The antiques, gleaming wood floors, crystal and stained glass windows and overflowing abundance of things (”Victorians were great with creative clutter,” says Bill Cecil) give the Scofield House, in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., the charm and splendor of the Victorian era.
At the same time, Bill and Fran Cecil have added touches and conveniences to their bed-and-breakfast place that certainly were unknown to anyone living at the turn of the century.
”What you do is take something old, make it new and then go to great lengths to make it look old,” says Bill Cecil. ”We know that when it comes right down to it, the American public is probably more interested in good bathrooms than beautiful woodwork.”
Thus, four of the six rooms have oversized whirlpool tubs. Antique armoires and cabinets conceal television sets, stereos and VCRs, and the library shelves are lined with movies as well as books.
Mixed in with the antiques are touches of nostalgia from Bill Cecil`s family. A quilt with Peter Rabbit holding a letter for ”Billy Cecil” was made by his grandmother and hangs on the wall in one room. So does his christening gown.
A desk and chair were made from a walnut tree that grew on his grandfather`s farm. Several Oriental accessories are scattered around the house, reminders of time he spent in Japan.
”We`re not purists,” he says. ”If we like it, we use it.”
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By far the most lavish of the six rooms in Scofield House is The Room at the Top, finished just two weeks ago.
It hardly qualifies as a room. Occuping the entire third floor, it has 800 square feet and so many conveniences that if it had a stove, guests would never have to go downstairs.
There are five skylights, a double whirlpool tub under one of the skylights, wet bar, refrigerator, 25-inch TV, VCR, stereo system, fireplace, separate sitting area and Oriental rugs. It is decadently luxurious and rents for $175 a night.
The rates for the other five rooms range from $65 for the Blue Room, which is the only room where guests have to go down the hall for the bathroom, to $125 for the Rose Room.
For information on the Scofield House, call 414-743-7727.