I bought The Jewell House because it had everything I was looking for and more. It was essentially a jewel. My jewel. The market at the time was slim pickings and not my taste. I was looking for charm and warmth, but I was finding so many of these old homes had been stripped from its orignian character. So when the house unexpectedly came back on the market I knew I had to jump fast if I had any chance of buying it. I was searching for a charmer. A home with character, old bones and original hardwood floors. A home that would speak to me but also where I could put my mark on it. This home had it all! It was a simple farmhouse but grande in stature. It sat proudly overlooking Carolina Heights surrounded by a small forest of trees and a brick pathway that lead up to the large Southern porch.

It took my breath away the first time I saw it. Oh how I imagined how sweet life would be sitting on that porch with friends and family drinking wine and sweet tea.

After hearing the story how The Jewell family saved the house from demolition I knew this house was meant to be shared. It is not mine to keep but mine to steward and continue her story.

I am from a large family, one of eight kids, so you can imagine my childhood in the Brentwood house was chaos, but boy did we have fun! There was constant chatter, or music being played or someone whipping up a new dish in the kitchen. My dad would be working on a renovation project or building furniture, or he would be strumming on his banjo. I love family and community and maybe that’s why I also tend to host in my home. I love the chatter, the noise, the chaos. It’s music to my ears.

After my son moved out , I rented out two rooms for several years in my little Lowell house back in Denver. I met so many wonderful gals who needed a place to land when moving to the city. Some, I’m still very good friends with to this day. Some have moved on and purchased homes of their own, others married and started their own families and others moved on to work on their careers. Reflecting back, I hope I was able to make a small impact on their time at Lowell. I know it impacted me greatly as I learned so much from living with others. We learned to care for each other and check in on one another, which is needed when you are single and don’t live close to family. We became our own family. The Lowell girls as I would say.

The sunroom on the Jewell was a project I started working on in September 2024 and completed by May 2025. It took longer than expected, but I couldn’t imagine a more beautiful space. I’m happy to finally sit-down and write about the complete renovation.

I wanted a space that I could rent to travelers or guests in order to help eliminate some costs of maintaining the house, as well as share it with the rest of the world! I’ve always had a passion and a gift for hosting, and a love for historic homes so this was right in my wheel house.

The sunroom sits in the back of the house, across from the kitchen and has a beautiful view of the backyard with two floor to ceiling windows which allows in all the morning sunlight. It’s a sweet space and I knew this would be a great room for a guest suite. It’s private and allows visitors to access parking through the back gate but also utilize the backdoor as their own entrance if they prefer.

There was a lot to be done in order make this happen. There was a stackable washer and dryer and a shower stall in a tiny room off the bedroom that had no sink or toilet. It is the size of a small closet. The laundry needed to be moved. The floor tiles were loose and broken and needed to be ripped out. The shower needed a facelift, and the hardwood floors stripped. And I had to come up with a creative way to add a closet. The door to the tiny bathroom was ridiculously too wide, so my plan was to make the doorway smaller and add a pocket door.

Electrical outlets would added, along with overhead lighting and an exhaust fan. Eventually I would like to add a window to the bathroom to let in some natural light.

The doorway between the sunroom and the living room will also be removed All this needed to be accomplished on a tight budget, because I unexpectedly lost my only source of income, my JOB. But that wasn’t going to stop me. I was determined to finish this project. I’m scrappy, not afraid to work with my hands and I’m pretty good at sourcing good deals.

You may have seen, the post about the bathroom renovation which took over three months to complete. I hired a plumber to install a new toilet and sink after we moved the washer and dryer to the basement. There was just enough space for a toilet and my cast iron sink that I had been holding on to for several years. It was the perfect space for the sink. The plumbing was eventually moved behind the walls after my contractor found a plumber who was good with adding finishing touches.

Prior to the sink installation I removed the loose and broken tile from the floor and discovered there were hardwood floors hidden underneath. Oh what a sweet surprise to find hidden treasure.

