Dee Dee Davis has been able to live her dream every time she opens the door to enter the Pruitt House Inn, located in Brookneal.

She and her sister, Debbie Anderson, own the bed and breakfast, which recently underwent renovations. An open house for the inn was held in May.

“A lot of hard work happens here,” Davis said about the renovation process. “But it’s a labor of love.”

The house still holds evidence of its mid-1700s and 1800s origins, where it was believed Michael Pruitt built the house and was a neighbor to Patrick Henry.

Glimpses of its history can be found from the looped banister to the slate roofing.

“We tried to keep the old feel of the house as much as we can and still make it comfortable,” Davis said.

The home and kitchen had initially been separated from one another, Davis said. A hallway was built to bridge the two areas together.

The Inn has three suites, two parlors, a kitchen and a patio in view of the property’s smoke house and cemetery, thought to encompass approximately 30 graves.

A self-described knick-knack hound, Davis said she still scopes antique shops around Brookneal, Charlotte, Halifax and different locations across Virginia for authentic items used during the 1800s. 

Many of the house’s most unique finds came right from places in the area, Davis said.

She noted several antique items and a metal bucket she converted into a sink, which she purchased at Rusty Rooster Antiques and Guthrie’s Hardware store in Brookneal.

“We had to go to Lowe’s a few times,” Davis said. “We try to use as much locally as possible.”

Davis’ journey with the Pruitt House Inn, after she worked previously as office manager with J.T. Insurance, started with a newspaper ad.

Davis said one of her friends pointed out an auction notice from a Lynchburg-based newspaper about a property in Brookneal.

She attended the first open house hosted by the auction company by herself. She said she attended every open house after that.

“Every time I came, I just loved it even more,” Davis said, who also brought family members to the site.

Her family still enjoys visiting the home. Davis said her three grandchildren play games, hold tea parties and play the antique piano housed in one of the parlors.

The venue will see its first wedding since becoming the Pruitt House Inn next spring. Davis said she is excited to find additional services to offer people at the inn.

“(They’re) things we look forward to doing as we move forward with refurbishing, landscaping,” Davis said.

To learn more about the inn, visit www.pruitthouseinn.com or call (434) 376-1388.