice and that counts for something, doesn't it?  Right?  No?

Anyway, correcting the lighting issue was the first step, and we ripped out sections of the ceiling to allow recessed lighting to be put in.  Then 350 tiles were painted a cream color.  We used the same styrafoam tiles used in the Cherry Blossom renovation and once we started mounting the tiles, the job went quickly, taking two of us just a couple of hours.

After months of debating flooring types and bringing home dozens of samples of tile and laminate, we decided on a light colored wood laminate.  We had a local handyman in to lay the laminate flooring down (shockingly, this is the only floor in the Inn that is actually level), and the whole room was transformed, from dim and dated to fresh and bright.  Now all we need is some furniture...

Recessed lighting installed, and ceiling tiles being painted, part 235

The aftermath - 350 tiles and 3 cases of Loctite later

Finished room, with new flooring and ceiling

Happy New Year

It has been a quiet year on the social media front for the Inn, but we have been busy tearing out, fixing up, painting, and building.

Though we had originally hoped to spend a year in renovations, the conditions of the property and the house made two years a more realistic goal.  This year saw many changes all around.  We rebuilt the rotting section of the deck and reformatted the stairway to open up the area.  We updated much of the electric, changing both built in lights and fixtures.  The windows in the house were all replaced - all 35 of them!  Both the floor and the ceiling in the main room were replaced and we built A LOT of furniture.  A table for eight and two tables of four now grace our dining area and a seating area before the fireplace has been begun.

Many smaller projects were worked on and the bathrooms for the Dogwood and Poplar rooms are now nearly finished.  Outside, we continued to plant and add to the gardens (though one Innkeeper's decidedly brown thumb is not cooperating with our kitchen garden visions).  Look for details on some of these projects in the coming months as well as an opening date for this year.

New windows ready to install

Hand built table for eight

Vinegar stained vanity for the poplar room

Painting ceiling tiles after new lighting installation

New ceiling up, new flooring down

Happy New Year from our family to yours and may 2016 bring blessings to all of us!