European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 8, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse For years bed and breakfast inns in the United states have offered the cosiness of Down Home accommodations amid Antiques and handcrafted furnishings at rates that Many travellers find More affordable than those of hotels. Now b & b s Are playing an increasingly important role in saving old american houses. By James Eja Hron new York times from new Jersey to California in Urban areas Middle sized towns and Oul Mohe Way villages b & 8 proprietors Are refurbishing and refurbishing dilapidated mansions an once opulent town houses in some neighbourhoods according to experts in historic preservation b & b s Are doing As much As landmark designations to Rescue old buildings. Nationwide just How much they Are doing is impossible to calculate. Terry Borger author of two b & b guidebooks published by Prentice Hall said if ,000 6 4 b s Are operating around the nation and new ones Are opening every to Only. Bui no one keeps a scorecard of How Many innkeepers have Hung out the vacancy sign after putting a House through a lop to Bottom renovation with fresh plaster and coat after coat of pastel pain. People used to Call them while elephants said Patricia Poore editor of the old House journal a Magazine that is the Bible of historic House restoration the characterization was Apt she said because they re big and when you pain them White which everybody did Between 1945-1970 they look like an elephant Wilh turrets and saggy porches and Bay Unhul b & b owners started snapping them up. She said the easiest alternative to demolition was to put a storefront on the first floor Wilh Neon signs and a commercial tenant. By contrast. Poore said neighbors Welcome b & b s As a perfect Way of making use of while elephant alter sprucing up their while elephants and showering them with a Rainbow of paint some b & b proprietors give them names thai sound British despite their resolutely american victorian decors. There is be olde Shelford House inc Loverl Ile Call Wilh a Surrey thai shuttles guests to Sonoma county vineyards and a Grandfather clock Hal rally did belong to the owner s Grandfather. Other b & b s have More than a Grandfather clock Joy Pete Smiley operates the studio of John f. Peto a b & b in the Island Heights n.j., House where her Grandfather painted portraits and landscapes As Lor the second 6 in a b & b. Some inns do Little cooking a croissant and Coffee May be All Hal is offered for breakfast while others do a lot. At the Slon Gate inn in Nunica mich., for example Cleo Ludwick serves homemade jams and Blueberry my films made with blueberries freshly picked from the Garden. B & b s Are beloved by travellers who shun the impersonal atmosphere of Large hotels. Hotels have become increasingly plastic looking and like cookie cutters Berger said. When you go to Abb it s a personal experience. B & b s not Only save turn of the Century houses but the Lurn Ohhet Century Way of Lile other b 4 b lovers say that the owners personal touches acid to the Appeal of these comfortable inns such As Shelburne farms Al Shelbume it seme proprietors include afternoon Sherry or Tea others offer Yoal cheese made on the property or herbal cosmetics made in the Kitchen. Old fashioned Charmia present in fireplaces Patchwork quilts and canopied Beds. Lace curtains Are a b & b Staple. If not a trademark. Whether they Are furnished from an attic or an auction living rooms with Antiques real or close imitations Are what b & b guests value. Thomas j. Colin editor of historic preservation the Magazine of the National Trust for historic preservation explained that although such furnishings May not be accurate to the period they make people feel Good and help them gel into the spirit of the some proprietors still worry More about the appearance of the bed sheets than of the balance Sheet. But compared with the trend several Yeara ago fewer b & b a seem to be opening As mom and pop Tow Flo hous Shelbume Fame in Vermont As it Hatmon Otto and Owron Mirilyn Tyjai cd by i in it Tan Gnu. Page 14 the stars and stripes wed esd
