I have always loved old houses. And new ones, for that matter.
I suspect it’s to do with my mom. We grew up touring historic homes whenever the opportunity arose. And, if it’d been awhile since we had the chance, there were usually model homes somewhere we could to wander through. (I’m sure that’s a Realtor’s worst nightmare – the people who just want to see the house and have zero intention of buying. But fun fact: I still do it. If we’re driving and don’t have anything pressing, my boys and I will often stop to tour new model homes.)
I love to imagine what it would be like to live in that house. Where I’d put my sofa. How many people I’d have to hire to clean it.
Almost exactly three years ago (in June it’ll be three), I stumbled across a Facebook post from another writer (who I haven’t actually met in person, but who’s in the same state as me so we connected somehow). She had just been down to tour Swannanoa in the southwest of Virginia. The pictures she posted were beautiful. And my hubby was out of town on a two-week work conference. So one Saturday morning, I looked at the boys as they were busy pulling the couch cushions off to make a huge mosh pit and said, “Let’s take a road trip.”
I called up my sister and invited her along. She’s usually good for a road trip. And, had cancer not already robbed my mom of her ability to leave the house, she would’ve been there in the front seat. As it was, she said, “Take lots of pictures, have fun, and stop by on the way back to show me.” Because Swannanoa is one she’ never visited (which blew my mind at the time, because usually if there was something to tour, Mom knew about it and took us there.)
In a little over two hours, we pulled up the driveway and were greeted by this screen of cedars. But the peeks at the marble mansion behind were enough for me to know we’d uncovered a little gem. We scooted around them to park and got our first eyefull of the house. (That’s the title image – the front “porch” — apparently I didn’t take a wide shot of the whole shebang.)
And while you could look at it and see the grandeur of years past…the poor old girl was looking saggy around the edges and in desperate need of love. (And money. Because let’s face it, it would take a lot of that to make a dent.)
Inside were details like this ceiling in what had to be the dining room. And as we walked through the first floor, I met Deidre McIntyre. I didn’t know her name yet. But I knew she was a woman who understood houses and renovation and that she would walk through the rooms of this house and realize she had the skills, the time, and the money to make it better. To make this house what it should be and help her get a fresh start, too.
A tour of the gardens, with all their lovely but not working fountains made it obvious that Deidre was going to need some help with her project. Turns out, she has a brother, Duncan, who happens to be a whiz with landscaping. But Deidre’s sister, Claire, had already dug up a woman who specialized in Gilded Age gardens and invited her to help as well.
Oops.
(Is it more oops or less when it turns out Anna – the expert – went to school with Duncan? And they didn’t have the best of relationships while they were there.)
Most of the plaster walls were damaged like this from time and neglect. And while those aren’t horribly difficult fixes, the artwork? That was going to need an expert.
An artist.
And along came Azure Hewitt. A little eccentric. Perfectly content to march to the beat of her own didgeridoo (because drums? Those are way too conventional.) She could fix (or recreate) the paintings, no problem, but her life? It was in for some realignment, too.
And when the house and grounds were fixed up, it could start to be used as a wedding venue and Christian retreat center. They even turned the random tower on the property into an Air B&B (or couples can rent it for their wedding night if they want.) That last idea? It was suggested by Sean Fitzgerald–a wedding planner who knew Peacock Hill was the perfect venue for one of his brides, Larissa.
Too bad her groom didn’t show.
Sean? Well, he tried to be upset about that.
Obviously, if you’ve read the Peacock Hill books, you know I took some liberties. The descriptions aren’t exact–but hopefully they’re familiar enough that you can see the inspiration.
There are two more books to come in the series–both will release later this year. I’ll be sad to leave Peacock Hill–but it’s nice to know I can always take a two-ish hour road trip and see the real thing again if I need a fix.
If you’re new to Peacock Hill, you can start the series with A Heart Restored.
Do you enjoy visiting old houses? Tell me about your favorite. Not a fan? Why not? One person who comments before midnight Eastern on Wednesday the 24th will get their pick of Peacock Hill ebooks (or anything in my catalog if you’ve already read all the PH books!)
P.S. Because I mention it a lot in the Peacock Hill books, and I know it’s hard to visualize…this is the “lion head fountain.”
Elizabeth Maddrey is a semi-reformed computer geek and homeschooling mother of two who lives in the suburbs of Washington D.C. When she isn’t writing, Elizabeth is a voracious consumer of books. She loves to write about Christians who struggle through their lives, dealing with sin and receiving God’s grace on their way to their own romantic happily ever after.
I love historical houses and giveaways!
I love to house shop too, lol, or at least I used to….have not done it in years!
Hi Elizabeth! I enjoy reading your Peacock Hill series with intriguing characters. On road trips we enjoy touring old homes or visiting open air museums, which feature buildings from the past. My middle son likes to flip older homes. Best wishes.
Hi Elizabeth- how fun:) I have to confess that I have not toured many old/historic homes, but it does sound interesting. I do enjoy looking at model homes, my boys not so much though:)
Blessings:)
So cool!
Really it’s a perfect combination, isn’t it?
Ha! I’m glad I’m not alone. My friends tell me I’m odd for enjoying it. We can be odd together. ;)
Oh how fun for your middle son! I have a dream about doing that – but the reality is so much work, I’m probably better off just writing about it. :)
Open air museums are the best.
The boys tend to say, ” Really, mom? Again?”
But hey, I’m driving so they have to deal. :)
They do enjoy old houses a little more – I think it sparks their imagination.
