In November 2022, Mike and Ruth first visited what had been The Carriage House Inn Bed & Breakfast at 404 Cabell Street. They visited at the suggestion of a friend after he found out they'd looking at a different historic property in town that was in significant disrepair. The short version is we, along with our realtor, completed 3 marathon tours of the property and then made an offer and closed a few weeks later.

We first cut our teeth on short-term-rentals at our last property, a mile away on Rivermont Ave. There we had 2 units in operation for 2 and 4 years respectively. In this we learned that we enjoyed hosting guests and meeting new people that we otherwise may not have. In 2022, our daughter was married and we became empty nesters. We chose a different path than many of our peers who were downsizing. We doubled our size in both square feet (across 3 buildings) and the land footprint.

This is our 3rd home in the Lynchburg Historic Districts. The first in Garland Hill was much smaller at ~2900 sq. ft. We realized we had downsized too much and went to a ~5,700 sq. ft. home on Rivermont, and now Daniels Hill, all of these within 1.5 miles of each other. (Mike also lived in Garland Hill in high school and Diamond Hill in college.) All homes with this depth of history come in different states of repair and require different maintenance. It goes without saying that each owner has their own vision of the property and want to leave their mark. We have learned SO much about maintenance and restoration in the process; certainly enough to be dangerous! Through this process, we've uncovered an array of unexpected skills and knowledge from one another. We have also been very blessed to have mom & dad close by that have been instrumental in helping us display and maintain these gems. We know this opportunity was presented as a door opened by God, yet another stepping stone on the path He laid out for us. We count ourselves very blessed.

The Carriage House Inn was meticulously restored and operated as a Bed and Breakfast by the former owners since 2005. During their tenure as innkeepers the Bedsworth's won several regional and national awards in the B&B industry. In 2020, when COVID-19 made it's mark on the world, they chose to cease operations and pursue other passions. Not only has this property been a B&B, but also 4 apartments and even a boarding house, although it was built as a single family residence. 

We are using a combination of all of these models and have taken the property back to a single-family home, with deluxe suites on each floor. Each suite includes a parlor room in addition to the bedroom with a King sized bed and bath. Our intention is to maintain period authenticity while still living with modern conveniences. Some of the modern conveniences added thus far 12 smart locks, 8 smart thermostats, 14 large smart TV's, remote light switches, 10 outdoor security cameras, Wolf commercial gas range, ~1000 feet of CAT 5 and 300 feet of fiber optic cable to 4 switches and 9 access points ensuring internet Wi-Fi is always available at any location on the property, and the list goes on. 

From dating in the early 90s, to today 28 years married...