This beautiful first story home overlooks the gardens of the Thomas Center, in a peaceful, historic neighborhood just a 5-10 minute walk from the bars, restaurants and nightlife of downtown Gainesville. A large porch provides the perfect place to enjoy a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, while the light, airy living area offers a pleasant, air-conditioned space. Two generously sized bedrooms are accompanied by a spacious hallway bathroom and large living & dining areas with a chef's kitchen.
Perfect for singles & couples, whether vacationing or visiting Gainesville for business. I'm on faculty at UF, as are many of our neighbors. The commute is super-fast-- car, bus, and bike are all less than 15 minute rides. Gainesville is easily bike-able and we have two bikes guests are welcome to borrow (we also offer helmets and remind you to ride at your own risk). Downtown Gainesville is quite walkable as well, it's easy to walk from our home to number of local coffee shops, restaurants, and entertainment options. Oh, and it's just a 6-10 min drive (depending on traffic) to/from the Gainesville Airport.
Our home was built in 1912, named the EF Cannon House (the official plaque is pictured in the photos above) after its first resident. The home was built by his father, EE Cannon, a respected local builder who built a number of homes in our neighborhood, including the two directly west of our home. The house remained in their family until 1975. In 1985-86 a local architect renovated the home and turned it into two units. In 2003, upon finishing my Ph.D. I purchased and moved in to the upstairs unit.
In 2012 my father and I purchased the downstairs unit and spent 18 months renovating it to showcase its historic charm. We installed high efficiency AC/heat units and raised the ceilings back to their original heights. We discovered a fireplace that had been covered and removed a wall that had been added in 1985 to create an unnecessary hallway, creating more space for the kitchen — oh, and the original wood stove was found in the wall behind where the range now sits). With the help of my brother (who is a real-life MacGuyver who can build or fix anything), we attended to the tiniest details -- like the original window pulls and the door hardware that still works with the skeleton keys. We are happy to be able to share this love, light, and laughter filled home with guests.
We respect different people have different preferences. The king size bed in the primary bedroom is on the softer side, we added a plush foam topper for extra comfort. The queen size bed in the guest bedroom is quite firm. The two beds both have four pillows: two king & two standard, one "firm" and one "soft" of each size. The guest bedroom has curtains that can be left down to block out the light or can be tied back for a lovely view. The primary bedroom has lace curtains behind which are pulldown-blackout-blinds, again, permitting the choice of lightness or dark. Each room has its own HVAC unit, so hopefully, like Goldilocks, everyone can feel like things are "just right.”
Guest access
Guests will have full access to the entire downstairs home as well as the porches and east gardens.
The only shared space is the driveway & porches, but I respect guests' privacy and will not knowingly cross paths during your stay, unless guests reach out, and then I'm happy to do whatever I can to assist.
Other things to note
When it comes to COVID, we believe we're all in this together. We go above & beyond VRBO's Enhanced Clean standards. We upgraded to institutional quality MERV 14 rated HEPA filters for the HVAC system and change them out regularly to keep the air in the home as clean as possible. We like to schedule at least 1 day between reservations in order to air-out the home before the cleaner comes to professionally clean, disinfect, and sanitize the entire space before the next guests arrive. Clorox & Lysol wipes, hand sanitizer, and extra soap for hand washing are all provided.
Sustainability & social responsibility are near & dear to our hearts. We do our best to walk our talk:
- we offer guests options for waste sorting: trash, recycling, and composting
- guests with electric vehicles are welcome to charge in our garage, we have a Chargepoint Level 2 32A charging station, listed on Plugshare, I use it for my BMW i3, though the manufacturer's website says it can be used for all electric vehicles, including Teslas (Tesla drivers: please bring your adapter or plan to use our 32A outlet with your portable charger).
- we partner with We are Neutral to offset the energy & water footprint of each guest's stay, they plant trees & do retrofits on the homes of low income folks in our community so that your stay with us is carbon neutral
- we love supporting businesses who use the power of business to make the world a better place. Many of the products in the home are from local businesses and/or certified B Corporations (who care about people & the plant as much as they do about profits), and we do our best to provide items for guests that are certified organic, fair trade, etc.
- we use a "natural" pest control company so that no toxic pesticides are used inside the home or outside on the plants & greenery. The products they use are so safe that people & pets could eat them.
- we understand some people have chemical sensitivities and thus we do not use any sort of artificial fragrances, perfumes, air fresheners, scented candles, incense, etc. inside or near the home. When renovating, we chose all low/no VOC products.
- we are empathetic to people who have special diets-- whether they're vegan, gluten-free, paleo, localvores, etc. We're happy to help you find places in town to get your foodie on. ;)
This is a no-smoking property. Please do not smoke cigarettes, e-cigarettes, vaporizers, cigars, cloves, anything inside the house, on the porches, or anywhere on the property. Smokers are welcome to walk a few steps north to the Thomas Center and smoke there, or a half block south to Roper Park and smoke there.
We use "Smart Pricing" which automatically adjusts price based on demand; it does not account for holidays & certain events like Gator Games & Graduation. Some of the special/holiday weekends/events listed below have 3 night minimum stays:
*Fall 2022 Special Pricing*
Thurs. 12/15 - Sun. 12/18: UF Fall Graduations
Fri. 12/23 - Mon. 12/26: Christmas
Fri. 12/30 - Mon. 1/2: New Years
Please note: the Downtown Hampton Inn & Suites is just a few blocks south of our home. It’s booked solid for most Gator Game + Graduation weekends. Rooms there go for a minimum of $699/night (before fees & taxes) and are just 325sqft (or a minimum of $739/night for a 415sqft suite with no kitchenette). Our home is 4x that size (1650sqft interior, 1800+ sqft including the porch) and has a chef’s kitchen, huge porch, and a plethora of amenities… just something to consider. :)
Please also note: Alachua County has imposed a 5% Tourist Development Tax that hosts are required to collect on top of the 6% State + 1% Local Sales tax. This is listed in the fees as a 5% Property Tax. As law abiding citizens who work hard to support our local community, we gladly & respectfully comply with this requirement. For more information contact us and we'll send you links with more detailed info (as we are not permitted to post links here).
