Perched on top of the famous Sears Hill, "The Sparrow" is a homey cottage located in Historic Downtown Staunton. Newly renovated with a priceless view of Staunton, The Sparrow boasts a comfortable and memorable stay with a twinkle light back deck overlooking the city, a private master suite with its own lounge area, and a minutes walk to downtown shops, theatre, and eating. Only 40 mins. to Wintergreen and Charlottesville/30 mins. to Harrisonburg and vineyards on 151/40 mins. to Lexington!
The space:
Welcome to the Sparrow, a circa 1929 restored home on the historic Sears Hill in Staunton, VA. We welcome you with a rocking chair front porch, a coded deadbolt front door for easy access and secure locking, and a bird's egg blue front door. As you enter the living room, we offer original heart pine floors that are restored (and we love them so please remove your shoes!), comfy leather furniture for hanging out with family, a plush rug, a tv with Roku for simple streaming, board games, and don't forget to check out our custom Guidebook, restoration before and after photo album, and our FAQ binder found on the foyer table, along with a custom postcard you can send to your family during your trip to Staunton. All of the art throughout the home are custom framed photos, maps, and historic photos of Staunton.
In the front bedroom off of the living room, there is a queen sized bed with hotel quality bedding and fluffy duvet cover for chilly nights. Also in this front bedroom is a full sized antique dresser for clothing storage, bedside table with lamp equipped for phone charginga trunk full of throw blankets if needed, a closet with coat hangers, an iron, and ironing board.
Off of the living room is the bright white kitchen with dark granite countertops and open shelving, stainless steel appliances, pots and pans, cooking utensils and silverware, a baking sheet, Tupperware, a fire extinguisher, olive oil, salt and pepper, a Keurig coffeemaker, glassware including coffee mugs, cups, and wine glasses (perfect for Yelping Dog wine!), a toaster, a microwave, and airbnb sized refrigerator. With ever guest, we provide a tray of grab and go goodies for when you first arrive with Bigelow tea bags, Pike Place Keurig cups, creamers, nuts, and Kind bars for each guest. Also in the kitchen is a dining table for two ready for morning coffee.
Beside the kitchen is the other main floor bedroom with two twin beds and hotel quality bedding, an antique dry sink for clothing storage, bedside table with lamp equipped for phone charging, and closet with coat hangers. Can you see the view of downtown Staunton from the window?
Immediately down the stairs, you are welcomed by our original open rustic beam 6.5 foot ceilings with brand new waterproof LVT floors, and warm and cozy rugs. Next to the stairs is the grab and go bathroom utility cart with a couple extra towels (2 per guest will already be provided on each bed), black makeup washcloths, normal hand towels, and a blow dryer.
As you go through the custom barn doors DOWNSTAIRS, you will enter the bright and happy full bathroom with a marble top vanity, and storage with extra toilet paper and first aid kit, and you can't miss the 1930 restored claw foot tub with chrome 1920 style hardware perfect for an evening soak with a glass of wine!
At the bottom of the stairs is the private seating area for the master suite with its very own matching comfy chairs, lamp for phone charging, and electric fireplace for cold evenings and a cozy place to read a book or have an evening chat with someone you love.
The downstairs bedroom is what we would consider the private master suite with a locking barn door, queen bed with hotel quality bedding and a fluffy duvet, a bedside table with lamp equipped for phone charging, a 32 inch wall-mounted tv with Roku for easy streaming, and an antique armoire with dowel rod for clothing hanging and custom storage shelves, and a basket full of soft throw blankets.
Off of the master bedroom is the exterior door to the back deck. The back deck has a view of all of downtown Staunton and twinkle lights strewn all the way across the deck. Outdoor seating and a table is also provided if you want to take any meals on the back deck.
Guest access:
The Sparrow is an old home built on an old, narrow street in downtown Staunton with no off street parking. The hill to the Sparrow is very steep but with that comes extremely good road maintenance in the snowy seasons, and VIEWS that will blow your socks off. The street leads you straight to "Woodrow Park" and the whole city overlook, and the bridge to downtown Staunton is within walking distance and great for an after-dinner walk.
You will have access to the entire home including the yard and front/back decks. You will not have access to the housekeeper's laundry room off of the downstairs master bedroom.
Other things to note:
In an effort to maintain a secure premises, the house is equipped with four exterior cameras. The cameras are ONLY on the exterior, and there are no cameras on the inside of the home.
This home was built in 1929 and not up to today's construction standards so you will find lower ceiling heights in the downstairs level (6.5 feet), lower doorways, and a narrow and steep stairwell.
The home's bathroom has a septic pump. Do NOT flush anything except toilet paper during your stay. The bathroom is located down the stairs on the lower floor with lower ceilings, so if you aren't able to go up and down stairs, this home may not be the place for you. Also, anyone with poor mobility or unsteady footing, this home is not the house for you.
The 1930's claw foot tub is a freestanding tub that sits off the ground, with 6'5 ceilings. If you are taller than 6', the shower/tub will be a low height for you.
Also, something to note: the home was built in 1929 and with that comes ORIGINAL heart pine restored floors, that do squeak! This is part of the charm! If this will bother you, you may not want to stay here.
The kitchen is equipped with a breakfast bistro table for two. This will not allow you to cook and feed your Thanksgiving meal here. We do provide you with TV trays so everyone has a place to put a plate, but this is something to note if you are planning to cook in the whole time during your stay.
Behind the Sparrow, is the old train depot where a train does come through occasionally. For train lovers, this is super cool because you can see the train from the backyard. We provide earplugs for all guests if noises wake you or disturb you (like a train coming through). During your stay, we highly recommend walking up the road to the Sears Hill Bridge which takes you directly to the train depot and. all of downtown. The perk to being close to the train depot, you are SO CLOSE to downtown!
Guest Access:
The street going to the Sparrow is very NARROW and STEEP and most of the homes do not have off street parking. Typically there is parking in front of the home but it is not guaranteed as the street is public parking. There is typically enough space for two cars to park in front of the Sparrow. If your group has more than two cars, we recommend carpooling. If that is the case, reach out to the hosts for information on where to park that is closest.
Neighborhood Overview:
Sears Hill is a neighborhood full of history with very old homes. Some are updated, and some are not, but with each home comes a view that is unforgettable of the whole city, and CLOSE (walking distance) proximity to downtown! Walk to dinner, shopping, theatre, and amazing ice cream!
Behind the Sparrow, is the old train depot where a train does come through occasionally. For train lovers, this is super cool because you can see the train from the backyard. We provide earplugs for all guests if noises wake you or disturb you (like a train coming through). During your stay, we highly recommend walking up the road to the Sears Hill Bridge which takes you directly to the train depot and. all of downtown. The perk to being close to the train depot, you are SO CLOSE to downtown!
