Green Mountain State . She remembers enjoying several years of her early childhood here , and she spent numerous summers and winters in Vermont with her father . looked at the bones , the structure , and the ceilings , and we absolutely loved it . After we bought it , we realized that it was a lot to take on . We started with the basics , and the vision formed itself as we went along .” of connection to the Inn . After we found those little signs , we really decided to let go , commit ourselves fully to the project , and embrace everything that came with it . We knew that this was meant to be .”
In the years leading up to the acquisition of the property , Jared and Christina spent a considerable amount of time looking at prospective spaces that could accommodate the growth of Christina ’ s baking business . “ My husband and I have always dabbled in renovations ,” says Christina . “ We love old buildings , antiques , and history .” When Christina ’ s father mentioned that Rowell ’ s Inn was going to be auctioned , Jared went to see the property . He was incredibly impressed , and he immediately told Christina that she was going to fall in love with it . Soon after , they both became increasingly enamored with its charming architecture and inviting atmosphere . Christina recalls : “ We
Reimagining the Past , Embracing the Future
Although the renovation was taxing and extensive , a series of symbolic coincidences helped the Smith family maintain an attitude of positivity . “ When we started renovating , we found every single date that meant something to us as a family on different artifacts throughout the building . The woodstove in the back has my birthdate on it , and we found an old sign in the bar area that had my husband ’ s birthday on it , as well . My kids found coins with their birth years on them , and those things gave us all a true sense
The renovation began in September 2018 . It commenced with an overhaul of the front porch and its gabled roof , which had started to sag and detach from the building due to the weight of the snow in the wintertime . “ We consulted with a structural engineer to make sure that the work was done correctly , but the lion ’ s share of the work that went into renovating the porch was done by my father , my brother , and my uncles . It took a long time to jack up the porch and rebuild it correctly . The main challenges were redoing the structure of the porches , retaining the essence of what they once looked like , and building them up to code .”
Photo credit : Ryan Bent Photography
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