Apothecary Shed

Jumping way ahead.  The Natural Mane in its new state.

 

As a successful salon business owner for over a decade, Romey knew she should own her own space instead of renting.  Any idea when the best time to take a financial risk and do that is?  Never!  So when is the second best time?  During a global pandemic, of course.  It takes a special kind of vision to fly directly into the vacuum.  Here is Romey’s story.

Before: The Barbershop

The discussion quickly became a reality in late 2020 when the 1850s era Berryville jailhouse (that had been a barbershop for many years) came on the market.  Here is what the space looked like before it was purchased.

You can’t quite tell from here, but that floor is 5 layers of flooring all tottering on joists that are about to give up the ghost.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before buying the building, finding a contractor and spitballing what renovation would cost was the next step.  Also an in-depth inspection.  Needless to say, Romey kind of knew what she was getting into.  Kind of only because a building from 1850 always holds surprises.  This was going to be a hell of a project!

Demolition

The barbershop was utterly removed, the attic was exposed and cleaned out, the floor was removed, and lo and behold the bones of the building began to emerge.  But first, a permit.

 

 

One of those unexpected finds was a chimney basically hanging in space.  It had to go.  But the architecture review board had to approve first since the skyline changed.

 

 

 

But first a slight delay waiting for a building permit.  Thanks to Allen Kitselman, all of this permitting happened as smoothly as possible.

Floor and Plumbing

All that flooring?  Gone.  And all of the joists?  Replaced.  Plus the basement was parged and lined with plastic.  While the floor was missing, the plumbing trade got started bringing the building’s water system to code.  Everything was replaced.

For a while, it was fun to walk on the skinny boards that sufficed for a floor.

 

 

 

 

Stonework

Repointing the stone was also an unexpected expense, but one well worth the investment.  just look at these walls.

 

The rest of the space was framed for drywall.

 

 

 

Drywall

Drywall is always surprisingly fast.  And then it was up!

 

 

 

 

Painting and Lights

Finish work is always a thing.  Romey picked out flooring (local hardwood), wall, and trim colors, and supervised their proper application.

 

 

Now look at this.  The space is coming together.

 

 

That eye for lines, color, and design shows right through.

Birthday Dinners

So what do you do in February with a space that is coming together and two February birthdays?  A dinner party in the space.  Cyn and Ant joined us to celebrate the new space and the old people.

 

By this time Romey and I had a habit of meeting for cocktails after work to check out progress.  This was a fun tradition and made the stress of renovation turn into celebration.  Magic.

 

Moving In

A one day move in included shampoo sink, work stations, retail, heck, everything.  Even some lights moved.  Claudio was more than useful.  Moving two blocks is way harder than moving 1000 miles.

 

 

 

 

The Completed Space

Several months later, the final move in (originally planned for January) happened in March.  And the salon was reborn in a fabulous, unique space.

A perfect blend of old features like the beams and the stone with sleek modern design befitting a place of beauty-making.

All told the project was an absolutely excellent way to spend the heart of the pandemic.  A new beautiful space built in the interstitial time.  Risk taking like this is brave, to be sure, and it usually pays back.

Be brave.

Coda: The Stained Glass

Six months later, the stained glass panel designed by Romey was installed.  Now the space is complete.