Brenda Blond, owner and renovator of the GraceNote Inn & Spa in the Mayville part of Bethel, with the sign to the inn, which opened to the public this month. Rose Lincoln
BETHEL — “I didn’t come to Maine thinking I was going to open a bed-and-breakfast,” says Brenda Blond, owner of the GraceNote Inn & Spa. “I was kicking around up here … and looked at this place for fun.”
When Cassie Mason, a real estate agent, showed Blond the house at 174 Mayville Road, it had been empty for at least 15 years and needed extensive repair.
As Blond walked the property, she imagined the barn as a spa and the house as a B&B. She and husband, Carl, looked at the Norseman Resort and a few other properties, but returned to 174 Mayville Road, buying the property for $239,000 in the spring of 2016.
As work continued, motorists saw the house on busy Route 2 come to life. It was especially noticeable in the spring, when Blond’s hundreds of tulips stood out against the bright white house.
Of the five-year renovation, Blond said, “I was a woman in a man’s world.”
Working with several contractors over those years, Blond finally found her “dream team” — a couple of local handymen who have completed the house and will finish the spa by fall.
Previous to Bethel, Brenda Blond, a New Hampshire native, worked as a director of nursing, managing 87 nurses at a hospital-based oncology unit. Her husband is a doctor, still living and working in San Antonio, although he plans to move to Maine by fall.
They also own a farmhouse they renovated in Newry.
A widower with eight children built the house in 1791. The style was likely very plain at the time, so Blond took her renovation cue from molding she noticed on the exterior corners. The Federalist style is the design she incorporated, and it was likely how the house looked when William Rogers Chapman and family summered there.
Chapman was born in Bethel and raised by his widowed mother. He attended Gould Academy and became a musician and music teacher. He is best known as the founder of the Maine Music Festival, and was its director for 20 years.
William Rogers Chapman, a Bethel native who lived from 1855 to 1935, was director of the Maine Music Festival and lived at 174 Mayville Road. Bethel Historical Society.
The house has the piano where Chapman learned to play by ear during the two years he was blinded by the Spanish flu. There is also the fireplace from the original Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City, a gift to Chapman, who spent winters there.
Blond’s choice of name — GraceNote, which is an extra note added as an embellishment to a principal musical note — is because of Chapman.
Blond also drew design inspiration from Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s home in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Of the renovation, Blond says, “It has a taste of elegance, but it is casual and comfortable, too.”
The inn has six suites, and the minimum two-night stay includes breakfast. Cream-colored paneled walls, glossy white oak floors, recessed lighting and louvered window coverings give the interior a serene feeling.
Outside, a small potting shed and greenhouse share the 2 acres of lawn space with a newly built spa. Surrounding it is the original granite from the former barn that could not be saved.
“We felt spiritually that the granite should not leave the property.” Blond said.
The Blonds’ dog, Joey, rests inside the dining room at GraceNote Inn & Spa in the Mayville part of Bethel. The inn opened to the public this month. Rose Lincoln
The couple also took down the pine trees that covered about three-fourths of the property, but saved a few other trees.
Last Saturday night, Blond hosted a private dinner that raised more than $7,000 for the Mahoosuc Land Trust, a group her family holds dear.
“We hope to do more fundraisers,” said Blond, who also donated 1,000 pounds of food from her raised beds to a youth group that distributes it to those in need.
“I aspire to have a lot of events so people will feel welcome, like we are a part of their community,” Blond said.
In the winter, the Blonds plan to host a gingerbread cookie-making workshop and offer house tours. The $5 admission fee for the tour will be donated to the local food pantry.
“Events and fundraisers will be our contributions to the community,” Brenda Blond said.
Family memories are likely to be made at the inn, too. This October, the Blonds’ daughter, Amy, is to be married at a nearby meadow, with a view of South Ridge, and her wedding reception is planned for GraceNote.
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