If you’ve been following along, I’ve been sharing pictures from a trip The Hubs and I took to Laurel, Mississippi. It was, honestly, as close to a spur of the moment decision you can make when you’re talking about a four-hour drive and a reservation. Meaning, we’ve talked about visiting Laurel since the show started because we’re huge fans of Ben’s and Erin’s, and, suddenly, The Hubs was like “Let’s just go.”
He looked up bed and breakfasts in the area and landed on the Wisteria House. Because check-in wasn’t until late afternoon, we decided to drive around and get a feel for the town. As we were driving, I spotted a beautiful lavender Victorian peeking out from the trees and screamed “STOP THE CAR!” Purple is my favorite color, so I did get just a wee bit excited. Additionally, my favorite home styles are Victorian and Craftsman, so when I see either, I get giddy.
While I was busy snapping away, The Hubs was standing beside his car looking around when he noticed the sign in the yard of the purple house. Serendipity. The house that captured my attention also happened to be the bed and breakfast where we registered! *swoon*
The Wisteria House was built in 1901 for Silas Wright Gardiner, one of Laurel’s founders. He, along with George S. Gardiner {his brother} and Lauren C. Eastman {his brother-in-law}, purchased a small sawmill and established the Eastman-Gardiner Lumber Company. The lumber company would go on to become Laurel’s largest and most successful lumber company.
Wisteria was purchased in December 1972 by the Schneider family and became a bed and breakfast in 2004. Peter William Schneider purchased St. Joe Brick in 1891 and, it is still owned by some of the Schnieder family. If you saw the pilot episode of Home Town, you’ll see that Laurel Bricks were filmed in the home’s courtyard. Our host, Mr. Schneider, made us the most delicious breakfast on the last day of our stay. During breakfast, he told us the history of the home and shared his experience with filming the TV show.
THE VERANDA
As with most bed and breakfasts, the owners live in the home, while guests rent out bedrooms in the home. While we could use the front entry, we entered from the back, because that offered the most direct route to our bedroom. To get to the bedroom where we stayed, we had to walk up a set of stairs and pass through the balcony. While I didn’t get pictures, the balcony looks out over a small yard for guest parking. The furniture is your typical white wicker lounge furniture with an aquatic theme. Fortunately, the day we arrived was a nice breezy day, so we were able to sit out on the balcony that evening and listen to the sounds {insects and the occasional cat mew}.
THE SUNROOM
The Sunroom serves as a pass through to the bedrooms and dining room. In this area, there’s a counter where the hosts have a coffee bar and small fridge for guest use. There’s also a table with booklet about the history of the home and recommendations for places to eat.
THE BEDROOM: Silas Gardiner Suite
A sweet little sitting area in front of a cozy fireplace. I’m not sure if it’s still functional or not, but it’s a nice touch because I’m a sucker for bedroom fireplace.
We stayed in the Silas Gardiner Suite which featured a king bed, a single bed, and a private bath with a tub/shower. This room was the original bedroom of Silas and Louisa, his wife. And, y’all, I was meant to stay in this room — there were monkeys on the pillowcase!!
THE BATHROOM
I wanted to share some of the details of the bathroom because it has a bit of a Bavarian vibe which fits with the German heritage of the current owners.
THE DINING ROOM
I wish I’d taken a picture of our breakfast; it was so delicious. Mr. Schneider made a casserole with homemade biscuits with Mayhaw Jelly.
THE LIVING ROOM
And, last, but not least, the living room.
We had a good experience at Wisteria, and I would recommend it to anyone visiting Laurel. It’s conveniently located to the downtown area and directly across the street from the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art {which we didn’t visit because our timing was off}.
Come back for the next set of pictures, I’ll be showing you pictures, which will be a hodge podge mix of things that caught my attention.
Come back soon,
LET’S CONNECT
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