The mirror above the sink was another vintage find that I wanted to add to the bathroom. Since there was no space to add storage I had to come up with some clever ways to store toiletries and makeup. This cabinet still had the old beveled mirror intact.

These vintage medicine cabinets are great for saving space. Unfortunately, In order for my contractor to install the cabinet in the wall we needed to cut the beam to center it over the sink. My heart sank. I didn’t like the sound of that and didn’t need the house falling over due to a mirror I had to have. Thankfully, my contractor, Dallas knew exactly what he was doing.

How cool it was to discover that behind the walls, Kelly Jewell also numbered the beams, just like he did the floors, so he could put the house back together board by board.

After removing the tiles, I started the process of stripping the wood floors so I could reveal their natural beauty. They were covered in a dark/orange stain which not only made the space too dark but it didn’t show any of the raw character of the wood. Can you believe these floors are almost 200 years old? That’s a big reason I am a huge advocate for using sustainable products. This is what will last for many more years to come. No LVP in this house!

The shower was dated, and not in a good way. But the tile on the shower walls was still in good shape so I opted to paint them to save on money and time. I did some research and discovered that epoxy is a great product to paint shower tile. It’s a quick weekend project without the hassle of a major renovation. And it’s durable. It may not be the end result but it’s a quick fix until I have the extra money to install new tile in the future.

There was a space above the toilet that I thought would also be a good place for storage. If you don’t have floor space then look to the walls for storage.

I found this great piece at Habitat for Humanity for $10. I didn’t know how I was going to use it, but when I found the old barn door at the salvage store I knew I could turn it into a cabinet. The issue was there was only 7 inches in depth for the cabinet to hang above the toilet since I bought a smaller toilet. Most cabinets are 12 inches in depth so I had to improvise and make my own.

My handyman cut the barn door into two pieces, added hinges and knobs. Now I can store all the toilet paper I need for my guests!

I have always loved discovering a secret pocket door hidden behind a wall. Adding a pocket door to the bathroom seemed like a tedious process, so I left this one for my contractor to handle. My neighbor gifted me an old vintage door, which I happily accepted. I gave it a little sprucing up and handed it to Dallas for the pocket door project.

Next up was lighting! I had been on the hunt for a time period light but I wasn’t finding what I was looking for. But then one day I popped into Legacy and found just the perfect one. Isn’t she pretty!

I have learned that sometimes just a little patience and time is all I need. Usually the pieces we are searching for appear when we least expect it. it’s easy to buy from big box stores but outfitting your home with vintage finds not only make the home more special, but it gives it warmth and character.

I had to come up with a resolution for the lack of a closet in the room but I wanted a built in that looked like it had been there all this time. Currently, I was using an old armoire for a closet. There was so much wasted space since I have such tall ceilings.

So after cruising through Pinterest boards and blogs I came up with a plan.
This was my inspiration.

I hired a local handyman, who was painfully slow on the build out, but in the end it worked out. He built the closet from floor to ceiling like I wanted. These old homes have a lack of closet space so I wanted to go big on the closet but we only had so much floor space.

The doorway to the living room also needed to be removed. Who needs two doors to a bedroom? I wanted my guests to feel private and securely tucked away in their own space at night, so it was imperative that the door leading to the living room be removed. I believe the sunroom had once been the old back porch so that was the reason for the extra door.

Once the framing had been started I came up with a great design trick to use the extra space from the doorway as a built in bookshelf. Utilizing all the extra space in this room was key.

Once I took a closer look, it turns out the bookshelf installation had a lot of blemishes and some of the wood had mold growing on it, so Dallas came in once again and re-worked it. A good craftsman is a talent and it can be difficult finding the right one. I learned to from this experience to take the time to interview several contractors and ask for references and pictures of their work.

Now that the closet and the bathroom build out is complete, it is time to strip the rest of the floors. Renting a sander wasn’t a viable option because the floor boards are nailed in individually so it will need to be done by hand. With the help of a stripper, my handy sander and many talks with my dad and my friend, Kody encouraging me and guiding me from afar, I got to work.

