Here she is! This historic house is our latest project that is one that you can enjoy, too! For anyone wanting to embark on an AirBnb experience in Columbia, Missouri, now you can see firsthand this beautifully charming home that was recently purchased and restored. With lots of love and care, you can enjoy this entire six-room home, here. So what did this home look like before the project began? Take a closer look!
| before |
Walking in for the first time, I was excited to finally see what the interior of the house I had driven past for nearly 20 years. I was immediately struck by two things. 1. The amount of beautiful, rich wood that adorned the walls, beams and built-ins in each room 2. The oversized stone hearth that commanded attention, original to the house that was immaculate and gorgeous. From there, each room had its elements that quickly spoke to me and thus the creative process began!
| the process |
The key to making this historic house sing was to bring in true vintage pieces that would further highlight the charming elements of the home. I brought in 22 loaded bins of "stuff" altogether and placed five rugs of varying sizes. I loved the touch of live plants that J.D. and Jessie had already started hanging and adding to the rooms as I instantly feel at home in a place with live plants. The key question was: what are details that make a house feel like a home? Slowly but surely, a hodge-podge of items found their way into their respective places and a story was told that highlighted the rich history and charm mixing old and new.
Along with plants, I love original art so I curated as many signed pieces of acrylic landscapes in my search to bring life to the walls throughout the home. Mixed metals for the beds, picture frames and bowls added warmth and complimented the wood floors. Those floors are truly immaculate and creak to showcase their history and make you instantly feel at home. Antique stores, flea markets and stores that had delightful books, handwritten letters and notable decorative items became my pastime to complete this once-in-a-lifetime project.
New owners Jessie and J.D. brought the brass beds and bedding to each room so it was my job to simply add to their vision that was in place. It was such a pleasure to see how each room had their own identity and story that we built piece by piece, over a Covid-influenced period of time. The front door was painted a fresh new paint color, a blush sofa will be a secondary install that will be AMAZING to add life and color to the living room and the sunroom table was a stunning find from Jessie and J.D. that was sealed to ensure durability for the guests of the home.
The living room got a fresh coat of paint to give that space a bit more light, so Wickham Gray was the chosen color to compliment the fireplace stone and the ceiling was given an update to help reflect light from the shuttered windows. The piece of art in the middle above, was left for Jessie during their improvements, from a woman who made that in her 8th grade school year, over two decades ago with a handwritten note for her explaining the wonderful memory of making the art and wanted the new owner to have it. Wow! This home finds visitors who simply stop by to explore and share their memories of the home so turning it into an AirBnB really is in the homes' true nature. With months of procurement and styling, here is the final reveal of the home now available to stay in!
The History of Hearth & Hobbit
This house started its life in 1911 as a 2 bedroom log cabin which is still there inside the added onto home which is now 3 bedrooms and has two full baths. The south bedroom used to be a school room for a small girls seminary during WWII. The original school bell is still in the courtyard! The current owner has tried to maintain as much of the original charm as possible including some of the original open hearth is a beautiful reminder of the age and history of Columbia's most beloved home.
The house has been called the Gingerbread House or the Fairy Tale House. You may recall it as the Herb and Betty Brown house. The couple owned it from 1957-2010. But the gardens were planted by Nadine Coleman who lived in it from 1941-1957. The house was modified into the sweet cottage you see today by Blanche and Arch McHarg sometime around 1935. The house started out as a log cabin in 1911 and in 2004 it was named to Columbia’s Notable Properties list. An in-depth article about the Hansel and Gretel home in this article is certainly worth reading!
Follow along as this home makes new memories one guest at a time on their IG page @hearthandhobbit.
Comments