You should go down some summer day, Toni! It’s a nice drive ?
I love the Peacock Hill series and it was fun to read about your inspiration for it. I recently went to Newport, RI and toured several homes there which were amazing.
Newport is on my wish list. I think we might get to go in June – hubby has a work trip to Boston and I’m thinking we’ll tag along. :)
I love hearing the stories of the people who lived in the home. I haven’t toured any recently, but last summer I got to tour Mount Harmon in Maryland. Have you ever been there?
I haven’t thought about doing this. Probably because I don’t know of any “tourable” old homes available to see. Sounds like fun.
I love looking at houses! Old, new, it doesn’t matter. I haven’t done it for a while though. I started feeling guilty about going to open houses, knowing I had no intention of buying.
Ooh. I haven’t! I’ll have to look it up!
There are usually a few around – it’s lots of fun if you can find one :)
Haha! I don’t go to open houses for the same reason – but I figure with models they have to be expecting lookie lous.
When I homeschooled my kids we went to all sorts of historic homes! But when I look at huge homes, I wonder how much time will it take to clean all those rooms and bathrooms!
As far as looking at model homes, I am far more likely to walk through the homes for sale in my neighborhood that are the same model as mine. This gives me a chance to see what they have done and get new ideas for my own house.
The cleaning always makes me wonder too! I try to remind myself they probably had staff.
And what a fun idea to get ideas from the neighborhood ?
Thanks for the tour. I also love to visit houses. We’ve lived in a couple of neighborhoods where houses were being built. We would often go on a walk in the evening and look at the houses under construction.
When we first moved to our neighborhood it was still being built and we did enjoy going through during construction to see how things were shaping up.
This sounds soooo good!! I love touring historic homes! A friend and I stayed at a B & B in Quincy, FL, to go look at some of the homes there. All of them were privately owned, so we couldn’t go inside, but we did the walking tour!! I’ve toured some in Savannah and other places, though. Stayed in one that was built in the 1800’s a few times, once in Quincy and another in Americus, GA, the Americus Garden Inn. I’ve also gone on home tours just to see what the houses were like inside!
Thanks for sharing the inspiration for one of my favorite series! I’m another who enjoys touring houses — old, new, doesn’t matter. :)
Savannah is such a great place to walk around and look at houses!
The annual tour of homes is always a fun afternoon around here – lots of new builds to look at.
You’re welcome! It’s so fun to know I’m not alone.
I’m not the biggest fan of touring homes, although I did attend a local event several years ago where I was able to tour 5-7 new houses. It was intersesting to see how different they were even though they were on the same street.
I don’t think I’ve ever toured an old house, but I like the idea of it. I also like the idea of imagining a dilapidated property completely restored, then utilized as a business. I can’t wait to check out The Peacock Hill series!
There really can be some fun differences even with homes that look similar on the outside.
Thanks for commenting!
I hope you’re able to get a chance to tour one sometime!
Great post, Beth–I loved seeing the pictures. We do have the best job in the world, don’t we?
What fun to see the pictures that inspired Peacock Hill!! We’ve had fun touring some old mansions around Lake Tahoe, which are now in state parks. And for our anniversary most years we go to a B&B in Pacific Grove, California, that was built in the 1880s. Gosby House Inn is such a fun place to stay! My mom and I used to go walk through houses being built in the area, and now when new houses have open house, I like to go and see what they’re like after watching them be built. I just tell the realtor I’m a neighbor and they don’t seem to mind at all.
I have not visited old houses, but would love to tour houses too. I’m one who was always walking through houses being built (as a child) to see how big the rooms would be when closed in. I’m still curious, but don’t generally go onto house construction sites anymore. Figured I might get in trouble, lol. Love the Peacock Hill series and am looking forward to the 2 new additions this year!
I haven’t had much of an opportunity to do this but I love the idea! Now that I’m retired I hope to do more of it.
I enjoy touring homes and love to see old homes restored, but I have no desire to actually restore one myself.
We really do!
Oh! I’d love to stay in an old house made into a B&B. That would be so fun. :)
I’ll admit to being occasionally nervous when we looked at the under construction houses myself. Now I stick to the models.
I hope you get to!
I think it might be fun…until I really think through how much work(and how expensive) it would be. :D
I love driving by old houses and imagining the stories they could tell.
Love them! Love the history behind them, even the everyday mundane ones.
Yay! It really is so fun to imagine.
Yes!!
Thanks for sharing how you’ve come up with the idea of Peacock Hill. I’ve read the first few books and loved it. I don’t really love the touring old house part, but I enjoy reading about renovations. My dad is an architect so I’ve visited many places with him when I was a kid. Some of fun and other less than fun: once I ended up needing a tetanus shot after getting a bad scratch from old nails and once my dad had to explain to the cops I wasn’t trying to rob a bank (clearly), I’ve just fallen on my butt (after running around too much?!) and broke a glass door (the bank was next door to the renovation place).
Oh my! Renovations can definitely be dangerous (glad you were ok – tetanus shots hurt but not as much as tetanus!)
Definitely not as bad. I was a kid though, hardly remember this, but my mom tells the story every so often.. and then I still let my dad take my 2ya to work once in a while. :P
I love to tour historic homes. When we visit Charleston and Savannah we often seek out house tours.
Those are great places to see historic homes!
I love old houses, unfortunately New Zealand is not old enough to have many or that old so UK is my favourite. I love Burghley House – mind blowing!
I haven’t read this series but just went on my local library website and reccommended them to buy the series (fingers crossed they do so I can read them soon).