Mount Vernon couple renovates space above Bauman’s clothing store

When Mike and Valerie Smith were looking to downsize from their Mount Vernon home a decade ago, they weren’t very excited about the typical options.  However, one option, the space above Bauman’s men’s clothing store in the building they own on Main Street, intrigued them. “We looked at the condos and I wasn’t crazy about […]

When Mike and Valerie Smith were looking to downsize from their Mount Vernon home a decade ago, they weren’t very excited about the typical options.  However, one option, the space above Bauman’s men’s clothing store in the building they own on Main Street, intrigued them. “We looked at the condos and I wasn’t crazy about them,” Valerie said. “We would always come up here and I thought it would be so cool, but Mike said it would be too much work. But then he went to Chicago and he visited some people who had a loft and he came home and said, ‘let’s do it.’ I got right on it before he changed his mind.” While the Smiths still own the building, they sold Bauman’s in 2019 after owning  and running it for 26 years. Originally the Odd Fellows Hall, the second floor of the building had also been used for various ventures such as a photography studio, a gymnastics center practice and a dancing hall. The one thing it had never been was a residence. There were just three main rooms - an office space in the front, the large open meeting hall and a kitchenette and storage space in the back, which also housed a small bathroom.   Much of the original features were still in place, such as the woodwork, brick walls and light fixtures. Remnants of the Odd Fellows remain, including holes in the doors that were likely used during secret ceremonies, Valerie said.   “A lot of the places on Main Street were upgraded in the 1960s, where they tore all the old moldings out to make it look modern,” Valerie said. “But we still have it.”  There were some parameters they had to follow while renovating the historic building. Per guidance from the Mount Vernon Historic Preservation Commission of the State Historic Preservation Office of Iowa, walls could be added but not removed.  Restoration work of the yearlong project began in the fall of 2011 with Mike taking on the painstaking task of cleaning up the woodwork, including removing paint from all of the yellow pine floors.   Jim Engelbrecht, of Mount Vernon, was the lead contractor and “did a wonderful job,” Valerie said. “He was amazing when it comes to old buildings.”  

Designing the Layout 

At first the Smiths thought about putting their bedroom in the front of the space, but changed their minds when considering the possible noise below on Main Street. Instead, the kitchen was built in the front with windows overlooking Main Street.  “It’s just fun to be up here, especially when there’s stuff going on Main Street,” Valerie said. The kitchen features a large island and stainless steel appliances and white cabinets to match the original beadboard. The dark base of the island and silver vinyl wallpaper in a smaller nook provide a contrast to the white cabinets and walls.  A laundry area with a washer and dryer sits just off the kitchen, separated by double doors which lead into the main space with a dining area and living room flanked by a television and a bar - a refurbished counter found in the basement.  The Smiths added walls in the back to build a separate bedroom and bathroom. Transom windows were installed above the wall separating the living area from the bedroom.  Floor to ceiling beadboard closets, where the Odd Fellows stored their robes, provide storage space in the back of the apartment, where a nook is used for Valerie’s office. A residential elevator which goes to the basement and directly to the parking lot was also installed in the back.

Home With a Nod to History

As they “lost” furniture along the way, living in several temporary spaces including Mike’s mom’s rental in Mount Vernon and Valerie’s parents’ mobile home in Marion, the Smiths had a clean slate when furnishing and decorating their new home.  “I wanted to go with the character of the building so that kind of dictated what I wanted to do,” Valerie said. “Some people thought we should do a modern look like in New York, but I’m not that into modern, so it worked out.” Signs of the building’s history are dotted throughout the space, including an Odd Fellows streetlamp and Bauman’s memorabilia such as old photos, advertisements, clothes hangers and hats. In hindsight, while the Smiths would tackle the project again, they would be more realistic about the process and the time it takes, especially with an old, historic building. “You've got to allow yourself plenty of time to prepare,” Mike said. “You can't just say, ‘OK, I'm gonna start Monday.’ That's not how this works.”