Apartment

Decorah House- Airy, modern, full of natural light, 5 blocks to downtown

Decorah House- Airy, modern, full of natural light, 5 blocks to downtown

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Exterior
Interior
Interior
Private kitchen

Overview of Decorah House- Airy, modern, full of natural light, 5 blocks to downtown

5 out of 5 Exceptional
1 bedroom1 bathroomSleeps 384 sq m

Popular amenities

  • Kitchen
  • Air conditioning

Explore the area

Decorah, IA
  • Popular LocationUpper Iowa Speedway6 min walk
  • Popular LocationVesterheim Norwegian-American Museum15 min walk
  • Popular LocationLuther College7 min drive
  • AirportWaterloo, IA (ALO-Waterloo Regional)87 min drive

Rooms & beds

1 bedroom (sleeps 3)

Main Bedroom

1 Queen Bed

1 bathroom

Bathroom 1

Spaces

Kitchen
Dining Area

About this property

Decorah House- Airy, modern, full of natural light, 5 blocks to downtown

Welcome to Decorah House, a private and beautifully renovated stay on the second floor of our historic brick house in a quiet neighborhood just five blocks from downtown Decorah. The space is bright and full of natural light and filled with plants. The apartment sleeps three, has a beautiful bathroom with tiled shower, and a lovely front living room and kitchen. Walk to Pulpit Rock Brewing Co, La Rana Bistro, Impact Coffee, Oneota Food Coop, Hotel Winneshiek, Vesterheim, Convergence Ciderworks, and so much more.

We've put six years of hard work into this amazing house and we're excited to share it with you! We're two guys in our 30s and love Decorah. Whether you're here to visit one of the breweries, trout fish, mountain bike, visit your kids at Luther, or just trying to unwind, we think you'll love everything about Decorah and the house. In addition to welcoming travelers to Decorah House, we've welcomed guests to our other overnight rental Trout River Log Cabin for the past eight years. We know what it takes to be exceptional hosts and we'll do everything we can to ensure you have a great experience.

The Decorah House stay occupies the second floor of our 1850s brick house. The apartment, including the entrance and heating and cooling systems, are completely separate from our part of the house. We've taken covid seriously from the beginning and want to ensure you have a safe and enjoyable experience.

The space is bright and full of natural light, and sits perched overlooking the Oneota Valley. The unit consists of a large living area with adjoining kitchen, a spacious bath, and large bedroom. The bedroom has a queen bed and there's a queen size blow up mattress to accommodate a third or fourth person. Paul has restored old buildings going on fifteen years. He eats, sleeps and breaths old buildings, architecture and design. We've put so much work into making the space just right, and we think you'll agree.

In the main living space you'll find two orange barrel chairs with accompanying hand made shaker style walnut end tables, a sugar maple butcher block dining table made from flooring from a local landmark school, and Persian rugs. The floors are beautiful reclaimed doug fir from a catholic priest house that was recently demolished. All the woodwork, the butcher block countertops and tables, maple cabinets, maple vanity, shaker end tables (basically everything you see) were all made by Paul in the second floor of our garage workshop. During the day Paul's a high school industrial arts teacher and teaches several furniture making, design and construction classes.

The kitchen has a high quality European brand stainless steel gas range, small refrigerator, and deep-basin stainless steel sink. The kitchen is stocked with quality cookware. We also supply organic coffee and a french press. The kitchen is pretty small, but adequate for light cooking.

The bedroom is spacious and overlooks the forested bluffs of the Oneota Valley. And to boot there's a spectacular 200 year old bur oak tree that sits right outside the bedroom windows. The bedroom has a firm queen bed, a reading area, and clothes closet. A third or fourth person can be accommodated on a queen size blow up air mattress. Linens and bedding are provided.

The spacious bath has a floor to ceiling subway tile shower. The bathroom flooring is Marmoleum, a traditional petroleum free, linseed oil-based linoleum invented in Britain in the early 1850s that's made to look like marble. The hand made vanity is sugar maple with a white oak butcher block top. Bath towels, Nature's Gate shampoo, conditioner and body wash are provided.

The house was built in the early 1850s by Decorah's original founding family, the Days from upstate New York. When their son Claiborne built the house a few years later, the village of Decorah wasn't more than a few log houses and a saw mill. Claiborne was the entrepreneurial type, serving as Decorah's first postmaster. He also owned a lumberyard and built several houses around town. Today it survives as one of the few remaining structures of the period. Ever since Paul was a little kid he's had his eye on this house. And when it came available, we jumped at the opportunity to buy and restore it. Of all the buildings representative of Decorah's early settlement period that remain standing, this house is probably the most intact and best preserved. It's an incredible piece of local history.

You'll have access to the entire second floor of the house accessed through a separate entrance. Once inside the entryway, the staircase takes you up to the apartment. We live downstairs and our unit is accessed through a separate entrance on the side porch.

We have a friendly dog Mabel and a kitty Ethelbert. Both have never been upstairs, but note that we live downstairs. The unit is heated and cooled with a ductless heat pump, so the air between upstairs and down is separate and doesn’t mix.

