The Inn at Forest Oaks
20 Houston Tavern Lane, Natural Bridge, Virginia
https://theinnatforestoaks.com
On Halloween Night of 2018, I arrived in the community of Natural Bridge, Virginia, where I had reserved a room at a B&B called The Inn at Forest Oaks. I had been intrigued by the photos I’d seen online, but could not have imagined the full measure of the place until I walked in the front door; in that moment, I realized that I had just stepped back in time upon entering the most breathtaking historic home restoration I’d ever seen.
The house dates to 1806 under the ownership of Matthew Houston, a cousin of the more famous Sam Houston. Other historic American figures - Thomas Jefferson and Daniel Boone among them - visited this home in the early 1800's, when its lower floor served as a store and tavern.
Today it offers comfortable lodging for travelers like myself, in a setting almost too spectacular to believe. If you happen to pass through the Natural Bridge community but fail to spend a night here, you’re simply out of your mind.
The current owners, Chris Walker and Cliff DeVito, have restored the house to a level of detail and polish that is nothing short of amazing. The enormous front door opens into a cathedral-like entry hall that rises two stories, featuring a gleaming, golden ceiling of embossed metal, and a massive, wooden arch intended to reflect the nearby landmark for which this community is named: the Natural Bridge. A grand staircase with a massive bannister and plush carpeting rises to a second floor where six private rooms are set aside for the accommodation of travelers.
Every room in the house is a visual masterwork of interior design, and a welcoming target for any camera; Chris and Cliff were so happy with my photos that they asked me to return to shoot every room in the house, for the purpose of better illustrating the inn’s website. Today, my photos can be found on the pages dedicated to the guest rooms and a nearby cottage; you can find links to each of them from the Inn's homepage.
Here, however, I’m featuring a variety of shots that are simply personal favorites of mine, including many that you won't find on the inn’s official site. These shots do not always represent individual rooms, but instead highlight the fine details, surfaces and colors to be found throughout the house.
