Historic Washington home transitioning to luxury bed and breakfast
Published 8:35 pm Thursday, November 12, 2015
For nearly two centuries, this historic home has garnered notice with its gracious charm, sweeping wrap-around porch and three stories of Italianate arches, columns and brackets tacked onto Greek Revival origins, all towering over the west end of town.
Built in 1820 by Col. Joshua Tayloe, this home has changed hands on several occasions over its lifetime, serving as Union Army headquarters and hospital during the Civil War and as a stately residence for prominent Washington residents in the many years after.
Now, Elmwood is getting new life — one that many will be able to share. Elmwood is in the midst of transition from private residence to bed and breakfast, courtesy of John Butler and Richard Smoot, two fugitives from big-city life with a talent for hospitality and homes, décor and design and immersing themselves in the community they’ve adopted as their own.
“I, like millions of other people, loved the idea of a bed and breakfast,” Smoot said. “I always liked the hospitality industry, but I ended up with a degree in architecture.”
Soon-to-be-innkeeper Smoot is an architect with the U.S. Department of State, overseeing diplomatic facilities in Southeast Asia. Butler was director of marketing for the African Wildlife Foundation. The two made their home outside of D.C. but when they became disenchanted with city life, they decided to head south.
“We were ready to get out of D.C.,” Smoot said. “We were working really hard in D.C. to support a life we weren’t really happy with.”
Butler had an epiphany after experiencing yet another afternoon commute in D.C. traffic, another 15-miles-in-two-hours trip from work in D.C. proper to home in Northern Virginia. It was a trip that ended with a conversation that started with ”We need to make a plan.”
One look at Elmwood and the plan started to form itself.
“I thought, what a perfect, perfect, bed and breakfast,” Butler said. “You’ve got a perfect town and a beautiful river, a budding arts scene.”
They didn’t stumble upon Washington. Butler grew up, and still has family, in Colerain — the two had visited town on previous day trips. A self-described “real estate junkie,” Smoot always makes a point of looking at real estate wherever he visits.
“He just loves houses and loves looking at houses and looking at how he can improve them. He’s really good at that,” Butler said.
Elmwood was for sale when they visited two years ago. It was still for sale when they began to seriously consider a change of venue, and pace. In June, they purchased the 5,500-square-foot house; July 4th weekend, they started moving in.
Plans are continually evolving as Butler and Smoot transition the home into the 21st century. They’re currently working with the local health department and fire department to ensure everything is up to code, replacing hot water heaters and all the electrical work in the house, much of it cobbled together over a century.
“There’s something from every era of electricity,” Butler laughed. “We’re unifying those things.”
“We’re doing a lot of behind-the-scenes (work) — nothing showy right now,” Smoot added. “It’s got to be a living, functioning residence. It really is like a living creation that is still evolving.”
By the end of the year, a couple of rooms will be available for guest stays; by spring, the plan is to have four rooms available. The ultimate goal is five rooms, each unique, some with sitting rooms on the second-story sun porch, with views of the river. They’re in the process of incorporating their collection of mid-century modern furniture from their previous home with pieces they purchased from former Elmwood owners Dr. Frank and Alice Stallings. Mixed in is a museum-worthy collection of art, accrued mainly through each of their travels for work. The living room alone boasts pieces from Burma, the Republic of Niger, Namibia, Kenya, South America, including a life-size wooden statue thought to be from Punjab. There is modern mixed with ancient: one room boasts a Jonathan Adler sculpture; the next, a centuries-old African hand-carved, bronze saltcellar. A stack of colorful Rwandan baskets made from dyed grasses will one day decorate the walls of one of the guest rooms.
“This also seemed like a perfect house to showcase art,” Butler said.
While finding that perfect balance between modern and traditional, Butler and Smoot are putting just as much thought into their future guests — what a stay at the bed and breakfast would not only look like, but feel like. They’re testing products: bath towels, sheets, robes, silverware, bath rugs, weighing multiple options of each to refine the future Elmwood experience.
“People deserve to have a luxurious experience when they go somewhere — affordable luxury,” Butler explained.
Beyond commitment to a luxurious guest experience, the new owners of Elmwood have made another commitment: to keep their purchasing as local as possible, as well as working with other entities for cross-promotional purposes. Mattresses, toiletries, replacement draperies, the eight rocking chairs that will soon grace the long front porch and more are all being purchased in North Carolina, if not in Washington.
“We’ve become those kind of people who want to bring jobs in and keep the money local. When a guest tells me they like the curtains, I’ll be able to tell them I got them from Watson in Homes,” Smoot said.
“It’s definitely one big circle. When one of us wins, all of us win,” Butler added.
Turning a piece of Washington history into a modern oasis for those in search of some old southern hospitality is no easy task. Butler and Smoot are taking it one project at a time. Smoot’s dream is to have their bed and breakfast featured in “Our State Magazine.” Butler’s dream is to have the two large fountains framing the long walk to the front door raining water and bursting with lily pads again. In between, there are many things to be done.
“I’m only going to work on the house another 50 years — and then it’s done,” Smoot laughed.
“It’s not all sunshine and roses. There are moments when we wonder if we’ve bitten off more than we can chew,” Butler said.
Regardless, they’re committed to their bed and breakfast, to their future guests, to becoming a continual draw for Washington visitors and to the town as a whole.
“We’re here for a reason — it’s all quality of life,” Smoot said.