Hallauer House on Flicklr

Pictures tell the story and our picture story can be found by visiting not only our main website, our secondary website, our BLOG, but now our many albums displayed on Flickr.

On Flickr the written words appear only in the description of the pictures themselves. You don't have to read, you just have to enjoy the photos. Here you can browse the albums and explore Hallauer House to see our guest rooms, our common rooms, our Asian Spa, our rec/exercise room, our gardens, our pool, our guests, our local attractions, and our changing decorations.

Nine albums have been added so far but we invite you to check back frequently to see all the new additions! Leave some comments and come and visit! Happy browsing!

Decorated for a Civil War Christmas Celebration

The Confederate Room, the Union Room, the Mason/Dixon Suite, these are the rooms that you will find in the Hallauer House Bed and Breakfast. Here you can touch a Civil War sword, inspect a Union and Confederate uniform, find out what a lap desk is, see and touch other Civil War artifacts and peruse a library of books and publications about the Civil War. And with the season of Christmas, you can now also enjoy a Civil War Christmas tree right in your room and learn how the holiday was celebrated in the 1860's.

The Christmas tree originated in Germany in the early 1800's and the idea of the decorated tree slowly made it's way to America. By 1861 most homes had a Christmas tree and mistletoe. Green tree boughs were placed around the mantles and table tops, stockings were hung, special foods were prepared, small gifts were presented to children and servants, and Christmas cards were sent to relatives unable to travel the long distances. But because commercial ornaments were not available until the late 1800's families gathered around and made their own tree decorations. Imagine now making all of your tree ornaments!

Back in the day the family would start by making stings of popcorn and cranberries to use as garland around the tree. Then they got to work to make popcorn balls and dry fruit such as oranges, grapefruit, apples, pears, lemons that could be hung on the tree branches after a string or ribbon was punched through. Pine cones, nuts, and small gifts, such as, little books, paint boxes, jewelry, pencils, balls decorated with burlap, fabric and ribbons, and little trinkets and small toys were all hung. Paper was used to make cones which were then filled with hard candies and hung by ribbons on the trees. Small penny rug ornaments were made of wool to hang. At the end of some tree branches a small candle was attached and on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day the candles were lit, though for just a very short time. 

Stockings on the mantle were usually filled with hard candies, apples, oranges, balls of wool, a pair of gloves, hats, and scarves. The first illustration of Santa was done by Thomas Nast in 1863. It portrayed Santa in an outfit of striped pants and star spangled jacket making 'Santa' a Union patriot.

This year at Hallauer House we have decorated a Civil War Christmas tree for each guest room. On each you will find the popcorn and cranberry garland, dried fruits, small toys, balls of burlap and fabric, little penny rung ornaments, cones filled with candy, and pine cones hung with ribbons. What you will not find is the candle! But we have cheated just a little and instead of wax candles that burn, you will find little electric candles just to add that touch of glow! 

We invite you to come and be our guest this holiday. Enjoy the Christmas tree and fireplace in your room, the large tree in the downstairs, and the decorated mantles with candle light. Have a 4 course breakfast in the glow of a candle lit dining room. So give us a call when you want to experience a Christmas past.

And if you are still looking for a perfect gift for that someone special, we do have Gift Certificates available. Why give stuff when you can give the gift of love and history!

A Change in the Suite!

The last few days have been very busy as we revamped the Suite in between guest visits. It was a challenge but we got it done! I want to share the new look on the Blog before I go in and change the website pictures.


The new addition is a queen mahogany sleigh bed set against the fabric padded wall. And I must say that it is a very, very, heavy bed! Joe and I carried each piece up the antique staircase. The side rails and the foot board were easy, no sweat, but that massive head board was a weight lifter's challenge! After some twisting, heaving, sweating, and hoping that the new guest didn't arrive early, we finally got it upstairs and into the room. And believe me when I say that it will stay there forever! Here are some pictures of the 'new bed!'

There will also be another change coming as I plan to remove the louvered shades and replace them with a pull curtain. Casement windows are a challenge when it comes to window coverings as in many cases they are meant to be cover free. So to offer privacy and light filtering we opted with the louvered blinds but I've never really thought that they look right. So I'm working on a new concept. Stay tuned for that unveiling later!

The Mason/Dixon Suite has become our most asked for room! You will enjoy it!

NEW ADDITION!!!

It's finally done!!! Our new addition! We now have guests enjoying our new fitness center which has state of the art exercise equipment located in our heated garage. The exercise area is surrounded by Japanese-like tatami screens and the equipment is situated on top of bamboo rugs to give that calming Asian feeling while working out.



