It’s been around only since October 1990, but Scarlett House has risen quickly to the top with its comfort, beauty, and pro-fessionalism. The house sits right in the heart of Kennett Square’s historic district. While the rough granite exterior may not seduce you, the minute you walk into the front door (flanked by leaded glass panes and twin inglenooks) you’ll pledge allegiance to this residence. It was built in 1910 by a prominent Quaker businessman for his son, Robert Scar-lett, who lived here until the 1960s.
Innkeepers Sam and Jane Snyder are aficionados ofadventure travel who have trekked the Himalayas and explored other exotic locations. He is a retired in-tenor designer, she a former teacher. They have embellished the house with an eclectic collection of music boxes, spice canisters, miniatures, and teapots. Many of the furnishings were procured from house sales and auctions by the previous proprietor, Susan Lalli Ascosi, who had enough knowledge and decorative sense to take some license with Victorian tradition by manipulating color schemes. Where Victorians would have stayed with darker tones, Susan splashed pastels on the wooden walls of the bedchambers.
The second-floor master suite is decorated in high Victoriana. Its walls are pink, trimmed at the top with alight floral border. The ornate walnut bed is the room’s decided cynosure. It’s a stunner, with a huge Renaissance headboard looking down on all-cotton, hand-ironed sheets. Walnut reappears in a more or-nately carved dresser with a framed full-length mirror; an exquisite plain-faced corner cupboard of the same wood, crafted by an Amish man in 1820, sits directly opposite.
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