More than one year ago we decided to purchase this old house. It took three months just to get a clear title. Then it took months to find a contractor, to create and recreate plans. Finally, the city, the inspector & the contractor are all on the same page. The Inn is finally starting to be rebuilt.
Reframinig-complete
It looks like we’ve been AWOL for a while. Rest assured we’ve been loudly working in the backgrounds. Sometimes, actually all the time, your plans will change when remodeling and or building a house. Maybe it’s the ordinances cities bestow on its people to ensure safety, maybe logistics won’t work, and maybe, just maybe it’s in really bad shape and your plans change all together.
That brings us to setback number one. The building inspector comes in and says I would suggest getting a second opinion on the backside of the house. I think it needs to come out for safety. The contractor, Holley and Betty, all agree that’s a wise decision. Now that changes things, luckily Betty’s daughter Heidi is not only a designer but she is pretty good at floorplans. She did a real quick look through, does some measurements and redoes the layout to include the new addition that now has to be built. It’s a beautiful plan, but you have to wait to see it. We now have a new plan, it gets approved, and it’s decided we need to salvage as much as possible. The contractor is deconstructing the backside of the house and discovers it is actually really unsafe and the entire backside has to come down. With the wind let out of our sails a bit, we pull up the anchor and sail forward. We completely tear the backside away, there is nothing left but dirt. In doing this it’s discovered the siding is bad, it has to go, and we are left with a skeleton of a house. A shell in all its glorious brown tones weathered by 100 plus years of seasons, people, and well its environment. If you’re a local you may drive by and think, oh goodness they are really tearing the place down. In reality, we are simply making Bessie’s Inn one of the top places to stay in NWA, let alone being the best place to stay in Madison County.
Now we have a completely blank canvas (no pun intended Betty). We marked the footings today. The granbabies helped, and they are loving this project as much as we are.
A few last things, we found some old newspapers from 1900, and 1901. Not local papers, but neat nonetheless. It will make great decor when the house is finished. Our contractor Todd is always climbing and tearing down things. We can’t wait to show you more of his work. Finally, for those of you who don’t know, Betty makes canvas products, from TEEPEE’s to small bags, she does it.
Check back often, we hope to have a projection date soon. Until then, happy trails my friends.
On the last weekend of winter, we had the trees trimmed in preparation for deconstruction of the inside and prep for the murals on the back of Fuel Zone. The dream is slowly becoming a reality. Holly and Betty have had hundreds of ideas and conversations about the Inn. Some work, and some don’t .
Our goal is to keep the charm and history of the house intact as aesthetically possible. It’s been fun to find what outsiders have to say about our little hill town. We are often described as quaint, or hippy friendly, and a personal favorite, Mayberry-esque.
This review of Huntsville for the most part, is pretty accurate, and quite comical.
“Madison County
It'd be easy enough to reach for Eureka Springs or Fayetteville in this space, but instead let's drive a half-hour away from either of them, almost off the grid entirely. Anyone driving through the hollers of woody, brambly northwest Arkansas would be forgiven for assuming the place was lousy with Deliverance-grade rednecks or can-hoarding survivalist types. Nah, mostly it's just folks who are getting by in a simple way, probably growing their own tomatoes and corn and green beans, likely playing their own mandolins and guitars and banjos, for sure growing their own weed (though they'd still call it dope), and allergic to the thought of wearing a single stitch of clothing when jumping into the Kings River.” -- Sam Eifling, Thrillist Travel editor
Thanks Sam, but these days we do wear clothes….those deep fried green tomatoes haven’t been nice to us.
Stay tuned for updates. We are waiting on permits, and for the weather to warm up a bit more. Hopefully we can get started soon. If you have any stories or pictures of Bessie’s Inn. Please send them to brandiknowsthings@gmail.com
Prepping the white walls for murals.
A beautiful view of the sycamore being trimmed neatly for better growth, as well making the home a bit more eye pleasing
Another angle of the sycamore.
Holly holding the chair down while watching the trees being trimmed.
We bought the house in the summer of 2018, began taking assessments of all the tasks needed to complete this huge project. Meeting with the city planning commission, different contractors, neighbors, marketers, bankers, and finally our family and friends. It has been a learning experience for sure.
While we haven’t started actual de-construction, the plans are ready to begin. We plan to turn this early century, 2nd oldest home in Huntsville into a quaint retreat for you and your family, or a group of friends looking to get away.
Huntsville is a small town with a population of just under 2600 people. Our county didn’t have a single stop light until early 2015, it was the talk of the town for weeks. We have a town square that has antique shops, thrift stores, boutiques, salons, and rumor has it a new restaurant is coming. (It’s the small things that make the locals excited.) We also have some award winning restaurants, and attractions locally, as well as Walmart and Harps Grocery in case you are interested in cooking your own meals.
Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The county is composed off smaller towns like Kingston and St. Paul, and smaller communities like Wesley, Marble, Pettigrew, Forum-Alabam, just to name a few.
If you look at the “Why you should stay here” tab, you will find all the things locally to do, and see. We can’t wait to keep you updated of the progress. Check back often.
