Maison Marcel, Washington Street, Lewisburg, West Virginia

This 1921 farmhouse nestled in the woods atop Caldwell Hill is eight miles east of the famous Greenbrier Resort, but has about zero degrees of separation.

It's currently known as Maison Marcel, a Bed and Breakfast for sale with interiors by famed designer Carleton Varney. As I mentioned in my previous post, Varney is best known for his work on The Greenbrier and Mackinac Island's Grand Hotel.

If those hotel images have you primed for exuberant color and pattern, you're in luck, because Maison Marcel does not disappoint.

The best part is that you probably wouldn't guess what the inside looks like based on the outside.

See what I mean?

For reference, here is a stairway at The Greenbrier:

Varney was working for Dorothy Draper (he later would become their decorating firm's president) when they embarked on the largest project in the American hotel industry at that time. The Greenbrier had served as an army hospital during WWII and needed re-furbished afterward.

Some forty years later, Maison Marcel, or the Summers' House as it was known then, was also in need of some fixing up. They apparently took it down to the studs, and then built it back up. Way up.

As the current owner once said, Varney was "the only man that can outspend an unlimited budget."

After the Summers family, the subsequent owners not only committed to keeping the interiors intact, but to sharing them as part of Varney's decorating legacy.

The dining room features a sky ceiling -- a Dorothy Draper & Company signature touch -- but the wallpaper is one of the few things original to the home. 

Among the kitchen's decorative flourishes is an antique apothecary cabinet incorporated into the rest of the cabinetry.

I had to try and translate the Latin labels on the spice cabinet drawers. Amygdal dulc. = sweet almond. Fruct. Amomi Piment roughly translates to Fruit of the Peppercorn.

That brings us to this area, which is a TV nook instead of a breakfast nook:

It seems to be lacking a little of the Varney touch, so if it were mine, I'd make it a better match for the pretty dining room, like this:

{Miles Redd}

Rounding out the downstairs are the den, powder room, and porch:

Upstairs are three bedrooms and two more bathrooms. The house has 2,925 square feet.

This is the Greenbrier Room:

The bathrooms have been updated since the 1990's, in a style that blends well with Varney's choices.

This is the Summers Room:

This is the Caldwell Room:

The property includes two acres, with plenty of peaceful places to take in the views.

It used to be farmland for John North Caldwell, on what was then the Andrew Beard estate of 1,000 acres. When he built the house in 1920, the North family was well known in Lewisburg. They still are. 

They have an 1820's house museum just down the street:

It was built by John North Caldwell's grandparents, John North and Charlotte Blain North. Back then, Washington Street looked like this:

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Today it looks like this:

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As the listing agent describes Maison Marcel, "This home is not just a residence, it's a lifestyle offering for those who appreciate beauty, history, and the finer things in life." Much like the house is a reflection of The Greenbrier, it sounds like it's also a reflection of Lewisburg itself.

The listing is here.