Living In The Grand Kerr House - Day 3

Since I am currently working from home, we have decided that I should have my own office space to work in.  Bob says that my constant talking to myself while I am working is making him crazy (funny, my office co-workers say the same thing!).  He couldn't move me fast enough!

I have always loved the two bedrooms that were originally the servant's rooms.  Tucked away at the back of the house on the second floor, each room is approximately 10 ft by 17 ft.  Guests will comment on how large these bedrooms are but, then again, we don't know how many servants shared a room back then.  I am thinking that the servants used chamber pots back in the day as their rooms were not near the family's original bathroom (poor things were probably only allowed to clean the throne room but never allowed to sit on the throne itself).  No matter, it's just a short walk down the hall for me so I do not need to use the chamber pot - that could have been a show stopper!

When we have houseguests, these two rooms are used for our spa services.  One room is dedicated to massages and the other is used for esthetics (facials, body wraps, etc.).  Due to the C-19 shutdown, the rooms are not being used and I now have access.

I picked the corner room with two large windows - one overlooking the back yard and the other facing the church next door.  Bob moved a table upstairs for me to work at and a table for our grandson to do his homework at under my watchful eye.  This has been a good move!  I have privacy for the most part (somehow my grandson manages to escape for at least 4 of my 8 hour work day) and Bob is spared from listening to me talking to myself (and sometimes him) non-stop.

The house has excellent WiFi throughout so I have no trouble logging into and staying on my work programs.  An extra bonus are the church chimes next door.  Every day at noon the church plays peaceful, celebratory music from its bell tower - so relaxing and reminding me that it's time for my lunch break.  Yes I like this office space.

I may find it very hard returning to my office and giving this space back to the spa providers.  So, for now, I am counting this decision as a big win!

Living in The Grand Kerr House - Day 2

After checking out the available guest rooms, we made our "reservation" for the Autumn Room and started to prepare for our getaway.  We both packed just enough clothes for a one night stay - after all, we might change our minds and check out early so why overpack?  We also took our electronics (of course) and personal care items then headed to our room.

No TV!!!  I admit I watch more mindless stuff (just finished off the fourth season of The Magicians) and Bob watches mostly news (he keeps me well informed so I don't have to bother my pretty little head with it).  Without the TV to distract us, we were left to our own resources.  Bob did some reading and played Golf on his phone.  I perused Facebook and realized that having a good book to read may be a necessity.

There are a lot of books on the shelves in TGKH.  After looking through them, I realized that we have mostly history, scary stuff and some self-actualization reads.  Maybe I will have to head down to the used bookstore in Grand Rapids after it opens up and see what else I can find to add to our shelves.  I like the idea of having many genres to choose from with the option of letting guests take books with them if they haven't finished them during their stay.

This morning we slept in until 9:00 - that's really late for us but just goes to show how comfortable the bed really is.  The room was light but not too bright.  Bob talks about adding drapes or sun blocking curtains to allow guests to sleep in later but our breakfast hours are 8 to 10, so how late do we really want them to sleep in?  We will serve breakfast outside those hours if requested but I am thinking that late sleepers will just have to bury their head under the blankets if it gets too light.

Today was the first time I have ever used the guest shower.  Now I understand why people say they love that shower.  Water got hot fast and stayed hot.  Overhead shower head and hand held option (I used to work for Kohler Faucets and, of course, that is what we have in our guest shower here - really wonderful products!).  We have always told guests that the exhaust fan in the shower room turns on automatically but realized today that it did not happen.  We will have to look into that this week.

We also noticed little things that could have made our stay better.  There is a nightstand on one side of the bed only.  We had to put a little table on Bob's side of the bed for his things.  The room has a full closet but a tree stand in the room or pegs inside the closet doors to hang things on would be nice.    The rooms have transom windows that could let too much light through if the hall lights are left on for other guests - maybe we should look into curtains on the transoms to screen the light a bit.

Have you stayed at TGKH with us?  Maybe you have some additional suggestions for improvements that will make your next stay better.  We want your stay to be so grand that you come back again and again!

Living in The Grand Kerr House - Day 1

Please Join Us Living In The Grand Kerr House (as our virtual guests)! 

With the temporary closing of our B&B doors, we will be moving into TGKH to experience life in a 7,000 square foot historic home. This is the chance of a lifetime and we are inviting you along! For starters, check out the virtual tour on our website to familiarize yourself with the house. While you’re there, subscribe to our Blog (found at the “B” on the upper right corner of our website). And be sure to like and share our facebook page. We are looking forward to sharing our home with you!

Today we are making our plans and deciding a lot of little and big things. 

What bedrooms do we want to occupy.  Feeling like Goldilocks and The Three Bears.  Which of the three beds will be just right - the four poster king in The Autumn Room, the queen in The Winter room with the cozy reading nook, the king in the bright Summer Room. Or maybe even the bed that the original owners slept in that we have tucked away in the extra room.

What will we move up to our rooms - clothing, toiletries, linens, books, whatever.  I guess we are about to find out what our essentials really are.  

So, given these choices, where would you stay and what would you take?