The rest of Shaffner House’s interior is simply stunning. The woodwork, the art, the dinning rooms…everything is elegantly stated, and yet understated. The owner’s did a splendid job with the place and there is a pictorial history of the refurbishing of this grand house that really shows just how much work went into it. This is located next to the check-in area and must be flipped through.
The rest of the house is described quite well at shaffnerhouse.com, but I took some photos of my own for your enjoyment as well as mine.
We start with my bathroom. The second floor has 4 guest suites and mine in particular has a bathroom at the end of the hall. I guess I was slumming, huh? Some might consider the idea of having to walk to the end of the hallway each time you needed to use the throne an inconvenience, but I didn’t mind in the least. In fact, it added to the overall charm of the experience. The fact that I got the chance to stink up the joint for the next schmuck in line was an added bonus.
As an aside, the decor of the bathroom matched that of my guest room pretty well. Whether by design or not, I cannot say. Not that most men would care all that much about such a thing either, but it was a nice touch. I had to stand in the tub to get a good angle for your viewing pleasure (is anyone even reading this web site?
The next photo shows the main area of the second floor. It leads to and from a beautiful staircase. The chandelier you see hanging from the ceiling is original. Go ahead, click it. You know you want to. You’ll be glad you did. Honest!
As you can see in this photo to the left, there is a surprise lurking around virtually every corner. As you walk down the stairs to the main floor, there, in the window, is an antique Bicycle just begging for trouble with a capital “T” for Tim, baby!.
I really love moving around in this house. Your mind cannot help but be transported backward in time, and I am sure this is what the owners were looking for when they rebuilt this grand old place.
The guest room I stayed in had a nice sized closet containing robes, soft robes, lots of soft robes. Robes I wanted to take. Robes I could have taken. Sigh. I simply could not bring myself to do it, though I am certain it is done all the time. So, yes, I avoided the temptation. Proud of me? Still, soft, plush robes. Argggggghhhhhhhhahhhhh.
Anyway, as a guy whose idea of a bath robe is a towelette wrapped around his hoo-hah, these robes were the lap of luxury! I imagine if I were a women I might have had an orgasm or something.
Moving on through the downstairs area, just as you step off the stairs into the main parlor, there is a wall ahead of you which is adorned with lovely lamps, old photos or portraits of patriarchs and etc.
In all honesty, or at least to the best of my memory, there was no information available about the pieces art on the wall, but I am sure the owners, Henry and Betty, could have told me more had I asked.
I walked past this wall several times in fact. The lighting is so stunning, and the photo to the left really captures the lighting well.
As you continue on past that wall on the left, if you turn to the immediate right there is a living room, pictured below. In that living room is a baby grand piano. I do not know why, but every time I look at a piano I have a need to play it. It is not just a whim, either. This is a calling! The only trouble is I don’t play a lick. It is one of those frustrating experiences a piano player will never experience. Moreover, there is something sad about a piano that is never played, don’t you think?
At dinner time there is some lovely music piped into the dining area and it does well to set the mood and create a nice ambiance, but it would have been nice to have someone at the piano tickling the Ivory’s.
Needless to say, the dining room is really elegant and not in the least way overbearingly so. I say this because, in my view, the focus of the dining experience should be the food and good conversation with friends. If a room is too sumptuous to the eye, the focus is all of the experience is suddenly shifted. I liken a well de cored room to music that is played in a gym when you are working out. The music should be played at a volume, and should be of such a style that it is there when you need it most, but easily ignored when you do not need it. Such is the case with the dining rooms at Shaffner House Inn. And there are several dining areas.
The last two photos are of the exterior of Shaffner House Inn. On the days I shot these photos, the lighting was less than ideal, but I think you get the picture.
The first photo is of the Inn from the front. It does not truly capture the size of the house, but it does give a glimpse into how pretty it is. I wish the sun had been shining when I took this photo.
This last photo really says all one needs to say about Shaffner House Inn: peace. When you stand outside on the back porch area, the sound of the waterfall is so pretty, and useful.
The inn happens to be located near some major roads, and the waterfall does a splendid job of drowning out the sound of traffic, reminding you of where you are, as well helping you forget what it was you came here to get away from in the first place.
My stay at the Henry F. Shaffner House Inn was something I will never forget. To be honest, I would be perfectly happy if I never stay at another bed and breakfast. To do so would almost tarnish this memory or in some way force me to take it for granted.
Some of you reading this might think it silly and pitiful that such an experience was so exciting for me. Maybe, if I had more experiences like this in my life I might not have appreciated this one so much. Or, maybe I would appreciate it even more. Who knows.
Then again, to those people I might say it is you who should be pitied if you think it silly to have enjoyed this experience so much. We should never become so comfortable in ours lives or relative opulence that we forget how to enjoy all of the pleasures God would allow us to experience within the context of His Grace.
A word of thanks should be extended to Henry and Betty Hall for working so hard on this lovely mansion. I am grateful for having been given the opportunity to stay here even one night. They gave me a set of memories I that will make looking backward in my life a much more pleasing journey in years to come.
Shaffner Henry F House Bed & Breakfast
150 S Marshall St
Winston Salem, NC 27101
(336) 777-0052
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