3 days ago
Home is where the heart is: Kernersville woman is the caretaker of a cottage
Angela McAfee always dreamed of living in the English countryside, and in 2004 she found a property in Kernersville that appealed to that dream. It was a stone cottage covered in creeping ivy with a carriage house.
'I was looking for a property that was in a mixed-use area that could be a business or a residence, depending on what we wanted to use it for. I drove by the house, and I fell in love with it instantly,' McAfee said.
McAfee wanted to build upon the house's existing aesthetic and named the house Rosemary Cottage after Rosemary Kirkman, the widow of the man who built the house, Fred Kirkman.
McAfee noted that the hand-laid stone features of the house have their own history.
'The slate on the roof was leftover slate from the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. Fred also wanted to use Blue Ridge granite, and he wanted to make sure he got enough for the house before the Blue Ridge Parkway overpasses were being built. He took all his personal trucks to the quarries to get the stone slabs,' McAfee said.
After buying the property, McAfee's passion for hospitality was reignited when she converted the carriage house into an Airbnb.
'I have this authentic code for myself: freedom, aesthetics, connection, and creativity. Those are things that I always want to be aligned in my life. I used to always love to throw dinner parties for my friends, theme the tablescape along with the food, and I really wanted to host people and have a little inn,' McAfee said.
McAfee lives and works in downtown Kernersville, and she enjoys showcasing the local culture to guests and visitors who come from out of town.
'It really feeds my soul to know that people are having a good time and that they're enjoying their time here. I talk to them about what they're interested in, like what activities or restaurants are in the area, and that helps our local businesses,' McAfee said.
For McAfee, living downtown has given her a sense of responsibility to uphold the character of the town's historic districts.
'Being downtown really has influenced my life because I feel like I'm a caretaker of this home, and it's up to me to take care of it and make it beautiful and healthy for its next purpose or journey,' McAfee said.
Being downtown has also helped her immerse herself in the Kernersville community.
'If I was out in the suburbs, I wouldn't feel as integrated into Kernersville like I am. I love connection, and I know a lot of the business owners downtown because we pass each other on the sidewalks and go into each other's stores,' she said. 'There's a nice connection, and we all have a supporting role for each other.'
