By Mi-Ling Stone Poole
\nPublished in 2003 but worth posting!<\/p>\n
Would you like to get the feel of a bed and breakfast in your home?<\/p>\n
First of all you might want to check with the Oklahoma Bed and Breakfast Association and visit a few of the establishments in\u00a0 \u00a0Guthrie to get an idea of how you want your home to look.<\/p>\n
I visited Summerhill Bed and Breakfast in Guthrie, Oklahoma. It\u2019s located at 411 E. Springer. The owner is Harriet Lerner. She renovated a 108-year-old home into a B&B. It took her two years to restore this home to its original grandeur. The home belonged to a then-prominent business man who owned a coal mine in the Guthrie area.<\/p>\n
Lerner acted as the contractor and did a lot of the work herself. She decorated the entire B&B herself and personally made most of the comforters on the beds.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe house had been totally stripped down\u201d Lerner said. She hunted for windows and doors in antique shops and salvage yards in order to try to create a somewhat authentic replica of the home. \u201cI used old windows that I found on the curb to make my greenhouse.\u201d Lerner said.<\/p>\n
She used a tone on tone effect with white fabric and brown walls in the front parlor. \u00a0It was very dramatic and soothing. All around\u00a0the inn she\u00a0added chandeliers and authentic furnishings from the period. In\u00a0the\u00a0upstairs she utilized an attic space and made an unusual bathroom. With a claw-footed tub and another chandelier hanging over the tub for a romantic look.<\/p>\n
The overall theme of this home is romantic with lots of white in the bedrooms.<\/p>\n
When you consider decorating your home to resemble a B&B you might want to decide what type of ambiance you want to create.<\/p>\n
Here are a couple of themes that you might want to consider for your home:<\/p>\n
Romantic honeymoon theme<\/strong> \u2013 This can be achieved by adding large fluffy robes to hooks in your bathroom. Use lots of fresh flowers and roses throughout the home. Add soft and elegant fabrics like satins and silks to add romance.<\/p>\n Spa and retreat theme<\/strong> \u2013 Concentrate on sprucing up the bathrooms. Add oversized tubs and double showers with natural stone to your bathroom area. You might add a room just for meditation. The key to this style is total relaxation and pampering. Have lots of bubble bath and oils on hand and stock your bathroom with lots of skin care and spa revitalization treatments. You might want to add a massage chair to the corner of the room and light candles that promote relaxation.<\/p>\n Country cottage theme<\/strong> \u2013 Add checks and floral fabrics for a country theme. If you have an outdoor porch dress it up and add rocking chairs, swings and lots of country folk-art.<\/p>\n Go to the antique stores and buy old pottery and appliances to give your home the feel of an old country store.<\/p>\n Victorian theme<\/strong> \u2013 Create a parlor for your family to gather in. Use antique furniture and reupholster it to add an authentic look. Use vibrant colors from the Victorian era. Add lots of chandeliers and light fixtures to add drama. Apply Victorian styled wall paper<\/p>\n throughout the home to blend in with the theme.<\/p>\n Nostalgic theme <\/strong>– If your home is located near an old historic area you might want to \u00a0consider blending the d\u00e9cor with that era. For example if you are near an old railroad station consider adding a train room or other nostalgic items to create the feeling that you have checked in anInn at the station.<\/p>\n Whichever theme you chose all of the guestrooms or rooms should have a feeling of comfort. Waking up to a steaming cup of coffee with freshly baked breads, cookies and pastries on the table adds to the charm and can give your home the feeling of a B&B. Conversing with your family in a parlor or a great room can give you the feeling of a B&B. Anything is possible and it\u2019s only limited by your imagination. Use the tips above to create your own B&B comfort Zone.<\/p>\n For more information on B&B\u2019s go to BBonline.com.<\/p>\n Photos: Mi-Ling Stone Poole <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Mi-Ling Stone Poole Published in 2003 but worth posting! Would you like to get the feel of a bed and breakfast in your home? …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2449,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[810,897,898,123,900,899,648],"class_list":["post-2440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ask-mi-ling","tag-antique","tag-b-b","tag-bed-breakfast","tag-design","tag-greenhouse","tag-guthrie","tag-oklahoma"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/mi-ling.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/summerhill-Bed-and-Breakfast-e1334521025648.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mi-ling.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mi-ling.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mi-ling.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mi-ling.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mi-ling.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2440"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/mi-ling.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2440\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2648,"href":"https:\/\/mi-ling.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2440\/revisions\/2648"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mi-ling.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mi-ling.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mi-ling.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mi-ling.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nCheckered brown and white toppers on the window treatment add a unique and comfortable feel to the Summerhill B&B.<\/p>\n