Take a look at the Innkeeper Passion Statement from Bill Pflaum, innkeeper of Highland Place Bed and Breakfast, which is located in Jackson, TN:
As a businessman who traveled extensively, primarily on an airplane, Cyn wanted me home more, so she started talking about getting a B&B. We looked in 8 states at a number of operations before driving into the red parking lot in Jackson, Tennessee. The exterior was painted a beautiful plum color. Plum is the English way of saying Pflaum.
We stayed the weekend and enjoyed the house, which was decorated in what I called “Asian Queen Victorian” as a result of being a project undertaken by nearby Lambuth University and the Jackson design community. Perfect, since I figured that meant the house itself was solid and, certainly, our plans to redecorate completely would be accommodated.
On Monday, the owners took us to a banker who was managing an office in a nearby town. As I sat in the little reception area, a woman came out from her office. She was so dressed that I was sure she just walked out of her Wall Street office and somehow got to this little town.
“Good morning, Mr. Pflaum,” she said with a perfect German pronunciation of my last name. “Pardon me,” I said, “but I have never heard my name pronounced correctly in any of my 60 years!” She was second-generation German. Her name was Leonie, and Cyn and I are both Leos. That pretty well finished any resistance I may have been considering.
We have completely redecorated the inside – gone is Queen Victoria and now there is a “gallery” for our creative collection of hand-crafted items ranging from extensive pottery to a broad range of furniture to Southwest art. We have extensively landscaped to create a more open feeling upon arrival than the formal planting, perhaps more expected in 100-year-old mansions.
Bill Pflaum
Go to the Highland Place Bed & Breakfast page for contact information
Butler Suite
