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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997 Dec 04 - Newspaper ArticleFormer Carriage House Converted ro Bed & thi Breakfast _As'1on By Lisa Shilo Chase) process," said Mrs. YARMOUTHPORT—In an Flanagan. The process to reno- ffort to capture more upscale vate the 1,600-square-foot barn -avelers and increase their prof- began in 1996 and concluded a :s, Liberty Hill Inn owners Beth couple of months ago. It involved nd Jack Flanagan have convert- several steps. d their 172-year-old historic Because the bed and breakfast ,am into four new guest rooms. is on the National Register of With this expansion, the bed Historic Places, the Flanagans nd breakfast now houses nine had to get approval for the pro- ;uest rooms, one of which is ject from the Old King's iandicapped accessible. Highway Regional Historic "We were faced with a tough District committee. lecision," explained Mr. After receiving approval to 71anagan. "Do we just let the convert the barn, the Flanagans yam fall down or do we preserve submitted their site plan to the t. We felt this made the most town's fire, water and health ense in terms of preserving its departments. After getting a baracter and continuing to help thumbs -up from these depart - is run this small business. ments, they went before the "We told the local planning Yarmouth Zoning Board of roard if you Appeals, want to re- which granted b them a vari- �erve s am is a historic )arn, then you )ay for the -enovation. If we pay for the •enovation, .hen the Iwelling will )ecome addi- tional guest -ooms." M r s Flanagan added that dur- ing the last ieveral years both she and her husband have had to turn away guests on numerous The newly renovated barn turned bed and breakfast, The Liberty Hill Inn, in Yarmouthport. Staff Photo by Robert Barboza ance and a special permit to change the use of the barn. The final step was obtaining a building per- mit. They select- ed a local inte- rior designer and used New England Home Improvements for the renova- tion work. "We learned they did a won- derful job on another historic barn and heard occasions due to full occupancy. "We knew we had a need, and •we said what better way to meet it. We aren't taking additional land, we are better utilizing the space we have," she said as she joined the conversation in the main house's living room. The main house was built in 1825. Mrs. Flanagan said they are hoping to attract more upscale travelers from various parts of this country and tap into the growing market of European vacationers. Currently, 90 percent of the inn's guests come from various parts of Massachusetts. "At one point this summer, our five rooms were filled with Germans, so we would like to expand our marketing into Germany, Italy and Ireland," she said. "Those coming from over- seas book ahead of time, are well-heeled, stay longer, and spend more money in our restau- rants, shops and antiques stores. We also find the honeymoon market to be a steady one." With the additional profits, the Flanagans hope to hire a full-time manager, and add chambermaid staff. The inn was already mak- ing a small profit before the barn renovation project, according to Mrs. Flanagan. Mrs. Flanagan said the barn was originally a carriage house and a stable. Water for the horses was supplied by a large metal sink with a pump that was con- nected to an underground canal, called a sluice, which collected rain water from the roof. Funding for the barn renova- tion project comes from a sizable loan from the Cape Cod Five, which sent out an inspector to review each major step of the remodeling process. "We had no trouble getting our loan or going through the conver- positive comments about them from people in the community," said Mrs. Flanagan. "We are pleased with their work for us." "They were able to preserve about 20 percent of the original structure, including some of the ceiling beams," interjected Mr. Flanagan. "But (they) had to replace the floor, the roof, a cou- ple of the exterior walls and all of the interior walls. We had to install smoke detectors and a sep- tic system as well. "We restored some old furni- ture, such as chairs, and covered them with Waverly fabrics. We also purchased white and yellow wicker furniture from the Christmas Tree Shops and other chairs from Bon Repose in Hyannis. All of the floral pattern bedding designs for the guest rooms were bought locally as well." Each guest room has a built-in corner gas fireplace that is oper- ated by a timer on the wall, and a built-in television with adjacent full bathroom. The walls of the guest rooms have been painted in light soft shades of yellow and pink, and the fourth is now deep green. A couple of the rooms have small pictures hanging on the walls, and a handmade braid- ed rug greets guests at the front door. One first -floor bathroom is completely handicapped accessi- ble. The second bath has a whirlpool for two, and the sec- ond -floor bathrooms have con- ventional shower/bath combina- tions. Each new guest room has been named after a former owner of the property. The Liberty Hill Inn has oper- ated as a bed and breakfast since 1983. The Flanagans have owned it since 1986.