Brackett House on Cornell campus reopens as bed-and-breakfast after $90,000 renovation

For nearly four years, the Brackett House has sat empty on Cornell's campus. But after a $90,000 renovation, it's back - this time as a bed-and-breakfast.

This is the third time the 140-year-old home has been renovated. It originally was built by William Brackett - known for developing much of Mount Vernon - in 1877, for his daughter, Clara, a student at Cornell at the time.

In 1915, Clara added two-story porches to each side of the house for entertaining. The house was used for many receptions, dinners and overnight stays for musicians and other visitors to the college, including former President William Howard Taft.

Clara died in 1927 and passed the house to her daughter, Elizabeth, who then willed it to Cornell so long as a former teacher of hers, Clara Blinks, could live there as long as she pleased.

When Blinks died in 1952, the house was converted into the Alumni Association office with guest rooms on the second level. In 1961, Brackett House was devoted solely as a guesthouse and again renovated in 1978 with the aid of a significant gift from Bess H. Medar, a classmate of Elizabeth's.

The most recent renovation completed last fall involved gutting all the bathrooms, rewiring some outdated electrical, fixing the plumbing, pulling back carpet to reveal hardwood floors and refurnishing with contemporary furniture and paint. Cornell's facilities team tackled most of the labor, which kept costs from climbing over $90,000.

It took nearly six months, but brought the 140-year-old building back to this century.

Walking through the doors pre-renovation was like stepping into the past. Walls to carpet, 'everything was blue,” said Ed Sauter, who now shares innkeeping duties with his wife, Jan. Not only that, but it was furnished with crumbling Victorian furniture that was too costly to repair.

'Restoring the furniture was out of the question,” Sauter said. 'You can spend far more than the cost of the chair (when trying to repair it).”

An architect by day, Sauter influenced design decisions such as choosing neutral gray for the walls and comfortable, simple, contemporary furniture, decor and lighting to highlight the home's architecture rather than its furniture.

Although the Sauters are new to innkeeping - Ed is a full-time architect, soon to retire, and Jan is a retired teacher - they had considered it once before, when the Brackett House was looking for new innkeepers in the mid 1970s. 'Wouldn't it be fun?” They thought. But shied away from the idea. They were new to the area and liked their jobs. Plus, they had four white Persian cats and imagined guests wouldn't be keen on shedding cat hair, Sauter said with a chuckle.

But now as they wind down from their careers, they've decided to give innkeeping a go. So far it's been nothing but fun, Sauter said.

'I love meeting the people,” he said, adding that the job works out well as an early riser, too.

Every morning Ed gets up around 5:30 a.m. to bake something fresh - croissants, for example - for guests. Breakfast is served continental style and while the menu varies, it usually includes some kind of fresh pastry, fresh fruit, juice, coffee and tea. Larger meals can be catered in if necessary.

'Our breakfast is based on our love of food,” Sauter said.

Guests have the choice of four bedrooms - one with a single queen bed, two with two queen beds and one suite with two queen beds in separate rooms and one pullout sleeper sofa. Each bedroom has its own private bathroom and access to a screened-in porch. None of the rooms have TVs to keep noise at a minimum - it's an old house with thin walls, after all - but a common room on the main floor can be used for watching TV, cozying up next to the fireplace, playing games or other activities. Also on the main floor is the dining area, with two tables and access to coffee, tea and water at any time. Guests also have access to Cornell's fitness and dining centers.

While rooms can be booked individually, the entire home also can be rented for special events. Anyone can make reservations at Brackett House year-round, but beware, it is likely to get busy during college events such as graduation and homecoming.

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