I'm Amy and my husband's name is Shawn. We were both born and raised in Charleston, WV, where we still live and we both work for the same non-profit organization. Charleston is only about one hour from Fayetteville, so lucky for us, the best vacation spot in West Virginia is close by.

Lafayette Flats began with our simple desire to get out of town. We love our home in Charleston's East End but we really like to travel. We found out early in our relationship that we travel together well and we love to do it as often as we can. We love taking weekend driving trips to places like Asheville, Columbus, Charlotte and Louisville, and we've been all over our home state of West Virginia.

Five years ago we drove across the country on Route 66 and last fall we toured Northern California - Yosemite, Redwoods, Wine Country - we loved it all. But big trips are few and far between, so we satisfy our travelin' Jones by making the drive up to Fayetteville as often as we can.

Maybe it's the Bacon Jam at The Secret Sandwich Society or the breathtaking views from Long Point Trail, but something keeps us coming back again and again. We looked for a small apartment in Fayetteville that we could rent, just to have a home base where we could escape to on weekends but found nothing suitable. After months of searching we decided to take on a project where we could build our own space.

We looked a several opportunities, but the one that caught our eye was the historic building on the corner of Court Street and Wiseman Avenue - known as 'The Malcolm Building.' This building was built in 1906 to house The Bank of Fayette and is on the National Register of Historic Places as part of Fayetteville's Historic District. Our home in Charleston is in a 100 year-old townhouse community, so I guess it's safe to say that we are drawn to old buildings.

We spent the summer and fall of 2013 renovating the building - doing much of the work ourselves. We are eager to show off our space!

Amy McLaughlin & Shawn Means purchased this apartment in 2013

Our love for Fayetteville and the New River Gorge area caused us to something we had never done before: We bought and renovated this historic cut stone building, transforming the top two floors into four apartment style vacation rentals. Corten is one of four flats in the building.

Since it is on the Historic Registry, we were very intentional in our renovation plan to leave the building intact as much as possible. Originally built to be an office building, each floor only had one common bathroom and the heating in the building was hot water radiators. Since it was built before electricity, the electrical system was hodgepodge of makeshift circuits and ancient fuse boxes.

Along with theses negatives, though, were a lot of positives: The beautiful original woodwork is still there and the fortress-like construction means that the building is very sturdy. The beautiful cut-stone exterior looks exactly like it did when it was built a century ago. Our renovation plans preserved the woodwork and the basic configuration of the building.

Installing a new electrical system and the plumbing necessary to support two additional bathrooms and kitchens was done in such a way as not to change the character of the building. Fire codes made us make some alterations to doorways, but overall the building looks as it has for the last century.

In spite of the ancient spaces of this small town former bank building, the interior design is chic, modern and urban. We want to offer visitors to Fayetteville something completely different from the campsites, cabins and large vacation home rentals available in the area. Furnished with all the comforts of home and decorated to the nines with local original art and many unique design elements, this is not your typical vacation rental!

We want you to more than just feel at home - we want you to wish that you lived here!

Most lodging in the New River Gorge area is campsites, cabins or oversized vacation homes in remote settings. Lafayette Flats offers a small town main street lodging experience with walkable access to unique locally owned restaurants, shops and activities.

The decor, with an emphasis on local original art, provides visitors with a rich cultural experience. Travelers interested in history will enjoy staying in a building listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the stunning view of the Fayette County Courthouse.

Even though Lafayette Flats sits on main street downtown, it still is walking distance from National Park trail heads and all of the outdoor adventure that the New River Gorge provides.