the roycroft inn

This is what the Roycroft Inn website has to say about the Inn.

The Roycroft Campus, the Roycroft way of life and its story began in 1897 with Elbert Hubbard a legendary man of vision who founded the American Arts and Crafts Movement in East Aurora NY. For more than 20 years, the Roycroft Campus was a center of entrepreneurship, creativity and learning. It was a hub of activity with over five hundred working artisans and craftsmen and drew visitors from faraway places.

In 1905 the Roycroft Inn was opened to accommodate visitors and artisans looking to experience this emerging community and style. The Inn became a center of activity for this community. In 1986, The Roycroft Inn, as part of the Roycroft Campus, received National Historic Landmark status. Over a nine year period, with support from the Margaret L. Wendt Foundation, The Inn meticulously underwent an $8 million dollar restoration to return it to its original splendor. It was re-opened for guests in 1995.

Today, The Roycroft Inn continues to welcome visitors and be the center of the many community activities. It offers its guests a beautiful destination for an overnight stay, a special dining experience or both.

From the moment you enter the Campus and arrive at the Inn, you are immersed in the beauty and unique style of the Roycroft artisans. As you step through the grand doors "time still seems to stand still", at least for a minute. In the Salon you are surrounded by the beautifully restored murals created by Alexis Jean Fournier, an original Roycroft artist. Sit in an original Roycroft Morris chair, read a book by a handcrafted lamp or just wander through the series of exquisitely restored rooms and breathe in the history of this Historic Inn.

So The Roycroft was where the Arts and Crafts movement began. It is a decorating style that seems timeless. I've taken guests to the Roycroft for lunch several times but I had never experienced dinner or an overnight there. B surprised me for our anniversary by arranging for us to do both. We spent St Patrick's Day in East Aurora visiting all the shops on Main Street.

Our room at the Inn was awesome.


This is the restaurant.


the bedroom part of the room


the sitting area


more sitting area



I was particularly impressed by the bathroom



really impressed by the bathroom



Like I said....I really liked the bathroom

the night circus

I am reading a fantastic book right now called The Night Circus. The Night Circus is completely black and white. The tents are black and white striped. I think this outfit that I wore on a date with myself today would be perfect to wear to The Night Circus.

I had an excellent day. A five mile walk, the final sanding of my table before the final coat of poly and then I went to see The Hunger Games all by myself. Followed by an excellent dinner at JoJo's all by myself. And now paper crafting and listening to my favorite songs on Spotify. An enchanted day....kind of like an enchanted circus.

another birdhouse

I made this birdhouse for a friend. I'm planning on making one for another friend and I need to make two more to decorate my mantel for spring. Then on to something else.



I shredded colored newsprint and added a few snips of ribbon and yarn such as a real bird may do when building a nest. And three chocolate hazelnut eggs for a little surprise when the roof is removed.

anniversary dinner

The first day of spring and our wedding anniversary. I wanted to set a colorful table. Wegmans had tulips today for $6 per bunch. B likes bright colors so I went with orange.



My aim was for a colorful low calorie meal. Simple but flavorful and a little bit different. We started with baguette and dipping oil made with extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Parmesan cheese and garlic herb mix that Bill's sister gave us for Christmas. A gift that she purchased in Europe.




The salad....Thin sliced English cucumber and red pepper marinated in 1/4 cup of rice vinegar with 2 teaspoons of sugar added.



Main course-Pork meatballs with raisins and pine nuts served on Swiss Chard mix cooked with yellow squash in a bit of chicken broth. I added the leftover bread dip to flavor.

Meatballs are made with 1 pound of lean ground pork, 1/4 c chopped golden raisins, 1/4 c toasted pine nuts, 1/3 t cinnamon, 1 egg, 1/4 c Panko bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Cook on stove top in a tiny bit of olive oil.



Dessert was fresh apple slices tossed in a few drops of lemon juice so as not to discolor. The dip for the apples was equal parts of caramel and mascarpone cheese.



All cleaned up. I left the candles burning while we watched one of our all time favorite movies....Amadeus.

eatin' o the green

We had our corned beef and cabbage dinner on the 15th this year. I always make it every year. But on Friday we have burgers and fries and on Saturday we were going to be having dinner and spending the night at the Roycroft Inn to celebrate our anniversary. So on the 15th I made it in the crockpot and it was one of the most delicious briskets we've ever had.

oil or plastic

So here is my table after I've applied a coat of dark mahogany stain. It literally glows and I could not be happier with the outcome. But now I have to decide on the finishing coat. I am leaning toward tung oil. B thinks that would be a mistake. He is an advocate of polyurethane. I am terrified that I won't be able to get it right...leaving brush strokes, bubbles or drips.

woody woodworker

B is on spring break and so I am so to speak. And what do people do when they are on spring break? Oh that's right, they go to Florida. But what do people like B and I do on spring break? We work! We are painting the dining room this week and shopping for drapery rods which is just a downright scary endeavor. All that hardware talk boggles my mind and just when you think you found a solution, they price it out. I would prefer to let my windows go bare than spend $3000 to $4000 on drapery rods and that doesn't even include the draperies. I think we are going to get single traverse decorative rods and rehang our sheers. No fancy side panels for us.


getting started

So while the dining room is emptied of furniture, I decided to take on the project of refinishing the dining room table top. A mahogany Duncan Phyfe style table in bad need of refinishing. I'm just doing the top. The rest of the table is in okay shape.


one drop leaf down

B got me set up in the garage with the sander and 100 grit paper. I swore I would finish it even if it killed me.


half-way there

So here I am halfway there. I finished yesterday with the 100 grit.



And today I sanded it with 220 grit to a satiny finish

I was a little reluctant to post this because I'm considering some kind of design on the table and I might screw it up. Or even if I just stain it with no design, I might still screw it up and you would be left wondering.....I wonder whatever happened with that table she was refinishing?