Miss Georgia’s Style- A Nicola Valley Treasure
Miss Georgia’s style
“The laws of attraction are very strong with this old house.”
Her story
Laurie Turmel’s story is an inspiration on never giving up on your dreams. ‘ Miss Georgia’s style’ story starts when she was a young girl growing up in the Nicola Valley. At a young age, she had fallen in love with a home in Lower Nicola. She knew that one day she would own it. She did not know the man that lived there, all she knew was that he had no electricity or water. The house is roughly 75 years old.
When Laurie and her husband bought some acreage, she wanted to buy that home and move it on her property. The man who had been living in the home had died, and he had left it to family.
The family told Laurie that she could not buy it. However, she could go visit. Laurie would visit the home and sweep the floor, dreaming of owning it. At the same time, she had started her own paint line called ‘PIY Paints’. After the man who had inherited the house had died, Laurie contacted his wife asking if she could buy it, and finally she said yes.
After decades, she finally got the home that she dreamed of. I was given the opportunity to interview Laurie and ask her some questions about the phenomenal home in the Nicola Valley.
My interview with Laurie Turmel
A beautiful photo of Laurie in Miss Georgia’s Style
What inspired you to start ‘Miss Georgia’s style?”
Laurie: . My dad built me a little playhouse, I started painting it and making it comfy with things from the dump that I would find with my grandma.Which later, gave me passion for decorating. By my late 20s, I was collecting things for the old house.
Where does the old fashioned appliances and furniture come from? are they donated, passed down , or do you buy them?
Laurie: It was a dream of mine owning ‘Miss Georgia’s style’ for over 50 years. In the last 20 years I have started collecting items for her. Every item has a story. The fridge was from the home my Grandmother was born in. The outhouse is over 100 years old which was given to me for Christmas a few years ago. My son found it on an old logging road, asked the owner of the resort if he could buy it. Which Afterward, He rolled it down a mountain with my grandkids and brought it to me.
What is it about the “Old fashioned home” that intrigues you? Do you prefer the older home style compared to modern day?
Laurie: I don’t really have a style per say, I love all styles. It is the feeling you get when you walk into a home that matters to me. Warm and cozy, a small voice that whispers, sit down relax, and stay awhile. A house is a house, It is a home that I love.
Where does the name ‘Miss Georgia’s style’ come from? does the name have a special story to it?
Laurie:it sounded like a strong Southern woman. It’s iced tea on the porch. I told this to the woman I got the house from. She looked at me kind of funny. She said, ‘Do you know what the man’s name was who built the house? It was George.’
If you could go back to to any era in history, which would it be and why?
Laurie: I would love to go back to the times when families ate at the dinner table. An extra potato was always close at hand to add to the pot. Home baked goodies were always offered when a visitor came over.
If Miss Georgia was a person, what would her personality be like?
Laurie: Miss Georgia’s style would be a strong women. A women who could go outside in the snow and milk a cow, Or help a mother farm animal deliver a baby. Yet still put on her Sunday best and love to look pretty. She would be comfortable in gumboots and heels sort of women.
This story is truly magical. The aesthetic of Miss Georgia’s style is awe-worthy. It is interesting how a couple years later I am writing about this story. I too grew up in the Nicola Valley, I would drive by that house
The beautiful aesthetics of Miss Georgia’s Style.
everyday going into Merritt. Suddenly the home was gone! I had always been curious of where it ended up. Laurie, you have done an excellent job on preserving that home and showing it’s true beauty.
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