Inn at Little Washington in Washington, VA Adds 6 Rooms to Its Campus Completing Restoration

1850s Victorian House Restored Offering Six New Guest Rooms with Fireplaces and Bay Windows

• 
  SAVE
• 
  SHARE
• 
  TEXT SIZE
• 
  PRINT
• 
  COMMENT
• 
  PDF

. May 12, 2014

Washington, Virginia - May 12, 2014 - The Inn at Little Washington has announced the opening of the most recent addition to its campus, bringing the total number of buildings to sixteen and the number of guest rooms to 24. The Parsonage, so named because of its proximity to Trinity Episcopal Church, is located on Main Street directly across from The Inn's legendary restaurant in the heart of "Little" Washington. The 6,000-square-foot 1850s Victorian house has been lovingly restored and now offers six luxurious new guest rooms with fireplaces and bay windows overlooking the village.

Collaborating with London designer Joyce Conwy Evans, Chef and Proprietor Patrick O'Connell has created the ambiance of an enchanting house in the countryside full of surprise and whimsy. The Parsonage's interiors reflect a lighter, more modern interpretation of The Inn at Little Washington's beloved English Country House aesthetic while still managing to evoke a scene in "Downton Abbey."

"We measure the success of all our projects with the same, simple standard," Patrick said. "When completed, each one should feel as if it has always been here just as it is. Nothing should ever look newly constructed. Of course, this can be a difficult and costly effect to achieve but it's always worth the effort especially in a town which dates from the 1700s. Sometimes we ask ourselves what George Washington might have thought about a recently completed project. We know he would have loved the Parsonage. The house is so happy to have been rescued and given back the identity it deserves."

A former side porch is now an exotic, Moorish inspired glass-enclosed conservatory which serves as the main entrance to the Parsonage. The ceiling of this foyer has been tented in a soft, green-striped fabric and the floor is an intricately patterned Tunisian tile. An antique French lantern hanging in the center of the tent casts an inviting glow in the evening.

A T-shaped center hall draws an arriving guest through the house and out through symmetrical French doors onto a wide porch. The hallways are papered in a magnificent William Morris tulip pattern that lifts the spirit and makes one feel as if they've been transported into a fairy tale. The public spaces feel as if they were the original sitting rooms to the 1850s house. Bay windows with window seats flood the house with sunlight. From the second floor one looks out on the richly textured roof tops and stone chimneys of the little village with the mountains in the distance. The long, side porch faces an old enclosed garden with giant oaks, a smokehouse and a summer kitchen.

Each guestroom is individually decorated in a fresh, light-filled style employing a soothing palette of pastel colors, English fabrics and wall papers. Stunning bathrooms feature Waterworks tile and fixtures, soft grey Carrera marble vanities and Bulgari amenities. A junior suite offers an enormous soaking tub overlooking the garden.

The exterior of the formerly undistinguished house is now a rich sage green with all the fine architectural details highlighted by two shades of cream. Vibrant, rust colored shutters and a copper roof provide striking accents.

The Town of Washington and Trinity Episcopal Church cooperated in allowing The Inn to transform the car park in the center of town into a town square by adding stone walls, planters and trees, and landscaping. Around the square, The Inn has installed period, handmade, copper lanterns and lamp posts based on an original design found in Richmond, Virginia.

In exchange for donating $150,000 for the town square beautification project, The Town of Washington gifted a street to Patrick O'Connell. This is a highly unusual illustration of a non-profit organization working together with a commercial entity in conjunction with a municipality to create a triple win situation while changing the face of a small community.

For reservations or more information, please call 540.675.3800 or visit www.theinnatlittlewashington.com.

About The Inn at Little Washington

Nestled at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, The Inn at Little Washington been a culinary destination since 1978, when Chef and Proprietor Patrick O'Connell opened the restaurant in a former gas station. Located in the tiny hamlet of Washington, Virginia, The Inn is a restorative retreat just 67 miles west of Washington. The 26-acre campus includes formal gardens, green houses and vegetable gardens which grow most of The Inn's produce in season. The Inn's grounds are also home to a flock of sheep, two llamas and a brood of chickens. The Inn is a member of Relais & Chateaux. Each of its 24 richly appointed guestrooms, suites and private cottages were decorated by Joyce Conwy Evans, a London stage and set designer in collaboration with Patrick O'Connell for whom The Inn has become a life's work. Patrick's forthcoming book on the transformation of The Inn is titled Magnificent Obsession and will be published by Rizzoli Press in the Spring of 2015.

The Inn at Little Washington was awarded two Five Star Awards by the 2014 Forbes Travel Guide for the 24th year in a row and the restaurant is the longest-tenured AAA Five Star-rated restaurant in America. It also received the 2013 Wine Spectator Grand Award for the 17th consecutive year; earned The Washington Post's Dining Guide's highest rating of four stars; and was proclaimed the #1 Restaurant in the Nation's Capital by Washingtonian Magazine. Additionally, the Washington, D.C. Zagat Survey awarded its highest scores in the world to The Inn in all categories.

About Patrick O'Connell

Patrick O'Connell, a native of Washington, DC, is a self-taught chef who pioneered a refined, regional American cuisine in the Virginia countryside. His alliance with local farmers and artisanal producers was an adaptation born of necessity more than 30 years ago when nothing but milk was delivered to the tiny town of "Little" Washington, VA (pop. 158). Long before the farm-to-table movement had a name, he began cultivating fruitful relationships with his neighbors - many of whom have a strong connection to the land and a heritage of self-sufficiency. O'Connell is the author of the best-selling cookbook, The Inn at Little Washington Cookbook, A Consuming Passion. Of his second book, Patrick O'Connell's Refined American Cuisine, Governor Mark Warner said "Not since Thomas Jefferson first brought tomatoes to Virginia and the New World has one man created such interest in the culinary arts." His commitment as an Ambassador of American Cuisine has fueled his involvement in the international association, Relais & Chateaux, through which he was named Relais Grand Chef and where he currently serves as President of Relais & Chateaux North America.