Sitting atop a hill at 607 Greensboro Avenue is Gunn Manor, a picturesque Southern house with all the fixin’s, wrap-around porch and hanging ferns included. It’s the type of place that makes passersby wish they could just stop by and have a glass of sweet tea while swinging on the front porch. Luckily for Starkville inhabitants and visitors, its inviting exterior reveals an equally inviting interior, with hospitable inhabitants who want people to do just that.
Aaron Warden and Cayla Clayton live in and recently remodeled Gunn Manor, which is owned by George Chesteen.
“We caught good sales. We were very low-budget. I said, ‘If we’re going to live here, if we’re going to do this, we’ve got to do some remodeling.’ But I tried to be as frugal as possible. We ended up turning around the whole house for under a thousand dollars,” Warden said.
And turn it around they did. They’ve hand sewn curtains, retiled floors and redecorated the house with the intention of turning the house into a quaint venue.
Concerned with preserving the integrity of the house, Warden and Clayton took no “before” pictures. However, the work put into Gunn Manor is apparent. The hand-made fabric ceiling in the dressing room and the fire pit in the backyard are only some of the projects Warden and Clayton have completed.
With Warden majoring in broadcast meteorology and Clayton majoring in business administration, taking on this project seems out of line with their interests. However, both have an intense desire to give back to the community and working on Gunn Manor has been the perfect way for them to do that.
“I couldn’t just live here. It wouldn’t be fair. I couldn’t just live here and never share it,” Warden said.
With dispositions steeped in Southern hospitality and admirable work ethics, it makes complete sense that this duo has devoted so much of their time and energy into turning Gunn Manor into the venue it soon will be.
Gunn Manor will be open to small gatherings, meetings, and even weddings after Sept. 1. The first scheduled shindig is a book club meeting featuring “The Help” on Sept. 11, and both Warden and Clayton are enthusiastic about welcoming people to this event.
If you would like to book an event at Gunn Manor, please contact Aaron or Cayla at [email protected]