One look was all it took for John and Mimi Bornman to know in 1997 they had found their new home.

This week, that house is among 18 others that will open for the Natchez Fall Pilgrimage, which begins today and continues through Oct. 23.

&uot;They kept asking us to do this, and I kept saying no,&uot; John Bornman said. Finally, he relented. She was agreeable. And the last few weeks have centered on preparing for a new experience &045;&045; opening their home to tourists.

On a lofty setting overlooking 55 acres of rolling hills north of Natchez, the Bornmans found Selma, an old plantation house that suited their extensive collection of late 17th- and early 18th-century antiques.

They loved the vista and appreciated the history of the house, now approaching 200 years since it was built there by Gerard Brandon about 1811.

&uot;Mimi and I pulled up to the front of the house and both said to ourselves, ‘we want this house,’&uot; said John Bornman. &uot;We love it.&uot;

Mr. Bornman retired from the oil industry in 1996. Then living in Houston, Texas, the couple had lived in Dallas and in Philadelphia, Penn. He was prepared to retire to their beach house on Ono Island off the coast of Alabama.

&uot;Mimi didn’t want to move her antiques there,&uot; he said.

She did agree, however, that they should leave the big city.

&uot;John always said, ‘you don’t want to keep on looking out on all those roofs,’&uot; Mrs. Bornman said.

Natchez appealed to both of them, as she grew up in St. Francisville, La., and he, just south in the Port Hudson area. Neither had imagined living in the country.

&uot;I have never lived in the country in my life,&uot; she said. &uot;I lived in three of the largest cities all my married life. I didn’t know I would like it, but I love it.&uot;

Soon after buying the house, they began to make it their own with small changes, but nothing to alter the integrity of the house.

Selma is an architectural jewel although altered several times through the years by other owners. &uot;Structurally, the house was in very good shape when we bought it. Mostly what we have done is modernize it,&uot; Mr. Bornman said.

They had central air and heat installed, updated bathrooms and had brick fireplaces cleaned and restored, among other things.

Their furniture and art complement the house, a collection they have put together throughout their married life. &uot;We collected piece by piece, one at a time,&uot; he said.

The couple pointed out favorite pieces &045;&045; clocks, chairs, tables and portraits they quickly described as lovely portraits but not of their own ancestors.

Preparations have been extensive, from trimming limbs on an arbor-like stand of trees overhanging the drive to creating a temporary fenced yard for their two frisky, friendly dogs.

John Bornman will stand on the front gallery to greet visitors when the house is on tour in the next two weeks. &uot;I’ll be the outside guy, and I’ll tell the history of the house,&uot; he said. He will tell about the first house on the property and how it burned and how the owner built the present Selma house.

&uot;I’ll tell about how he built this house in an almost perfect position on this hill and how the plantation was used to grow indigo,&uot; he said. &uot;I’ll tell a little about the architecture.&uot;

Inside, Mrs. Bornman will greet visitors along with hostess helpers Natalie Harris, Pat Longmire and Sylvia Thompson.