“We’re proud to offer a luxurious experience to people who were born to wander, find adventure and seek respite in the most unique and curious of places …”

The Artist. The Writer. The Romantic. The Explorer. It’s a list that evokes immediate insight into the very nature of a person. But these descriptors aren’t referring to people. They’re referring to place. That place is Elmwood.

Next month, Elmwood owners John Butler and Richard Smoot will open their historic West Main Street home and their luxuriously appointed rooms — The Artist, The Writer, The Romantic and The Explorer — to guests of Washington’s newest bed and breakfast.

“It’s thrilling. We’ve been dreaming about this for a long time and we’ve been working our butts off since July,” Smoot laughed. “There’s still a lot to do, but we’ve made great progress.”

Though the official opening occurs on April 1, Smoot and Butler have been taking in select guests over the past few months, honing the Elmwood image and refining the guest experience for the discerning traveler. From boutique toiletries, the brand name of which — Roam — implores guests to make good on the desire to wander, to room names describing the type of guests Butler and Smoot imagined staying in each, months of debate and testing went into creating the ultimate allure for everyone’s inner adventurer.

“It’s a brand promise,” Butler said. “You’re talking about writers, artists, wanderers, explorers. … You’re talking about the romantic. For as long as they stay, people can be a part of it.”

People have been a part of it — Smoot and Butler have hosted out-of-town wedding guests, those simply traveling through, cocktail parties and more.

“We’ve just had a blast having people in the house. This house was made for parties,” Smoot said.

Parties and guests, actually. Upstairs, the four spacious rooms look as named. In The Artist, vibrant green walls complement a pair of armchairs upholstered in fabric reminiscent of a Monet painting. The Explorer boasts a sitting room and bedroom with a bed shrouded in diaphanous white fabric, contemporary and rustic touches throughout. The Writer is calm, traditional, a place to gather one’s thoughts. The Romantic is a quiet beauty.

Downstairs, an international collection of art shares space with modern furniture, antiques and bowls of fresh fruit that Smoot regularly reminds people is not just for looking, but for eating. A new addition is the bar, where guests are welcome to bring their own favorites — recent guests like a pair of fishermen in Washington for a guided fishing tour, who shared their fishing adventures over a glass of whisky, or the couples of disparate generations and places, who found common ground in conversation in what became more of a political salon than an evening at a bed and breakfast.

“They found fellowship,” Smoot said.

Facilitating fellowship is just a part of the Elmwood package, according to Butler. The two innkeepers say they’re dedicated to providing a concierge service that goes beyond the average hotel experience, leading guests to shopping and dining adventures and outdoor excursions that cater to their needs. In the process, they’re sharing Elmwood guests with those who provide other local goods and services.

“We’re all in this together. The more there is to do, the more there will be to do (in Washington),” Smoot said.

Butler described arranging an impromptu river tour with Capt. Bob Boulden of Miss Bea’s Charter, to the delight of his guests.

“I think people are surprised, those who don’t know this region, they’re really surprised by the beauty, especially out on the river,” Smoot said.

The couple from California had never stayed in a historic home before Elmwood. Fun fact, he laughed, is Elmwood is actually 30 years older than the state of California.

The goal is to make the Elmwood experience as inclusive as possible, Butler said. He’s well on his way with what can only be called the ultimate Elmwood experience: a wedding party booked for weekend; the rehearsal dinner in Elmwood’s expansive dining room, to be catered by The Meeting Place restaurant; an outdoor wedding at Festival Park on the waterfront, followed by the wedding reception on the Belle of Washington, Butler and Smoot’s river cruise boat.

That’s in the future. Right now, the Elmwood owners’ focus is on the coming spring and finishing up projects both major and minor. Butler is currently overseeing the garden, restoration of the home’s two large fountains, which included transplanting many, many daffodil bulbs, moving azaleas, determining where the future garden paths will meander. For Butler, it’s an experience both new and old.

“I haven’t been a manual labor kind of guy — I was when I was little because I grew up on a farm — but I never thought I’d have my hands back in the dirt again,” Butler laughed. “But it’s been rewarding.”

Elmwood’s official opening may be in a few short weeks, but Smoot’s work will continue long into the future: extending The Romantic onto the upstairs sunroom, adding a sitting room and bathroom; making Elmwood’s third floor a fifth guest room, The Sailor, that would feature views of the river; putting finishing touches throughout — an easel and paints for The Artist; a desk and vintage typewriter for The Writer.

“You’ve got to start somewhere,” Smoot said. “If you wait for perfection, you’ll be waiting for a while.”