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Middlebury, VT Their daughter attended Middlebury College and they fell in love with the area, so Midwesterners Bruce and Barbara Carson decided to retire here after 30 years in California. "We wanted an old house, off the beaten path, with a mountain vista," Barbara said. They got their wish in spades. They restored a 1790s house located along a gravel road on 37 acres in the back of beyond, with a panoramic view of the Adirondack Mountains across nearby Lake Champlain. Near a wildlife preserve ideal for boating and viewing, guests may watch the snow geese arriving in fall and departing in spring. Nine sheep graze in a nearby pasture while two beagles roam the two acres of lawn laced with flower and vegetable gardens. The prize accommodation here is the guest cottage. It harbors a large bedroom with a kingsize bed, a full bath with a radiant-heated floor, a comfortable sitting room with a queen sofabed, a wet bar and big windows all around to take in the views. The pale yellow house is no slouch. Guests enter into a great room with slate floor, fieldstone fireplace, baby grand piano and tall windows looking onto the mountains. You’d never guess it once was the buggy barn, occupied by swallows and hornets when the Carsons arrived in 1988. Next comes a pantry as big as some kitchens. Here is where the Carsons put out evening refreshments as well as ginger cookies for a bottomless cookie jar. The pantry adjoins an open kitchen, which obviously is the heart of the house. Orange juice and coffee are set out in the morning in the side library, which opens onto a rear deck overlooking the gardens. Another favorite spot for lounging is a front porch furnished with a swing and rockers. In the front of the house is a corner dining room, where the table is set for a candlelit breakfast for eight. Across the hall is a guest bedroom with a four-poster double bed and a private bath with an old five-seater (which they found cantilevered off the back of the house) incorporated into the top of the barnwood wall for decorative – and conversational – purposes. Upstairs are two more guest rooms. Each has a king bed that may be made into twins, a private bath with separate shower and tub, and a beautiful view. The entire place is furnished with contemporary art and family heirlooms, antiques and unexpected finds, including an old milk chest from a dairy barn that was converted into a corner china cabinet in the dining room. The room is lit entirely by candles for breakfast, a hearty affair that brings fresh fruit, homemade granola, zucchini bread, croissants, and perhaps vegetable frittatas, eggs florentine or belgian waffles. "I love to cook," says Barbara in an understatement. Many guests find the Carsons’ welcome so warm and
the surroundings so relaxing that they scarcely leave the property. (802) 758-2704 or (800) 746-2704. Fax (802) 329-2124. Mail to 912 Grandey Road, Addison 05491-8851. E-mail: whitford@gmavt.net. For more information: www.whitfordhouseinn.com
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