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Snow Hill/Berlin Is this a museum or a B&B? The painstaking restoration and the priceless furnishings that owner Kirk Burbage lavished on this grand antebellum beauty hint of the former, as does the sign "no guided tours today." But the run-of-the-house welcome for overnight guests and the energy of the staff attest to the latter. Listed on the National Register, the Victorian showcase is a place where architectural historians, antiques enthusiasts and those into Victoriana are in their element. True, the place has its incongruities. Built in classic Italianate style, it also has Greek Revival and Gothic influences. The long main parlor/ballroom holds both a grand piano and a square Victorian piano, while a pipe organ awaits in the front sitting room. The honeymoon "suite" comes with a jacuzzi tub with marble walls. Its sunken "nursery" bedroom with carved Victorian walnut double bed is the smallest in the house, and as for "suite," there's a little sitting room with a sofa. The other seven corner bedrooms on the second and third floors, all but two with private baths, seem quite spacious, particularly those with high ceilings on the second floor. The bathrooms are wallpapered and have marble floors and showers. The bedrooms are painted in lighter colors to set off the dark wood flooring. Most beds are dwarfed by heavy, ornate headboards and footers of solid walnut; "these beds need a lot of dusting," the chambermaid volunteered. On the nightstands are mints and Bibles. Fine oriental runners lead to the fourth-floor widow's walk, all windows with another Bible under the only seat. Extravagant oriental rugs and carpets are particularly notable in the main parlor/ballroom, full of burgundy velvet sofas and settees. In the center of this expanse is a marble table topped by an enormous artificial floral arrangement in a three-foot-tall sterling silver vase imported from Germany, one of three in existence (and the owner claims two). The main-floor rooms are lit by no fewer than five huge brass chandeliers; a particularly striking one hangs over the table in the dining room. The house was in restoration for two years to the tune of $1½ million prior to its opening in 1992. The plaster walls, the loblolly pine flooring and a few of the furnishings are original. Kirk brought in the rest of the furniture, some of which had been in storage at his family's funeral home, oldest in Maryland, and had come from the area's finest estates. "This is not a museum," Kirk stresses. "We want guests to play the pianos and read the books in the library." Tea and cookies are served in the afternoon. In the great, dark dining room, guests sit down to a breakfast of apple pancakes, belgian waffles or egg casserole, served on fine china. Although Kirk has no plans for expansion, he has enhanced the eighteen-acre property with seven formal Victorian gardens, a pagoda and a pond, which make the place good for weddings and charity events. (410) 641-2112 or (800) 660-0358. Fax (410) 641-9528. For more information: www.merrysherwood.com. E-mail: info@merrysherwood.com. Five rooms and one suite with private baths; two rooms with shared bath. Mid-May to mid-October: doubles $150, suite $175. Rest of year: doubles $125, suite $150. Material excerpted from Inn Spots & Special Places / Mid-Atlantic, by Nancy and Richard Woodworth. Copyright 2003. Wood Pond Press E-mail feedback to: Home
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