Bringing Warmth and Community to Rochester, Vermont

How the Stable Inn Welcomes Visitors and Warms Its Rooms Using Wood Heat

Located all on one block in Rochester, BigTownVT houses an art gallery, bike shop, and inn. Its owners – Anni and Doon – are committed to encouraging community and vibrancy in their town.

Anni’s work touches on many Center themes: outdoor recreation, community revitalization, downtown vibrancy, environmental impact, and local economy. Wood heat also appears in their newest business endeavor. Anni appeared in our From Woods to Warmth series and expands on her decision to use wood heat in the extended profile below.

How Wood Heat Integrates with the Vision for the Inn

“Living in a rural place enabled me to think more broadly how business operates and the positive influence you can be,” Anni shared. “I’m really passionate about generating connections that can exist here and that we can invite into our space.”

Faced with limited lodging when hosting events at the gallery, visitors from out of town, or friends and family, Anni and Doon invested in a solution: The Stable Inn.

Located on the same block, the 1840s timber frame building turned was converted to an office space before seeing new life again as an inn with 14 renovated, fully climate-controlled rooms powered by renewable energy. Keeping the original layout was intentional – it saved on construction and later heating/cooling costs.

These smaller, cozier rooms and large open-concept communal spaces give the inn an elevated hostel feel – guests are encouraged to prepare their own meals and engage with other visitors in the library and sitting places.

In addition to major insulation work on the inn, Anni worked with partners like EfficiencyVT and Green Mountain Economic Development Corp to evaluate and help with the sizable investments in updates. Wood heat made sense from budget perspective, construction costs, and environmental impact.

“We considered this an energy-forward project. In our climate, heat is the first priority,” Anni said. “We wanted to move all of our buildings off of oil. Using a byproduct that we recycle through a pellet heating system with fuel sourced within 100-mile radius made sense.”

The inn utilizes both a district wood pellet heating system and an HVAC system with two big external heat pumps – used during the shoulder season and for cooling.

She also mentioned it was important that wood heat created jobs locally and supported Vermont’s 2030 climate goals to convert to using renewable resources. “Not one heating system is perfect, but wood was the lesser of the evils – we aren’t dealing with oil or gas.”

Building a Renewable Future with Community and Art

With the cost savings of using a stable heating source, paired with heat pumps and solar energy, Anni and Doon are looking to make all of their buildings more energy efficient while also exploring other business ventures – like a bike rental shop in a garage located on the same block.

Anni emphasized how they use the gallery and now inn to host gatherings and think through community issues. She used to believe in “art for art’s sake” but now sees art as activism and can galvanize people to action.

“Art helps us find common ground and generate conversations about diverse issues. It’s a true community builder for people who are curious,” Anni shared. “I really want to explore more programming and conversations creating a sustainable lifestyle and community revitalization – investing in the places we live, those connections, education – it all ties together.”