Look how the light just bounces off the floors now. I am so delighted with the results. It was messy, smelly and back breaking, but oh so worth it!

Next up… paint!

I had no idea there were so many shades of white paint. I found the perfect shade and spent the next few days painting every nook and cranny.

Now the fun begins! The furniture and decor! I wanted this space to feel homey and not cramped but I also wanted to add some conveniences for travelers like a mini fridge, coffee station and a microwave. After reading up about furnishing an Airbnb the most important place to spend my money on was the bedding. The space needed a comfortable bed, and I also wanted to elevate the linens to feel luxurious. So I went with a linen duvet and a highly rated mattress, waffle weave towels and the best pillows I could find.

The bed frame I found on marketplace for $40. It was covered in black chippy paint so I spent a few hours sanding off the paint. I was happy with the results. It looks perfect in the space now.

I added a vintage microwave cart and a mini fridge I bought from a friend, which was perfect for the coffee station. I splurged on a Nespresso coffee machine and found the cutest retro microwave.

I don’t particularly like to cover my window because the windows are so large. I love how they look without coverings. So artful and simplistic. The natural surroundings is the art for the house.

The house sits upon a hill and it feels like you are in a treehouse, so there really is no need to cover the windows except in the bedrooms. I went with a soft natural linen curtain, but I will eventually be adding blackout curtains or a woven shade.

Don’t you just love the pocket door.

I have been adding pops of marble through out the house. My bathroom remodel has a marble counter top that I just love. Marble is not cheap but it feels so exquisite, so I added a slim marble shelf above the sink for a place for hand soap and for guests to get ready in the morning.

I added a new shower head, but eventually I would like to add a rain shower head. I also don’t have a place for shampoo or conditioner so I’m working on finding something I can attach to the tile.

My son, Kyle is an HVAC pro so he was able to instal the exhaust fan at very little cost. I also will be adding a new light fixture above the mirror and a new chandelier above the bed, but those are little things I can upgrade as I find them.

I am so pleased with how the space turned out. As I rifle through the pictures I am amazed on how the renovation truly transformed the space. I love it so much I may have to sleep down here. 🙂

One of my best friends from Colorado was visiting for her birthday this past May and I wanted the space to be a surprise for her. She was going to be my very first guest in the room.

I was scrambling at the last minute with all the final touches before Julie arrived, and was running out of time. My friend, September came over to lend a hand to help with the last minute cleaning and even ran to the store to pick up some wine and snacks for Julie. A friend that picks up a vacuum for you is a friend worth keeping!

Julie’s birthday weekend was full of beach days, conversations on the porch, lots of girly time, good tacos, margaritas and puppy time. I was so excited to share this space with one of my dearest friends, who has witnessed so many of my projects on the Lowell house. I know she would understand what it meant to me. She was so gracious and overjoyed to be the first to stay in the Isabella guest suite. Side note. September named the room not knowing Kelly Jewell’s wife was named Isabelle.

Now that we are nearing Labor Day weekend, it’s been a summer full of bookings. I have hosted close to 30 guests and have 28 reviews. Many were female solo travelers who came for the beach. Some visited for a wedding or a concert. I hosted several couples who came to Wilmington for an anniversary or a birthday getaway, several dogs and a 5 week old kitten. It truly has brought me so much joy to open my home to guests and new friends and hear their stories.

This experience felt like it gave me my voice back. It helped me find my purpose again. It showed me that I truly do have a gift for hosting and this is just the beginning of my journey with this house and my future. I have big dreams and I hope to open up more spaces.

“Becca was born to be a host! She’s so hospitable and goes the extra mile to make you feel comfortable. The historic charm of the house blew me away. It’s so beautiful and well decorated. With any historic home there are a few challenges (I live in one, myself) but there’s nothing like knowing the place you’re in has been loved for almost two centuries. Here’s what I loved about this home: the bed is incredibly comfortable and we didn’t want to leave it, the A/C is so effective, the location is ideal, and Becca made us a welcome basket with all we needed”.

To view the listing or book your stay click here.