Couple hopes to transform barn

RATHDRUM – The proprietors of a rural Rathdrum bed and breakfast hope to win a special permit to transform their big brown barn into a retreat center.

Ellen and Per Larsen run the Cedar Springs Bed and Breakfast, on Rathdrum Mountain overlooking Spirit Lake.

They’re asking Kootenai County to approve their request to operate a commercial center within a rural zone.

Plans call for five or six bedrooms and three large work rooms to be built in the barn. It sits on the couple’s 80-acre parcel and near their bed and breakfast.

Ellen Larsen envisions a quiet place where visitors would spend four days delving into what it takes to create healthier lifestyles.

They could learn activities such as tai chi or organic gardening while finding out how to prepare quick, healthy meals and manage stress, she said.

The rest of the time the barn could be booked by groups of up to 20, Larsen said. She believes it would be ideal for academics collaborating on papers, quilting clubs, church groups or others looking for spacious quarters in which to gather – while enjoying the surrounding landscape and wildlife.

Trails popular with hikers and those on snowshoes crisscross the heavily wooded property.

Larsen said the center’s target market would be groups that appreciate peaceful, natural surroundings.

The request will be considered at a public hearing Aug. 16 at the Kootenai County Administration Building in Coeur d’Alene.