One fateful day in 2016, interior designer Mary Louise Stonecipher was on a jaunt to Galveston when she stumbled upon a dilapidated Victorian home on the verge of demise. “She knew it wasn’t going to be there much longer unless someone invested and took the time for preservation,” shares Jordan Alayna Vaughn, Stonecipher’s daughter. After eight years of painstaking restoration and renovation, the mother-daughter duo (and owners of Houston-based design firm Alayna Louise Interiors) opened The 1874 Guest House in June.
The luxury inn’s Italianate exteriors charm upon approach, painted blush and accented by green shutters special ordered from New Orleans to match the home’s original era. Evoking the Mediterranean, the garden was designed by J. Branch Landscaping with a romantic blend of boxwoods, roses and palms alongside a resort-style pool.
Each of the four suites and carriage house feature discrete designs that honor the home’s past while incorporating contemporary touches. Take Suite Three, for instance. It houses the home’s two original mantels and wears Quadrille’s Climbing Hydrangea wallpaper, while the antique bed entices guests to nestle beneath an upholstered canopy, atop a set of Frette linens. Bring the inspiration home with a stop at the hotel boutique, open by appointment, for vintage and modern wares.
