“Okay, let’s talk to Georgia and pencil in some dates that might work. As far as which type of foundation we should have, I’ll let you decide. Is there anything else you need to figure out?”
He nodded. “The architect sent over several drawings. We’ll need to make some choices. Whichever foundation we decide on, we’ll need to have the footprint set in stone before we start. I guess the biggest question is whether you decided on one or two bedrooms or a combination of both.”
I licked my lips. “I have been thinking about that. On the one hand, two-bedroom cottages would be attractive for families. On the other hand, I worry about attracting too many children and altering the peaceful and quiet setting we currently enjoy. We don’t have a policy against children, and there are families who check in from time to time, but since the suites are only one bedroom, families don’t necessarily think to book with us.”
“I have six kids, so I get what you’re saying. It would be a shame to destroy the peaceful setting you have here. Let’s take a walk and look at the sites. Maybe we can narrow things down a bit.”
“Okay, that sounds good. Jeremy has been working on the pond all week. You’ll want to see that anyway. It’s a lot larger than I thought it would be, but when coupled with the waterfall trickling into it, I can see that once he gets the plants in, it’s going to be a favorite place to while away a summer afternoon.”
“It was a good idea to place it back in that grove of mature trees so there will be lots of shade. I’m planning to place the two pond-side cottages in such a way so as to preserve as many trees as possible. If we’re creative, we might get away without taking any of them out.”
“That would be wonderful.”
Once Lonnie and I arrived at the pond, we walked around the area, discussing the exact placement for two of the cottages. A two-bedroom unit would be bigger and harder to tuck away without disturbing the grove, so in my mind, that helped me to decide on one-bedroom units, at least for these two cottages. Lonnie positioned our bodies so I could get a feel for different frontages. I knew I wanted the cottages to have covered porches and that I didn’t want the cottages directly facing each other. We decided that placing them both on the western edge of the pond and angling them toward the pond so that when you were sitting on the porch or in the living area, you were looking at the waterfall and not your neighbor’s front door was the way to go.
We also discussed landscaping tricks that would provide screens and act as privacy barriers, and we discussed the placement of the gas fireplaces and the outdoor grills we planned to install for all the cottages.
Georgia, Jeremy, and I had discussed the fact that winters could be hard, so we planned to offer the cottages from May through October. Jeremy would break down the pond and winterize the cottages each November after the Halloween crowd cleared out. Since we might want to look at year-round cottages someday, I wanted them insulated enough for use in the winter if we chose, but in the beginning, having seasonal cottages just seemed like the right decision.
Once Lonnie and I had finished talking about the details relating to the two pond cottages, we headed to the piece of land reserved for the ocean-front cottage. Again, we decided on a one-bedroom unit with a wall of windows overlooking the sea. We placed a gas fireplace in the corner, and we angled the bedroom so that it overlooked the sea as well.
The fourth cottage was tucked away at the very western border of the property. It had a partial ocean view and was well away from the inn and the other cottages. I decided to make this one a two-bedroom. Couples with children would be attracted to the two-bedroom unit and would have plenty of room to stretch out. While the cottage was pretty isolated at this point, two of the additional four cottages that had been drawn onto the property for future development, should we choose, were slated to be built along this western border as well.
“Have you figured out the meal issue?” Lonnie asked as we walked back toward the inn. Meals were eaten in the dining room or on the patio during the summer. Even when we were fully booked, there was plenty of room for all the guests to eat together. With the addition of the cottages, accommodating everyone for a communal meal would be tricky when the place was fully booked.
“Georgia and I are working on it. It won’t be so bad when the weather is good, since most guests choose to eat outside anyway and we have plenty of room on the patio. The cottages will only be offered late spring through mid-fall, so we won’t have to worry about meal times in the winter. If we have a fully booked inn while it’s still too cold to eat outdoors, I guess we may have to offer A and B meal times. At least for dinner. Breakfast is served buffet-style, and folks tend to wander in at different times anyway.”
“It’s good that you’re just starting with four cottages instead of doing all eight right off the bat. It will give you time to work out any issues that arise from the extra guests, and it will allow you more
