The SchoolHouse Retreat & Cultural Center

The SchoolHouse offers a lovely setting and first-rate facilities suited for numerous kinds of events and activities, appropriate for small, intimate groups and larger gatherings. Whether you are attending a retreat or hosting your own event at the SchoolHouse, spending the day or staying for several, you’ll find the SchoolHouse welcoming, comfortable, and accommodating. Here is an overview of our facilities.

The School Building
Now over 70 years old and on the National Registry of Historic Places, the old school building is the Retreat’s centerpiece. While it retains the charm of a bygone era, its upper and lower levels have been fully renovated and offer the following amenities:

The Studio Theatre
One of the school’s former classrooms now provides a spacious studio and theater room complete with stage, antique framed wall mirrors, ballet barres, aged hardwood flooring, and high ceilings. It is ideally suited for performances, receptions, exhibits, dance and movement classes.

The Salon
Also one of the school’s former classrooms, the Salon has been transformed into a spacious lounge, furnished with a piano and sumptuous couches and chairs. Its pastel decor and muted light from frosted windows enhance the serene atmosphere of the room — a ideal setting for musical interludes, afternoon teas, or evening chats.

The Garden Room
This room provides a cozy space for sitting and relaxing. It features abundant plants, natural light and an atmosphere of serenity. Botanical and bright even on the cloudiest days. Its large windows provide a panoramic view of surrounding gardens and the woodlands beyond.

The Garden Room

The Library Room
The Library is a wonderful room in which to read or nap. Large windows offer another view of the Pavillion, Terrace, and park-like gardens.

The Kitchen/Dining Area
Formerly the school library and storage area with old-fashoned high ceilings, now remodeled with koa wood cabinetry and modern cooking facilities. A large glass dining table comfortably seats six for family-style dining.

The Sun Room
Adjoining the kitchen, the Sun Room provides a bird’s eye view of a nearby 100-year-old madrone tree. It is a pleasant nook for dining, or a cozy space for intimate chats.

The SchoolHouse Downstairs
The lower level of the old school house once served as a gymnasium — used for archery, cakewalks, community events, and for storage and utilitarian purposes. It has been completely renovated and now offers guest rooms and comfort facilities for those attending longer retreats at the SchoolHouse. It provides a make-up room with theater-style lighting, a 14-foot wall mirror, and make-up counter where guests may prepare for the day’s events. Also downstairs are two Jacuzzi baths in which to relax before a massage or at day’s end. The South Foyer is a den-like environment with country hutch and comfy love seats. The five double-occupancy guestrooms, each with its own distinctive thematic decor, highlight the lower-level accommodations:

Make-up Room

Tulip Room
Offering a welcoming pink and cream decor and accented by a fanciful homemade wedding dress on display. Matching wallpaper and bedspreads create a bright, cheery spring garden effect.

Water Lily Room
With bedspreads decorated in Monet’s water lilies design, this room features white wicker furniture with coordinating cushions and pillows.

Spring Flower Room
A quaint country-style room with delicate flower print wallpaper and fresh white bedspreads as adornments. Small, but a favorite.

Oriental Flower Room
Classically decorated, spacious, and featuring two welcoming velvet armchairs. A bank of curtained windows over the beds brighten the room and highlight its unique decor.

Wildflower Room
This corner room has a south easterly exposure and gathers soft light filtered through the foliage of nearby shrubs. The gentle yellows of its wallpaper and the crisp blues of its flower print bedspread give it a fresh, happy air that all find appealing.

Conference Room

The Pavillion
This is a new building designed by Poppie to complement and harmonize with the original schoolhouse building. Its main Terrace Room can be used for relaxation or meditation classes, meetings, dining, and other social activities. It provides seating for up to 60 guests, and its large windows and French doors open onto a raised terrace and offer a view of the gardens and a grove of towering trees. It also houses a small conference room and a breakaway room, with set-up facilities for caterers. These smaller rooms may also serve for massage sessions, after guests soak in the large Jacuzzi tub in the adjacent bathroom.

The Pavillion

With its complement of 19 public rooms and 7 bathrooms, the SchoolHouse Retreat & Cultural Center offers ample and diverse accommodations to serve the needs of retreat guests, presenters, and those using its facilities for private events.