A dream comes true
Marilyn Rose helps the owners turn this Long Island chateau into a stately French countryside home
By Evelina Emmi Rector
Photos by Noel Allum
Like the family that lives in it, every house has a story. When the house is a historic estate, the story is inherently fascinating. And when the glory days of the house are long past, but a couple is enchanted with it and dreams of making it their family home, the story of that house becomes a love story. One with potential fairy tale status. But as in a proper fairy tale, before the happy ending, there are mountains to climb and dragons to fight -- or in this case, a massive and meticulous restoration.
Locust Valley interior designer, Marilyn Rose, has played an important part in helping her clients' dream come true. To her professional gratification and personal delight, she has been a part of the story of the house for a long while. As a matter of fact, sharing similar artistic sensibilities and being kindred spirits have allowed the client-designer relationship, as well as a lovely friendship, to thrive for more than fourteen years.
Long before the current owners made the house their own, it was one of the fabled mansions of the Gold Coast on the North Shore of Long Island. Built in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, these residences have been featured in articles, books and films, renowned for their beauty and luxury. Some of them have disappeared because they became difficult, if not impossible, to maintain. Where houses once stood in solitary splendor, properties have been subdivided to make way for stately homes with smaller footprints. Fortunately, some of the Gold Coast masterpieces still offer the public a glimpse into a world of consummate opulence via their reincarnations as museums, schools, venues for business and social events, and points of interest for touring. And some of these precious architectural and historical jewels remain private homes.
One such treasure captured the hearts, imaginations, and commitment of this family for whom art, music, literature, architecture, and nature are strong and enduring passions. As a result of their "love at first sight" reaction to the property, and after careful deliberation as to the enormity of the task of restoration, the house was purchased. A long, meticulous, and loving restoration ensued and has resulted in a magnificent home for a warm and vibrant family.
The story of the house that now appropriately bears the name Millefleurs, a thousand flowers, began almost a hundred years ago. New York stockbroker, E. Mortimer Barnes, an avid golfer and nature-lover, commissioned architect Thomas H. Ellett for the project. An acclaimed professional, Ellet also designed the elegant Cosmopolitan Club on Manhattan's Upper East Side. The other key member of the team was a prominent landscape designer, Annette H. Flanders.
The concept for the property was to authentically recreate the experience of being in the French countryside. Remarkable and unique features were included in the design, such as a large brick carriage house, a turret, and a two-story arch that welcomed guests and connected the carriage house to the main domicile. The chateau was designed with exceptionally beautiful windows and doors to frame every possible view of the magnificent gardens. The house was built for entertaining, indoors and outdoors. Through the years, as it changed hands, entertaining remained an important element in its story. For example, at one point, a concert pianist and an opera singer lived in the house, often inviting family and friends to music-filled gatherings.
Each of the current homeowners immediately fell under the spell of the property, enchanted by the simple beauty and proportions of the architecture, the skillful interaction of the house and the gardens, and the wonderful windows and doors that invited beautiful views into the house at every turn. Also, over a twenty year period, they had lovingly acquired a collection of exquisite nineteenth century European paintings, antique furnishings, accessories, and sculptures. They felt that the house and their collections would be a perfect fit, literally and figuratively.
They were also keenly aware of what it would take to restore the house to its original condition. From the ceilings, walls and floors, the many fireplaces, the electrical and plumbing work, the unique and difficult to restore slate roof, the extensive gardens . . . they knew that their desired dream house would require a serious commitment to a daunting amount of specialized work. Some of the most demanding aspects of the interior restoration would be the authentic parquet floors and boiserie (carved wood wall paneling) which were originally elements in a eighteenth century Parisian salon. Herringbone parquet floors, inlaid terrazzo floors, windows and doors, all from the original construction, would also need serious attention.
After months of consideration, the potential homeowners knew just what they were facing. They also knew that they were completely smitten. Making a leap of faith, they purchased the property. With the vision of a beautiful home for both their family and their cherished collections sustaining them, they endured more than two years of laborious and faithful restoration before moving into the house.
Finding the artisans and designers to bring the home back to its original splendor was a major project in itself. The choice of an interior designer had been an easy one, however. Several years before purchasing the chateau, the homeowners visited a Designer Showcase at La Colline, an aristocratic French country mansion on the Gold Coast. Seeing the breathtaking living room done by Marilyn Rose, they knew that she was the right person for the project when the dream of the chateau entered their lives. Marilyn's talent, experience, wealth of knowledge and professional resources, combined with her natural warmth and enthusiasm, made her the perfect person to help their dream come true. In addition to her interior design skills, Marilyn is an accomplished artist. She sees things with a painter's eye. For example, she immediately recognized that the view of the garden from each window must be treated as a work of art, framed by just enough of a treatment to enhance the composition.
The homeowners have a serious and tender regard for Millefleurs, somewhat akin to that of museum curators who feel a deep responsibility and protectiveness towards works of art that deserve preservation or require restoration. They visualized Millefleurs as a work of art that would house and harmonize with their already treasured works of art. And so it has.
Indeed, like the family that lives in it, every house has a story. The story of Millefleurs is a very happy one. With its hundredth birthday on the horizon, it is fully renewed and resonates with the joy that a happy family brings to a house. A family that looks forward to many celebrations ahead -- birthday parties, holidays, a beloved son's graduation parties, and more. The chateau's tradition of entertaining is carried on by a gracious and generous family that loves to welcome guests and share the beauty and comfort of Millefleurs with them.
And in their everyday lives, the years of work it took to make their dream come true fade from memory as simple pleasures are enjoyed...strains of jazz emanating from the piano in the living room, settling down to read in a cozy corner, sharing a chat beside a roaring fire...a work of art, a lovely view, a quiet walk in the gardens that soothes the spirit...a gentle breeze rustling through the wisteria-laden pergola. In all ways great and small, the dream has become a reality and the house has become a cherished home.
