“Most Complicated House in the World” Becomes Bed & Breakfast in Boise, Idaho

4/6/2012
CONTACT:  Keith Tuskey or Marylee Stephens
208-336-6502
Innkeeper@boisehillsidesuites.com        

“Most Complicated House in the World” Becomes Bed & Breakfast in Boise, Idaho

Boise Hillside Suites Bed & Breakfast, located in Boise, Idaho will open its doors on April 22. Built into the Boise foothills in Boise’s trendy Northend neighborhood, this architecturally significant, rammed earth home – the only documented rammed earth home in Boise – is the area’s newest bed and breakfast. 

 In 2011, owners Keith Tuskey and Marylee Stephens left corporate life to live the dream of owning a B & B.  “We knew the home was unique, but had no idea how important and interesting the history was,” said Keith.  They have kept the original integrity of the home and honor the former owners by naming the suites after Fairchild family members:  Marjorie’s Library, John’s Study and Joan’s Sweet.

The three suites have been modernized for elegance and comfort.  Each room has a private entrance and bathroom and is equipped with a Keurig coffee maker and coffee, microwave, refrigerator, free hi-speed wireless, HDTV with free Netflix and access to a huge DVD library.  Some of the suites have a full kitchen, fireplace and private hot tub.  

Guests will enjoy breakfast baskets filled with a variety of locally grown and homemade items delivered each morning.  Nearly everything used at the B & B is sourced locally: fruits and vegetables from local farmers; soaps, shampoo, and lotions from Camille Beckman; Idaho wines, chocolate from The Chocolat Bar and fresh flowers from Edward’s Greenhouse.  "We knew we wanted to give back to the community we’ve fallen in love with,” said Marylee.

BoiseHillside Suites Bed & Breakfast is offering a 20% discount on reservations made before April 22 for future stays.  The hillside location is convenient to Boise’s vibrant downtown, Hyde Park, attractions and area shopping and dining options.  

John Fairchild, an attorney, and Marjorie, a librarian, began planning the house in the 1940s while John was in the service. John sketched the plan on a paper bag in 1950 and began construction after obtaining property in 1952.  Construction started in 1952 and took over 20 years to complete.  The walls are constructed of rammed earth faced with logs and the roof of the original house is concrete, poured to resemble pegged planks.  There isn’t a nail used in the construction of the home.  The grounds are adorned with 135 stones from Boise’s original City Hall which were hauled to the site one-by-one by John, who used a World War II vintage weapons carrier equipped with a winch to transfer the stones from downtown Boise to his construction site.

Interviewed in 1994 for an article in the Idaho Statesman, Marjorie Fairchild said, “It’s the most complicated house in the world.  I knew when I married him I’d be stuck with something like this.  Forty lifetimes wouldn’t have been enough to do all the things that John had going on in his head.”

For more information, to schedule an interview or to make a reservation, please contact Keith Tuskey or Marylee Stephens at 208-336-6502, innkeeper@boisehillsidesuites.com or visit www.boisehillsidesuites.com.

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