As you turn from the highway hustle of Whiskey Road making a sharp right and descending onto Sizemore Circle you will no doubt be palpably aware you have entered the magical and enchanted realm of The Birdnest Inn. This very special and unique two story abode with front porch – a kind of utopian urban farmyard with ornamental hedges, gazebo, barn, gardens and even a pool – is the passion project of our welcoming host/chef/ botanist and art connoisseur Aiken transplant Melinda Walton.

The aptly named Birdnest Inn is full of actual bird nest inspired artwork at every turn in every nook including original nest chandelier lighting fixtures and even cocktail napkins – one framed as a collage. Its opulent harvest hues and Renaissancelike textiles imbue all six comfy and silent (Hammecher Schlemmer sound machines) guest rooms (with bedside chips, chocolates in miniature nests, treats and goodies). All have private baths – some with spa baths and ours The Goldfinch with actual feather bed. There’s a reading area with tons of books, an adorable downstairs breakfast niche with fireplace and a secret private living area all decorated with the eye of a designing genius. The amount of painstaking attention to detail is in evidence everywhere with its authentic wooden doors lovingly hand-crafted and stained and exotic one-of-a-kind finds with the entire place steeped in the soulful spirit of an Elizabethan monastery.

As if we walked into a Louvre-inspired private home the walls are adorned with oversized original paintings, ritual costumes and tribal totems are on display as well as raku and stoneware earthglazed jumbo ceramic vessels created by Melinda’s late husband. What an amazing love story! These pots were emissaries of the American Craft Council as they toured the world. Sustainability is this lovely b&b’s creed even down to each room’s boxes of water. The inn’s amenities are really too many to mention!

While we were there, Melinda toiled against the soundtrack of her pitch perfect Gregorian chants, baking her customary holiday peppermint cake (Yes! We got a slice!). We caught a glimpse, spied through the half open Dutch Door in a kitchen suitable for the Barefoot Contessa. Her pot rack was filled to overflowing with glittering silver pots and pans of every size and her modern black vintage range was this cooking sanctuary’s piece d’resistance!

From this spot she would whip us up home grown gourmet breakfast burritos to die for, perfectly brewed coffee, toast, bacon and afternoon tea or wine (for those so inclined) with homemade biscotti – even some for the road. Everything we ate was grown there and made with warm attention by our hostess – dispatched from her sustainable garden of Aiken Eden where silent dog, cat, cows and horses lived together in apparent harmony in the barn behind the house.

It came then as no surprise that Melinda’s Birdnest Inn has taken the Best of Aiken for three consecutive years running! So utterly earned and so very well deserved!

Melinda Walton
The Birdnest Inn
979-530-3900
www.thebirdnestinn.com
5200 Sizemore Circle
Aiken, SC 29803

Cathy Burroughs is a noted travel writer and blogger who travels throughout the historic South, nationally and all over Europe. She is published widely including The New York Times international supplement.