Couple’s quest for ‘perfect place’ leads to ‘magical’ site for B&B

Dungeness Barn House B&B at Two Crows Farm

Location: 42 Marine Drive, Sequim

Phone: 582-1663

Homey inn has farm theme, with plenty of comfort

First, Clare Monnin and Su Ferronato found each other shortly after moving to Sequim in the early 1990s. Then they found their dreams also merged with the desire to own and operate a bed and breakfast inn.

“We talked about having a B&B for 20 years because we both had similar ideas,” Monnin said. “We had a commitment to finding the perfect property and being stewards of that property. We’re very interested in sustainability and we wanted to find the perfect place to nourish and care for people.”

It’s been a long road, with several near misses in acquiring the inn, but now the pair have been the owners of the Dungeness Barn House B&B at Two Crows Farm for nearly a year.

“I like to joke that I’ve been stalking the Barn House for 20 years,” Monnin laughed, perched on a tall chair in the barn’s former milking parlor — now a comfortable dining room — its original red tile floor aglow with a patina of use.

The original dairy barn was built circa 1925 by Irish immigrant Art Rogers for the Mains Farm. An architect from New Jersey remodeled it into a home in the 1950s, showcasing features such as the barn’s original beams and red tile floor. By the early 2000s, the property had become dilapidated, but Barrie and Berta Warden saw potential in it as a home and retirement project — however he died about four years after their remodeling project.

“We’d looked at the Barn House, although it wasn’t a B&B just yet,” Monnin said. “Berta was looking to sell as she had just lost her husband. We were crazy for the place then, but we were scared we couldn’t afford it and even if we could, we needed to sell two properties. We walked away disappointed but always felt like it would be the perfect place.”

Warden turned the property into a B&B in 2010 and ran it for several years, again deciding to sell in 2012. She liked the vision Monnin and Ferronato had and declining other offers, waited almost two years for their homes to sell. “Berta felt we were meant to be the stewards of the property and in 2012, with a handshake and a hug, she never wavered for two years. During that time I learned the business from her.”

The women have been adding their own farm-inspired touches since last September, including a pair of wingback chairs incorporating 19th-century printed German grain sacks paired with a stack of old suitcases as a side table.

Monnin had grown up with antiques and decorated the B&B’s four bedrooms, great room and meditation area with pieces from her own collection. She also loves repurposing items and so an old wire basket hung upside down and draped with burlap became a chandelier.

“The ambiance is just very, very comfortable. The thing we hear most is it’s homey without being too personalized,” Monnin said. “There’s nothing too pretentious.”

Building on their sense of whimsy, the women have dubbed the bedrooms Stable 1, Stable 2, Stable 3 and Stable 4.

Just off the airy downstairs lobby with whitewashed paneling, Stable 1 faces Dungeness Bay through a bank of windows, with shutters for privacy. The floor-to-ceiling white beadboard walls, wainscoting, white wicker pieces plus tables and an armoire done in matte chalk paint add a crispness that’s softened by soothing seaweed green and grey accents.

The suite has a large private bathroom with jetted tub and separate walk-in shower. It also has wireless Internet access, a large flat screen TV and a fireplace.

Stable 2 is upstairs, off the great room, and features rough wrought-iron accents with the eye-catching upside down wire basket chandelier. According to the website, “This suite has stunning views of the Dungeness Spit, the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Barn House rose garden with the Olympic Mountains as a backdrop. The suite offers a king-size bed, flat screen TV, Internet and beautiful private bath with water views and a spacious tiled shower.”

Under a duo of separate dormers are the “Comfee” (Stable 3) and “Cozy” (Stable 4) bedrooms, with twin and full beds, respectively, decked out with antique blue and white quilts.

“We rent them as much as the king suites and they’re more affordable,” Monnin said. Stable 3 is named for their goldendoodle Comfee, the B&B’s official greeter.

Last but certainly not least is the great room, the barn’s former hayloft, its north wall windows providing a panoramic view of the strait. The room is so large that even massive pieces of antique oak furniture don’t detract from its atmosphere of airiness. Overstuffed functional chairs and couches, an old library table facing the rose gardens and a round “tin” table are all places for guests to make themselves at home.

Monnin and Ferronato also encourage guests to explore their ample organic vegetable garden in raised beds that Ferronato built.

“We wanted raised beds so when we’re 80 we can still be gardening,” Monnin quipped. “Our whole goal is that even in winter it will be ‘garden to table’ for our guests.” Included in the reservation is a three- or five-course breakfast, Monnin added. “I think there’s something magical about this spot. It’s a vortex that draws you in.”