Courtesy of Kathleen and Jack Stell
By Jill Nagy
“This is my third career and I’m loving it,” said Kathleen Stell, owner of the newly opened Storybook Cottage on the Hudson bed and breakfast in Stillwater.
At the age of 80 she is not ready to retire. She and her husband, Jack, “fell in love” with the house, and when they learned that a previous owner operated a bed and breakfast in it, “a light bulb went on” and they bought the house.
Storybook Cottage is the architectural style and the house is roughly modeled on houses built as sets for Disney movies. It is a five-bedroom house built in 1932. It has a steep slate roof, a fireplace with a 12-foot-wide chimney, screened porch, a large deck and, according to Stell, is perfectly laid out for use as a bed and breakfast.
Her husband, a licensed marriage and family counselor as well as a licensed mental health counselor, took over a first floor bedroom for his office. Three bedrooms, each with a bathroom, on the second floor are rented out, mostly on weekends. However, one of their first guests stayed five days. During the Fourth of July holiday week, the rooms were booked every night.
Future plans include conversion of an auxiliary building to provide four more bedrooms. They plan to stay open year-round except for a possible vacation in January.
Renovations took almost nine months, including wiring, plumbing, new heat and air conditioning, and some heavy-duty landscaping, most of it done by “very talented great local people,” according to Stell. She and her husband did some painting, stripped wallpaper, and furnished the house. When the work was done they hosted an open house. Several hundred neighbors came, many of whom had never been inside the house before.
With few other overnight options in Stillwater, Storybook Cottage is becoming a base for visiting family.
Stell does the cooking and baking, all of it gluten-free. She makes muffins every morning, some extra on Tuesdays to sell at the farmers’ market. The breakfast menu includes casseroles, breakfast sandwich, homemade granola, a high-protein smoothie, or simple bacon and eggs. Guests are on their own for other meals but have access to a large “gathering room” to eat their take-out and, Stell noted, there is pizza available two doors away.
The Stells moved to the area from Spokane, Washington, three years ago. Largely due to the pandemic, his practice was all online and easily transported. Gradually, he has transitioned to an in-person practice based in the cottage.
Each of them has two adult children from previous marriages and between them they have 12 grandchildren ranging in age from 4 to 30.
This is their first venture into the hospitality industry. Previously, they designed training programs for the Department of Homeland Security and other U.S. Government agencies.
Rates at the bed and breakfast, subject to change, are from $120 to $150 a night for two people, with breakfast.
Storybook Cottage is located on Hudson Avenue across from Blockhouse Park and the Hudson River. Kayaks are available for rent.
For more information log on to storybookcottage.net.