Historic Idaho School House Converted Into Exquisite 16 Bedroom Home

There are so many cool things about this 116 year old building, we don't know exactly where to begin! So, let's start at the beginning...shall we? 

The very first entity to call 105 E Wallace Avenue in Coeur d'Alene home was the Roosevelt School. It first opened its doors to students in 1905 and continued to operate as a four room school house until 1972.

Seven years after it closed, it was sold to a man that turned it into an office building. That was its primary use until 1994 when it was converted into a bed and breakfast known as The Roosevelt Inn. A few years later, the B&B hit the market and a former student at the Roosevelt School snapped up the opportunity to own the building where he learned the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic. That former student's name is John Hough. He purchased it for $700,000 and didn't tell his wife, Tina, until after the deal was complete.

Get our free mobile app

While, it was a dream come true for John, it was hell on earth for Tina. The couple found themselves upside down trying to run the inn. Things at the Roosevelt Inn had gotten so bad that they found themselves on the Gordon Ramsey reality series Hotel Hell. The entire episode is available to watch on YouTube for free, so we won't go into every detail of what happened. In the end, the Houghs accepted Ramsey's help and were able to turn the failing inn around.

Today it has a 4.6 star rating on Google Reviews and 4.5 star rating on Tripadvisor. It's been nine years since the Roosevelt's episode aired on Fox and now the Houghs are ready for their next adventure. They've been trying to sell the inn so they can retire in Texas and came very close to finalizing the sale in May, but the deal fell through.

Listen to Michelle Heart mornings on 107.9 LITE-FM and download the FREE LITE-FM app.

So, the Roosevelt Inn is still on the market for $3.3 million but has a pending offer on it. While the couple hopes the future owners continue to operate it as a bed and breakfast, they'd also be content with it becoming a home for a large family as long as the weddings and events that have been booked at the inn prior to the sale happen as planned.

Before we walk you through the property, we need to point out one last thing about the current inn keepers. Does their last name, Hough, look familiar? It should. John and Tina are the aunt and uncle of Derek and Julianne Hough of Dancing with the Stars fame.