1996: Shades of Serenity
James Fox-Smith's first-ever story written for Country Roads, about downtown St. Francisville's Shadetree Inn
This story was selected by the Country Roads magazine editorial team as the representative piece for 1996 in the archival project "40 Stories From 40 Years"—celebrating the magazine's 40th anniversary on stands. Click here to read more stories from the project.
Kenwood Kennon had the place.
Ellen Stoller had the idea.
Between them, Kenwood and Ellen Kennon have taken the experiences of her life in the world's fastest city and blended the lessons learned there with Kenwood’s vision of tranquility perched high on a three-acre hilltop overlooking St. Francisville’s historic district. The result? St. Francisville’s astonishing Shadetree.
Ask Ellen her opinion about where to go to learn the values of inner and outer peace, tranquility, harmony and nature and she will tell you: New York City (!) The life of a cutting-edge designer, creating interiors at the mercy of some of the City's most demanding and wealthy characters, taught the native Louisianan everything she ever needed to know about the value of a healing, forgiving environment. Poised in the place where a successful designer becomes a star, she fled apartments, angst and apoplectic bosses for a life among the woods, streams and wildlife of West Feliciana.
But you can’t keep a good designer down. The distaste for interior design left by the excess of New York City soon faded for Ellen and, turning full circle, a new approach to her art evolved on a three acre wooded hilltop overlooking St. Francisville’s historic district.
To cross the threshold into the Gardeners’ Cottage, the newest addition to Shadetree’s overnight fantasies, is to be transported. Appearing rustic from without, the exterior walls are built from reclaimed pecky cyprus, the interior based upon British Colonial design, rewards the eye with simple but ingenious elegance at every turn. The master bedroom, dominated by a huge mosquito veil-draped bed, looks complete save for a bewitched princess; the twinkling, candlelit bathroom with oasis-like jacuzzi and stained glass and the fresh wildflowers and muted, earthy colors invite the world outside not to stop at the windows, but to come steaming in. There is a touch of the enchanted about this place, as though the magic lingers just out of reach, bringing the energies depleted by day-to-day life flooding back into the body and soul.
This, of course, is the philosophy behind every step the Kennons have taken: to create still, small pools of tranquility into which one may retreat. Ellen’s creations are simple, luxurious and beautiful to behold. Never is one allowed to forget the inspirational role of Mother Nature. The design is employed to maximize, rather than minimize, the role of nature in the living spaces as a tonic to the strains of day to day existence.
One sees the same logic at work in both other suites available to the guest: the sun porch, with its warm, liquid coloring (Dorset gold), glorious chandelier and great, shaded deck overlooking the sweeping hillside; and the Loft, an Adirondack-style apartment up at treetop level, with ten foot tall cathedral ceilings and walls of Louisiana redheart cyprus. Every suite is handsomely appointed with a small library of diverting books, a fine stereo system and a range of soothing musical titles, as well as a great variety of small bottles filled with brightly colored, fragrantly scented concoctions which, when swirled into a steaming bath, are the perfect antidote to the tensions of modern living. Hours of creative visualization have produced living spaces remarkable in their completeness and attention to detail. Every element complements the whole, resulting in a rare and tangible harmony which not only delights the eye but also satisfies the soul. An exploration of the guest book reveals the success of the Kennons’ philosophy—effusive thanks and congratulations from every corner of the world, little snippets of happy memories left for others to enjoy.