The best renovations go beyond restoration or renewal and try to achieve enhancement. That’s what Richard Gay had in mind for the Helendorf River Inn, a half-century-old property in a little faux-Bavarian village nestled in the forests of Northern Georgia. In addition to updating the guest rooms, Gay wanted to improve the Conference Center/Banquet Hall so that it finally fully embraces the alpine architecture that the town is famous for. He paid particular attention to the ceilings and came up with two evocative solutions, one made of drywall, the other of lightweight thermoformed ceiling tiles.
Helen, Georgia, is a town with a population of about 500, except on summer weekends, when it swells to 10,000. In the 50 years since it was re-conceived as a Bavarian village, it has become a highly successful tourist destination. Entrepreneur Pete Hodgkinson proposed the original transformation as a way to revitalize a dying mill town, and the concept was realized largely by adding Bavarian architectural gingerbread to the existing town. Hodgkinson also started the annual Helen-to-the-Atlantic Balloon Race and spearheaded the building of the Helendorf River Inn (the Chattahoochee River cuts through the middle of town, and the Inn is a scenic property right next to it). Hodgkinson enlisted the participation of 30 investors who each owned one room of the hotel, although all rooms were rented to guests. It was an instant success, with demand so great that they were booking rooms before they had furniture, and initial guests slept on mattresses on the floor.