Once upon a time, many years ago (okay, more like two and a half years ago, it just feels like a lifetime), overwhelmed by the sheer number of things that needed to be fixed and updated, we decided to focus on getting the three rooms inside the Inn ready for business before tackling the rooms in the addition.
Now, just a few months into our opening, we have been so blessed with so many wonderful customers that we often find ourselves uttering those words to potential guests that make us simultaneously overjoyed and so sad - "I'm sorry, we're booked."
So, we turned our attention back to the suite downstairs. We think that it was likely rented as two separate rooms before - there are two decent sized rooms and two small bathrooms, but the bathrooms are located in a common hall between the two bedrooms making for a less than ideal layout. The first room is low ceilinged and somewhat dark owing to the fact that it has one small window facing the stone stairway. Fine for sleeping, but no great views and not a terrible lot of space. The second room is a little bigger, but was constantly damp - where was the water coming from? The bathrooms were fairly small and needed the same updating that the others had.
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| The blue room with its one small window and walls made out of a couple different kinds of paneling. |
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| Bathroom number one. Not bad, except that shadowy spot over on the left is literally just an empty alcove. Good for staring into the abyss while using the toilet. |
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| Bathroom number two, a little smaller, but not much worse than the rest. |
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| The second bedroom, note the multi colored walls and the eternally damp floor. |
We had decided almost immediately to rent the rooms together, using the smaller, darker room as the bedroom, and the larger room as a sitting area. The suite would be able to sleep up to four guests. Our original idea had been to update one of the bathrooms the same way we had done the ones upstairs, and then close off the other, with the thought that one day, when we had the time and money, we could convert the two bathrooms into one bigger bathroom. In the meantime, we could use some paint and new to fixture to, uh, wait, what's going on down there?
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We have neither time nor money, yet the shower is being torn out. Not shown: the sledgehammer the handy Innkeeper used to tear it down by hand.
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| More tearing out of walls. On the plus side, we found the source of the water - a leaky pipe. I'm sorry, did I say "a leak pipe"? I meant, all the leaky pipes. As in every pipe down there was dripping in some way, shape or form. All the paneling in both rooms will be removed due to water damage. |
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| Breaking down walls between the bathrooms. |
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| The toilet here will be replaced and a double vanity put in beside it. |
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Completely demolished - both bathrooms are stripped down to studs and cement.
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So what's next? Well, honestly we have only the vaguest idea. We do know that this will be involved, though:
Keep following along on Facebook and at redleafriverinn.com!
