For five years, this 1890s Victorian home in the heart of Onancock was Karen and David ThTeedie’s summer home. Then in 1993, they jump-started their plans to open a B&B by converting the house, a job Karen declares was “more fun than we ever expected.” Karen, a spinner, displays her collection of antique spinning wheels throughout the house. David serves elaborate morning meals in the dining room or indulges guests who request it with Continental breakfast in bed. Their huge sheepdog, Nelly, is a third host. When not at the Spinning Wheel, which is open late spring to fall, the Tweedies operate an antiques shop, art gallery, and a mail-order jewelry business, which, as Karen proudly says, features items “culled from the landscape of the Eastern Shore.” They also work with the hearing impaired at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C.
Of the guest rooms, a favorite is Room 2, decorated with oil lamps, an oak dresser, and crocheted pillow covers. In Room 1 there is a wedding-ring quilt on the brass bed. Closet space was sacrificed throughout to make room for the private baths. There are just rods or racks with hangers and little drawer space, but who needs a lot of clothes for casual Onancock?
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