Cards, coins and homemade cookies

Have you ever watched magic performed during breakfast? Have you ever helped yourself to prize-winning, homemade cookies in someone else’s kitchen? Or slept in a bedroom filled with history and Victorian charm?

If you’ve ever stayed at Peter and Barbara Franchino’s Elam Biggs Bed & Breakfast in Grass Valley, then you’re answer would be “yes” to all three.

Built in 1892 by the Biggs family, this home is a tribute to our local heritage. They founded the Elam Biggs Hardware Store in Grass Valley in the late 1800s. Generations later, their great grandson, Richard Biggs, a Lake Wildwood resident, recalls how the home was built above an Empire Gold Mine tunnel.

“Richard’s recollections paint a colorful picture of the great Gold Rush days,” says co-owner Peter Franchino, “and occasionally he entertains our guests in the very parlor he used to sneak into as a child when he thought his parents wouldn’t notice.”

“We moved to Nevada County 15 years ago from Santa Clarita,” Barbara explains, “and Peter and I fell in love with this place right away. We saw its potential, and made our decision quickly — one of the best decisions ever! The only downside has been adjusting to being so far away from our children who still live in Santa Clarita.”

Peter recalls, “For me, however, moving here represented a new beginning professionally and personally. Like many other engineers in Southern California, I was out of work, and the prospects were not looking good. Frankly, Barbara’s enthusiasm was contagious, and I couldn’t wait to get started with the decorating, electrical and other repair work the home needed.”

Welcome home

“Like many of Nevada County’s bed and breakfast owners,” Barbara adds, “we wanted to create an atmosphere where people would make themselves at home from the moment they arrived. That’s why the floor plan is open, and why our kitchen, dining room, parlor and massive garden areas are communal, just like our cookie jar. Maybe that’s also why so many of our guests come back year after year from America and all over the world.”

The 2,800 sq. ft. three-story home comprises six bedrooms and six bathrooms. Each room has its own character and private bath. For example, the Gold Center Room is classically appointed with antiques and white brocade. The Brunswick Room looks over the garden, and has a floral, country-style charm. Upstairs is the cozy North Star Room with an old-fashioned red-white-and-blue quilt, a personal desk and vintage typewriter.

Everywhere you look you’ll find a fascinating antique doll and carriage, a Teddy Bear, a late-Victorian wall phone, or a Tiffany-style lamp. The furniture is faithful to the Victorian style too. The moldings, picture rails, redwood doors and ceiling medallions — even the door knobs — are original, while claw-foot bathtubs add character to the bathrooms.

Step through the door, and you step back in time

“That’s part of the charm of living here,” Barbara says. “Peter is a magician. In fact, he’s a member of the Magic Castle — and he is delighted to entertain our guests over breakfast with his close-up magic tricks. He’s even happy to teach a little magic over a second cup of coffee.”

Step out the sunny-yellow kitchen door, and you’re in for another surprise — a massive walnut tree and a stunning replica of a gold-rush town. There’s even a replica of the Elam Biggs’ home that was presented at the State Fair. A waterfall and gold panning cradle enhance the old-west charm. What a great place to relax in the shade, sip lemonade, and recall times gone by.

Sharing your home with guests might seem a different sort of lifestyle, but the Franchinos are completely comfortable, and describe it “as part of our lives.” “Many guests have stayed with us for so many Thanksgivings, Christmases and July 4th celebrations, that they’ve become family. Our grandchildren, by the way, are frequent visitors as well — and entertaining in this grand-and-gracious old home truly is a pleasure,” Barbara says with a smile. (Many of you will know Barbara from the Jonathan L. Pierce, M.D. practice here in Grass Valley.)

“We enjoy hearing tales of other people’s lives — and listening to what brings them to the Sierra is fascinating,” Peter adds.

With its white picket fence smothered in springtime roses, this grand home makes history come alive, not only with Victorian charm — but with coins, cards and all the homemade cookies you can eat!

Home features writer, Courtney Ferguson claims, “I’ve never visited a home that didn’t fascinate me. There’s always a sense of discovery — either about the home, the owner, or both.” By the way, she’s looking for a colonial-style home to write about soon. Please e-mail any suggestions to courtneycopy@gmail.com.