Modern Comfort, Historic Allure

October 15, 2014 Homestyle No comments

Bell-Clemmons House (313 E. Moore St., Southport, NC). Photo by Bethany Turner

I adore Southport, North Carolina, for many reasons. Its aesthetic allure is reason number one. Downtown harbors a handful of historic mini-mansions dating back centuries, while a peck of quaint cottages await further from the waterfront. (Were they constructed in the ’40s or 2004? Local architects don’t want you to know!)

What I love most about strolling our safe, quiet streets—aside from saying hello to each member of our vivacious, affable population whom I encounter—is knowing that just beyond the front door of any home is a story waiting to be told.

Perhaps this is how Chris and Joy Brann felt when they encountered the Bell-Clemmons House (313 E. Moore St.). A job opportunity with Novant Health brought the couple to Brunswick County. While the duo had no intention to open a bed and breakfast, then-owners Blair and Debbie Deale had just completed an overhaul of the home in 2004—and the Deales had envisioned a B&B during the process.

Foyer. Photo by Bethany Turner

“We have always enjoyed the East Coast, from Maine to Florida, and thought that Southport reminded us of our hometowns in Maine,” Joy Brann describes. “We saw the Bell-Clemmons House, it reminded us of an old New England seacoast home, and we thought, Why not?” she muses. “We have always been a little entrepreneurial, love to cook, and saw the potential of the property. Within one weekend, we took a job, bought a house, and decided to open a business. Sometimes the best decisions are spur of the moment!”

The house was constructed during the Civil War, completed in 1864. It was reincarnated into a boarding house in the early 1900s. And then the Deales renovated the two-story abode to be more fitting for this century.

“Blair Deale was a real craftsman in renovating this old house. He basically took it down to the studs, but recycled or re-purposed a lot of the materials,” Brann explains. “The house was split up into three apartments and was in pretty bad shape. The chimneys were pulling the house down, so they couldn’t be saved, but now the old brick is our back garden patio. The guest bathroom walls are made from the original outside wood siding from the house, all refinished. Our front door was found hidden within an exterior wall! The old wood floors are amazing.”

Dining room. Photo by Bethany Turner

Indeed, the home oozes the charm of its birth in dark wooden floors and thick, white finishes. “I love all the Southport Bows on all the windows and door trim,” Brann inserts.

Yet Bell-Clemmons as a bed and breakfast offers the modern comforts its guests are accustomed to enjoying at home and then some. The three guest rooms are each equipped with private bathrooms, cable TV, free high-speed wireless internet, and an iPod-docking clock radio. “The systems in the house are all new and energy efficient,” Brann adds. “It is really having the best of both worlds: A historic house that is as good as new!”

Again marrying timeless classics with contemporary flair, the Branns’ style selections for the interior of the home speak to its overall theme. The wall colors, while varying hues, are understated. Antique furniture lives amongst bright fabrics. Modern amenities mingle with distressed accessories.

“We have always wanted to give our bed and breakfast guests a casual, comfortable, luxury experience,” Brann assures. “Our style isn’t really the usual bed-and-breakfast décor; it’s part cottage, part beachy, part shabby-chic, but for us it’s all about comfort. We brought almost no furniture with us—we basically started from scratch. We have a bunch of antiques from the area. I think we have something from every antique shop in town! Most of our furniture and accessories came from Meesha Co. here in Southport (619-B N. Howe St.).”

Living room. Photo by Bethany Turner

The Parson’s Room is the largest of the three guest rooms, featuring a king bed and access to the balcony porch. When the visiting preacher was in town, this is where he would stay. It’s long been considered the best room in the house.

Gino’s Room, equipped with a queen bed, is named after the Branns’ first bed and breakfast guest.

Coco’s Room, offering a queen bed decked out in a colorful, paisley-style print, is named for the Branns’ granddaughter. The room overlooks the rustic garden patio.

All rooms are on the second floor, including the fourth, the master bedroom, which is not available for reservations. Still its décor matches the rest of the home: comfortable, effortless, but pleasing to the eyes.

Perhaps the most widely used room is the one responsible for the latter half of the B&B’s job description. In many homes the kitchen is the gathering place. In the Bell-Clemmons House, its gigantic island beckons guests to pull up a bar stool with a fresh cup of coffee and enjoy the morning light coming in through the windows.

Kitchen. Photo by Bethany Turner

“If you like to cook, as soon as you walk into the kitchen and see the giant butcher block island, you know that this house is the one!” Brann declares, noting she and her husband once built and ran a bakery in Florida. “The gas range and double ovens make cooking fun. I really like the soapstone countertops. It is a well-planned kitchen space that is open to the living room and dining room and just a great place to cook and bake. Sitting on the relaxing upstairs balcony under the old oaks is a close second-favorite though.”

Parson’s Room. Photo by Bethany Turner

The Branns recently listed the Bell-Clemmons House with Kay Jolliff of Margaret Rudd & Associates, Inc., REALTORS®. Those interested may contact Jolliff at (910) 457-5258 or kayjolliff@gmail.com. Folks who would like to stay as guests in the B&B may reserve a room for $125-175 per night at www.bell-clemmons.com.

“We have met some great people,” Brann shares. “We have some guests that have stayed with us many, many times. We have artisans that come every year for the festivals—you’ll notice a lot of one artist’s pottery in the kitchen! We have had guests propose on one visit to the B&B and then return to get married here in Southport. We get to meet all kinds of folks, and we have been very pleasantly surprised at how nice people have been. We try to treat our guests as family, and in some cases it seems that’s what they have become.”