They’ve moved from one end of the country to the other, but the new owners of the Churchill Mansion Inn near Darlings Lake, Susan Wharram and Paul Jespersen, are feeling very much at home.
The couple arrived from British Columbia this year and are midway through a massive half-a-million-dollar transformation of the property.
It all started after Wharram read an article about the wine industry in Nova Scotia. They began searching for land to develop a possible winery. A listing for the inn intrigued them and Jespersen flew to investigate. Before the move, both had only been as far east as Ontario.
“My husband fell in love,” said Wharram, who refers to herself as the supportive spouse.
Jespersen was involved in the forestry industry and is a power engineer.
“He has an engineer’s brain,” said Wharram.
“He’s a real Mr. Fix-it, Mr. Do –it.”
Wharram worked as a stockbroker for 14 years and has a diploma in fashion design. Her hobby is costumes. Both were involved in theatre and set building in their hometown.
They’re now busy upgrading everything inside and outside the mansion, ripping walls down, refinishing floors, putting on a new roof, painting, discovering and dealing with detail after detail.
“We’re spending a lot of time making sure everything is sound,” said Wharram.
Their vision is to have six luxurious rooms with full baths. For inspiration (and to be included in next year’s travel guides) Wharram has finished one room, complete with a fireplace, feather bed and foot-rinser in the shower. Each room will have a silver tray for tea & coffee service prior to breakfast. The property recently received a four and a half star rating from Canada Select.
They hope to have the downstairs completed by Christmas. A table d’hote restaurant, lounge and gift shop are part of the vision.
Wharram is emulating landscapes she’s seen on European travels by leveling land west of the inn to create a gravel parking lot lined in old brick and boxwood, with a wrought iron railing and giant pots of red geraniums providing punches of colour.
“There will be a gurgle stone in the courtyard and an anchor in the middle as a water feature,” she said.
She plans on recreating the old gardens and adding a wrap-around deck, a place she refers to as her “wedding zone”. She’ll be offering spa weekends, and bride-on-a-budget packages
One of her passions is sewing and creating custom designed linens. A Halifax interior decorator has been hired and close to half a dozen local craftsmen are working on other improvements.
The couple will be requiring a chef, housekeeping staff and management staff for next year and will provide the option of shares for outstanding employees. The business, which will be known as the Churchill Mansion Inn, will be accepting reservations after Jan. 1, 2010.
She compares the Yarmouth County community to Courtney, B.C. where she grew up, as it was 40 years ago.
“People are so friendly. The businesses have bent over backwards,” she said.
She used to picture herself and her husband retiring in the South of France… “Provence or the Bordeaux in a small stone house in a little village”.
“Yarmouth picked us,” she laughed.
“Paul doesn’t even like to leave the place.
“I say he’s possessed by Aaron Churchill, not that we believe it’s haunted or anything. I feel it’s a really happy, comfortable place.”
Wharram says the project of completely restoring and renovating the Mansion to their vision is an enormous task that will continue for years.
“The end result, for opening day July 1, 2010, will we hope have an exciting effect on guests and the community. It has been a labour of love,” she said.
