Hi Friends,
Eric and I have have our hands in a few very exciting projects that are about to come to fruition. There are three MAJOR things that I have to share with you. Because it is so much, I decided that I am going to tell you about them one at a time, to not overload you (or me).
First, we have finally completed a 5 year labor of love, the Roots & River Guest House.
When we bought our home in Brunswick, 7 years ago, the little green house next door was in super rough shape. At night, from our back porch, we could see into the kitchen at the back of the house. A light was always on and there were "clean" dishes in the drying rack, but no one ever came or left. We started asking neighbors and learned that there had been a lovely woman who lived in the house for years. However, she had moved in with her son and daughter 12 years prior, and since then, the house had just sat. The front and back porches were severely rotted and falling apart. There was moldy cardboard in a window where clearly water was leaking in. We wanted to save it!
One snowy day, a man was out front shoveling the sidewalks. It turned out to be the son of the previous resident. I tried to talk to him about our desire to buy and renovate the house. He was not interested in talking or selling. The following summer, the daughter was there cleaning out the house and I learned that her mother had just passed and they were going to sell the house at auction. We told her that we wanted the house and asked them to get an appraisal and skip the auction.
One month later, we were signing closing papers with a realtor in our dining room! That afternoon, we were pulling down 70s wood paneling to reveal some partially crumbly plaster walls, old wainscoting, and ancient wall paper. The journey of renovation was long and profoundly in-depth. We pulled down 4 layers of ceiling in the dining room, had the house completely rewired for electric, put in new HVAC, windows, and siding, repaired and gave a skim coat to every wall in the house, refinished the original hard pine, and painted every square inch. Now the Roots & River Guest House is finished and is a little shiny gem of W. Potomac Street.
Though my husband, Eric, did much of the work, I want to thank so many people who helped up make this possible, like yoga-student-friends Pricilla and Frank, Cindy and Eric, and Judy who believed in our vision and fronted us the capital to get started on the electrical work. I am grateful for the blood, sweat and tears that our brother and sister-in-law, Greg and Liberty shed, with rebuilding the porch, interior walls, windows, drywalling, tiling and so much more. You are amazing! We had many friends who came to lend a hand with mudding like Dan, Dave, Tom, Jenny, Patty and of course Marianne who has the most beautifully mudded corner in all the land! We couldn’t wish for better friends. I have to give a shout out to Eric too! This man can truly do just about anything. Between his Virgo nature, his mathematical mind, and a lot of Youtube videos, he did everything from drywall, to tile work, to putting every last piece of siding, gutter, and trim work in this house.
To tie this around to the beginning of the story - remember the “son” who wasn’t interested in talking or selling? Well, his name is Steve, and he actually has become a dear friend who has stopped by to watch and cheer on the process. He’s turned into a gift in our lives and wellspring of knowledge about the house and Brunswick history.
Now the house is ready for guests. Please know that if you would like a few days to retreat in Brunswick, have a place to stay for a weekend yoga immersion/training at the studio, or want to ride/hike along the Potomac River, or visit historic sites, breweries and wineries, we have a home away from home for you!
If you are on Facebook and love before and after pictures and would like to see the the timeline of our progress these last 4 years, drop me an email with your Facebook info and I will invite you into our group where you can scroll back to the beginning. The transformation has been truly incredible!
I am sure that our little house next door will be a haven for guests for years to come. Its just one more step towards the rejuvenation of the Brunswick and our vision for the downtown. Shine Brunswick Shine!
Below are few “before and after” of the sweet guest house’s transformation.
Remember - the guest house is just ONE of our THREE big announcements. I will write more next week!
