The Purpose: The Pinner Proposal

“The Pinner House Proposal is not just about my design, pretty pictures, and events going on at the Pinner House; it’s about the transformation happening within my own heart.”

This season has been very uplifting and exciting, but it has also been very difficult. One thing I have had to wrestle with and process has been the death of my brother. It has been a huge loss to our family. Kurt was always a huge encouragement to me. He believed in me, and my dreams that I expressed to him. Whenever I talked to him I always walked away from the conversation feeling like, "I got this." I have really needed this type of encouragement as I have been developing the Pinner House. The thought of him not being here to see me accomplish this dream has created an intense grieving within my heart.

I have had to fight the voices inside myself that say, "you aren't enough," without his help. This has been challenging, to say the least. I find it much easier to believe what someone else says about me than to examine my own heart and say, "you are good, and you are enough." I honestly often dread self reflection, and it often feels like a waste of time. I am ready to throw off this mindset, and part of how I am doing that is through this blog. The Pinner House Proposal is not just about my design, pretty pictures, and events going on at the Pinner House; it's about the transformation happening within my own heart.

The process of transforming the Pinner House has been messy, overwhelming, frustrating, painful, wonderful, rewarding, invigorating, and healing. If transforming a house is filled with so many struggles and triumphs how much more will it be for transforming my own heart? The transformation might be messy, like pony tail up, lying on the couch crying kind of messy, but that is ok! We are still beautiful, even during those parts. Even when the paints peeling, roofs leaking, and the yard is a mess; the architecture and bones of a house can still be remarkably beautiful. Let's stop looking at all things wrong with us and start looking at the remarkable structure God has built within us. Lets step back and say, "that is something I can work with," and be patient with ourselves as we begin to fix the broken places.

I would like to dedicate The Pinner Proposal to Kurt. For all of the encouragement he gave me, and the worth he showed me that I have within myself. He will forever remain in my heart as my biggest fan.

My goal with The Pinner Proposal is to honor his spirit of encouragement and bring it to others. To encourage myself and others in the way that he did. I might be describing the transformation happening within my own heart, but I hope that it might speak to the transformation happening within your own heart as well. We are not alone in this life, let's all remember that.

Channeling My Inner Lorelai

What inspired me to create an Inn in downtown Suffolk?

“I stop drinking coffee, I stop doing the standing and the walking and the words-putting-into-sentence doing.” -Lorelai Gilmore

Despite the title of this blog post, I have not had the lifelong dream of opening an Inn like Lorelai Gilmore, though I appreciate how her style and attitude are depicted in the show. My journey is a bit different in regards to how I became inspired to open an Inn in downtown Suffolk. Truthfully, I have often thought that I would like to leave Suffolk and this 6,000 square foot estate that I have shed blood, sweat, and tears to maintain for so many years. Instead, I have begun to see the amazing potential the Pinner house holds. It is easy to live our lives with the mentality that the grass is greener on the other side, but I don’t want to live my life that way. I would much rather make the side I’m on the greenest it can possibly be through vision and creativity. 

I have such a vivid picture of the potential that this house holds. My passion may be driven a little by nostalgia, since I have watched my family grow up in this house for the past 25 years. I was married in the entryway, we hosted many holiday parties with music filling the house and Christmas trees in practically every room, but most importantly, we raised our two lovely daughters in this house. As they have grown up and embarked upon their own endeavors I decided it was time that I embark upon my own.

Along with the nostalgia that drives and inspires me, I have always had this ambition to make spaces feel welcoming and aesthetically pleasing. When I say always, I am really not exaggerating. When I was four years old my mother caught me rearranging my furniture in my bedroom, so I guess that is when this fixation with creating spaces began.

My goal is to create a space that people can appreciate as well as feel welcome and at home. A balance between the historical aspects of the property mixed with up-to-date styling that doesn’t make you feel as though you have walked into your grandmother's house. A space with high-quality fabrics, furniture, and details that fill the space, but still allows the architecture to speak for itself. My goal is to marry the past and the present; to design a place that guests can not only enjoy, but truly experience; in the same way my family has, and so many others before it, in this grand, beautiful, historic, and timeless Pinner estate.