For those of you who would like to work your muscles, we have the Bowflex Sport with the leg equipment. If you're new to Bowflex and need some help there are directions for working each muscle group.


For cardio, you can choose from one of three machines. The elliptical and the treadmill are both the SOLE brand and the bike is the SCHWINN brand. The elliptical has 10 programs, an audio system plug-in for your ipod, and a built in fan. The treadmill is also the SOLE brand and also has 10 programs with a maximum speed of 12 mph with a 15 per cent incline and it has a built-in audio system.

So bring your sweats and your water bottle and never miss a workout while you are staying at Hallauer House B & B! We are one of the very few small (3 rooms) B & B's with an in-ground swimming pool and a workout area! And don't forget the sauna! Strength train, do some cardio, and relax in the far-infrared sauna! In the summer incorporate some laps in the pool!

Stay fit! Stay healthy! Stay at Hallauer House B & B! Come on over! You know you want to!

A True Bubble Bath!

A favorite room for guests here at Hallauer House is the Asian Spa with its whirlpool tub and far-infrared sauna. Spend a half hour in the nice hot sauna where you can just relax and dream or use the time to delve into a good book.








Then fill the Jacuzzi up with warm water, light the fragrant candles, insert a serenity music CD into the Bose stereo, lay out the fluffy towels, turn on the jets, and step into the melting pot of total relaxation! Sip some wine and let the cares of the world just slip away. There is no better way to spend an evening alone with yourself or with the one you care the most about.



But beware! Putting in a few drops of bubble bath and turning on the jets will result in an explosion of bubbles that go everywhere!!! It has happened here!



So come and stay for the weekend and enjoy the Spa! We would love to have you visit but leave the bubble bath at home!!!

More pictures of the Mason/Dixon Suite

In recent weeks, we have had several potential guests calling for more information and explanation of how our Mason/Dixon Suite is laid out so I thought it might be a good idea to give more details on a blog post.

The Suite received it's name from a neighbor who, after she saw the Confederate and Union Rooms, just popped out with the Mason/Dixon name! We thank her as this name has fit nicely with the layout and theme of the B & B. The Mason Dixon Line was a name used to acknowledge a separation of the north and the south during the Civil War.
At the B & B it doesn't actually separate our Union and Confederate Rooms but it does run the entire width of the house and comprises two separate rooms.

The entire living space that guests will have is approximately 550 square feet with a view out of 20 casement windows! On the northern side of the room the view is of the pool and gardens and on the southern side your view will be of the treetops, the driveway and the wildflower garden. On this side also in the spring there is a fantastic view of the flowering magnolia tree where you can almost reach out and touch the petals! I would take a picture of this beautiful tree but it will have to wait until spring arrives! At that time I will post an addendum to this post with that picture so do come back!


The first room of the Suite houses a queen canopy bed, antique furniture, a satellite TV in a corner cupboard, a mini refrigerator in the closet, a leather like swivel chair and a very comfortable wing back chair. In the corner of the room we have placed the antique dresser plumbed with an above bowl sink.

Beside the dresser/sink is the sliding door leading into the actual bathroom which houses the corner
whirlpool tub, the toilet, and the free standing shower. For those romantic occasions, the Jacuzzi tub is surrounded by mini lights hidden in green ivy.

In order to separate the bed from the view of the bathroom and the sink area, there is a full curtain that affords a guest in the queen bed complete privacy from the side of the room with the sink


Moving through the door and into the connecting room, you will enter a space that is so large that it houses a queen bed, a full bed, a sitting area, a desk area, and a reading area!

The double or full brass bed is situated on the southern side of the room with a reading light on each side and a Birdseye maple dressing table next to it. This is a great place for applying makeup with lots of light

On the opposite side of the room with a garden and pool view, is located the queen bed with a checkerboard patterned padded wall used as a headboard. Tall lights allow reading on both sides of the bed.

The conversational sitting area is in the middle of the room separating the two beds. The sofa converts to a single sofa bed for either a 4th or 7th person. From this area, one can converse, read, or watch the satellite TV.

And the room is still large enough to have a bookcase full of antique and modern books with another lounge chair to relax in while reading or move it over to expand the conversational area.

Sitting at the antique desk, a guest can look out over the pool and garden while working at a wireless computer or doing other business.

Because each room has a closet, there is plenty of room for hanging up clothes or storing luggage. Or slide the luggage under the bed. Who wants to trip over suitcases when you're trying to relax!

And the tour of the Mason/Dixon Suite comes to an end. We hope you enjoyed it and can get a better visualization of the space that will be yours when you book accommodations for yourself and friends or family in what is also known as 'The Blue Suite!' We are looking forward to your visit. Give us a call. You won't be disappointed!