Property manager

Paul Cutting and Nathan Thompson

Languages

English, Spanish

Amenities

Kitchen
Air conditioning

House Rules

Check in after 4:00 PM
Check out before 11:00 AM

Children

Adults only

Events

No events allowed

Pets

No pets allowed

Smoking

Smoking is not permitted

Damage and incidentals

You will be responsible for any damage to the rental property caused by you or your party during your stay.

Important information

You need to know

Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
On-site parties or group events are strictly prohibited
Safety features at this property include a carbon monoxide detector, a fire extinguisher, a smoke detector and a deadlock

About the area

Decorah

This apartment is located in Decorah. The area's natural beauty can be seen at Ice Cave Hill Park and Decorah Bald Eagles, while Porter House Museum and Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum are cultural highlights. Agora and Amundsons Clothing are also worth visiting.

What's nearby

  • Upper Iowa Speedway - 6 min walk
  • Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum - 15 min walk
  • Dunnings Spring Park - 4 min drive
  • Toppling Goliath Brewing Co. - 6 min drive
  • Luther College - 7 min drive

Getting around

  • Waterloo, IA (ALO-Waterloo Regional) - 88 min drive

Restaurants

  • McDonald's - 4 min drive
  • Dixie's Biergarten - 3 min drive
  • Culver's - 4 min drive
  • T-Bocks Sports Bar & Grill - 12 min walk
  • Your Place - 13 min walk

Frequently asked questions

Is Decorah House- Airy, modern, full of natural light, 5 blocks to downtown pet-friendly?

No, pets are not allowed at this property.

What time is check-in at Decorah House- Airy, modern, full of natural light, 5 blocks to downtown?

Check-in begins at 4:00 PM.

What time is check-out at Decorah House- Airy, modern, full of natural light, 5 blocks to downtown?

Checkout is at 11:00 AM.

Where is Decorah House- Airy, modern, full of natural light, 5 blocks to downtown located?

Situated in Decorah, this apartment building is within a 15-minute walk of Upper Iowa Speedway, Agora and Amundsons Clothing. Porter House Museum and Winneshiek Medical Center are also within 1 mile (2 km).

Reviews

5

Exceptional

Reviews are presented in chronological order, subject to a moderation process, and verified unless otherwise labelled.
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Rating 5 - Excellent. 37 out of 37 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Good. 0 out of 37 reviews" "
Rating 3 - Okay. 0 out of 37 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Poor. 0 out of 37 reviews" "
Rating 1 - Terrible. 0 out of 37 reviews" "

5/5

Cleanliness

5/5

Check-in

5/5

Communication

5/5

Location

5/5

Listing accuracy

Reviews

5/5 Excellent

Sara R.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
Sweet hideaway
Cute apartment in lovely Decorah. The location is excellent and the hosts were very clear in their communications. The only surprise was that there is no TV! (Had counted on watching the football game on Thanksgiving Eve since nothing was open in town). Luckily I had my tablet with, but a clearer mention of that would have been appreciated.
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2023

5/5 Excellent

Dan I.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
Wonderful place
Visited Decorah for my sons college soccer game. House is a great location, super comfy bed, and the town and area is really awesome. Thanks
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2023

5/5 Excellent

Eric S.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
Parent’s weekend visit
Had a very enjoyable parents weekend thanks in part to our stay at the Decorah House. Great mix of old charm and modern touches. The kitchen was minimalistic, French press instead of coffee maker or Keurig. Small but adequate fridge. We were able to cook some favorite mexican dishes. No TV, but wasn’t an issue as we mostly hung out and played cards. Comfortable bed. Towels were coarse, assume they were line dried. Shower was nice. Hope to make this an annual tradition.
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2023

5/5 Excellent

Gene B.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
Decorah Getaway
A great stay in a great property. Everything was as noted in listing. Wonderful quiet location. Everything in perfect condition. Felt like home. Will definitely stay here again. Thank you.
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2023

5/5 Excellent

Ross J.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
Comfortable historic property!
3 quick nights, but excellent little property. Comfortable. Gorgeous historic restoration!
Stayed 3 nights in Sep 2023

About the host

Hosted by Paul Cutting and Nathan Thompson

Host profile image
We're Paul and Nathan. We live in Decorah, Iowa. For the last nine years we've run Trout River Log Cabin, a historic log house stay located on our (Paul's) family farm six miles east of Decorah. We understand what it means to be good hosts, and we go out of our way to make your stay as good as it can be. In 2017 we opened Decorah House. Paul's a high school industrial arts teacher, cabinetmaker, inn keeper, hiker and tinkerer and Nathan is an urban planner, dog walker, prolific reader and excellent cook. We love to travel and spend time outdoors.

Why they chose this property

We love old buildings and Paul's had his eyes on this one since he was a little kid. In our opinion it's the best preserved building of the early settlement period of Decorah. Beyond the history, the unit is really beautiful. Paul's been restoring old buildings going on fifteen years and has an eye for design and layout. The space is super airy and full of natural light. There are eight large windows in the apartment. We've put so much thought into the details and are sure you'll appreciate the quality.

What makes this property unique

Decorah is a sweet little town. Many people say it's the nicest town in the Midwest. There's a ton to see and do, whether it be Toppling Goliath, Oneota Coop, mountain biking, Pulpit Rock Brewery, Vesterheim, Seed Savers, Luther, trout fishing, hiking, or biking the Trout Run trail.

Languages:

English, Spanish
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