Iconic Covington Bed & Breakfast re-opens under new owners

COVINGTON, Ga. - With just six words, legendary author Margaret Mitchell created a unique North Georgia landmark:  “I like this for Ashley’s home.”

Mitchell was apparently writing to a man named Wilbur Kurtz, who was consulting with designers on the film version of Mitchell’s blockbuster novel, Gone With The Wind.  And she was talking about a home in Covington — a picturesque estate that’s now known as The Twelve Oaks Bed & Breakfast.

The Good Day Atlanta feature team spent the morning in Covington, exploring the historic home which inspired the look of Twelve Oaks in the classic 1939 film.  After going up for auction in 2019, The Twelve Oaks Bed & Breakfast officially re-opened under its new ownership in early December; the property is now owned by Savannah residents Natalie Powlas and Anthony Tippins.    

The home was actually built back in the 1830s by Judge John Harris, who also owned a large plantation near Covington; after the Civil War, the house changed hands a few times and subsequent owners added to the structure, resulting in the nearly 11,000-square foot mansion that stands today.  Now a Bed & Breakfast, guests can stay in one of the several guest suites, all named after films and television series shot in the Covington area (The Salvatore Brothers Study, for example, is named for characters in “The Vampire Diaries,” and there’s also a suite named for “In the Heat of the Night”). 

Future plans for The Twelve Oaks Bed & Breakfast include guided and self-guided tours of the property, which is located at 2176 Monticello Street Southwest in Covington.  For more information, click over to the B&B’s website here — and click on the video player to check out our morning getting a literal taste of the South at the iconic mansion.