Business
BY SHELBIE HAMILTON
The main house is open for overnight stays.
The Stephen cottage features some Art Deco design.
Six new cottage suites debuted at Bingham Estate in April.
PHOTOS COURTESY BINGHAM ESTATE
Bingham Estate o ers stays at historic property
Once a private residence, the historic Bingham Estate property in East McKinney now welcomes guests for overnight stays. Owner Erika McWilliams opened the main house as a bed and breakfast in May 2023, and six new cottages debuted in April following an expansion on the south side of the property. The cottages are each named for a child of the Bing- ham family that originally owned the property, McWilliams said. The setup The Bingham Estate was constructed from 1882-83 for Captain John Henry Bingham, who fought in the Civil War, and his family, which included his wife and six children, the business’s website states. The estate was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. McWilliams, who has previously restored three other historic homes in downtown, acquired the estate in September 2022. The 1.4-acre estate features the main house with four suites and amenities such as a pool and a pickleball court. Retreats, tea parties and mahjong parties can be hosted at the estate, McWilliams said. Diving in deeper The six new cottages added expanded the property’s total rooms to 10.
“The day that I walked on property, ... I knew I wanted to build cottages, it hit me just like a truck,” McWilliams said, noting that she was inspired by destinations such as Fredericksburg, Texas and Charleston, South Carolina. Each cottage has a unique design aesthetic that was curated to represent one of the six Bingham Children, including the Eliza, Isaac, Margaret, Nathaniel, Sallie Mills and Stephen cottages. McWilliams collaborated with residen- tial designer Mark McReynolds to design the cottages, which are about 600-square-feet each. Work on the cottages began in April 2023, and was completed over a two year period. The personalities of each Bingham child were dreamt up by McWilliams along with the cottage designers, Cassie Werner and Signe Hugghins of Sidewalk Dreamery. The cottages each feature a unique design aesthetic and a conceptual portrait of the Bingham child the cottage is named for. While the design aesthetic varies by cottage, intentional use of color and design elements like wallpaper tie the spaces together. “They feel alive to us,” McWilliams said of the cottages named for the Bingham children. “It’s not a hotel, and even some of the other historic hotels you stay in, it just feels like a room. The Bingham feels alive and you can be immersed in history the moment you walk on.”
The main house features four suites and living spaces.
The master suite in the main house o ers a king bed.
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COLORADO ST.
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800 S. Chestnut St., McKinney www.binghamestate.com
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