Claiborne House

I love old houses. When my Facebook friend Shellie Leete invited me to tour her home, The Claiborne House Bed & Breakfast, I jumped at the chance. (Shellie's blog, Coffee Talk, is here.)

 It's located on Claiborne Avenue, about two blocks from the library, in downtown Rocky Mount. Walking through the door is like walking into another era. Here are a few pictures of some of the guest bedrooms:

And a view from a bedroom to outside:

The staircase, looking down:

You could see the back of a sofa in the previous picture. Here's the view from the sofa:

A couple of downstairs rooms had this elegant wooden ceiling:

One of the guest rooms, called the "Love Shack," is outback. It's a cozy and private little getaway:

The front porch is a great place to sit and look toward downtown:

The red brick building at the end of the street is the library.
It looks like a blur in this picture.

Here's a view of the front yard.

Resident dog, Junie, inspects a garden gnome on the porch.

This part of the porch leads to the Love Shack.

Doesn't the porch furniture make you want to sit a spell?

What's a southern porch without ferns?

Can you guess what object is under the mum?

I especially loved the back yard.

Junie led me down the walkway.

One of several shady places to sit.

The goldfish came from Wal-Mart a few years ago.

The parking lot is behind the fence (over the statue's shoulder)

Meanwhile, in the front yard, there's a huge stump where a 99-year-old sugar maple used to be. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of it, but Shellie is wondering what to do with the stump. In fact, she's having a contest: http://claibornehouse.blogspot.com/2011/08/stump-innkeeper-contest.html. If you have a good idea, visit her blog and make a suggestion.

Innkeeper Shellie stands in front of the home and holds a copy of my book.
The stump is right behind where her head is.

If you're visiting the area and want a down-home copnvenient place to stay, you should check out the Claiborne House. 

~

*That item under the mum? It's an antique urinal.