Designers Tommy and Dee Hilfiger restored their Connecticut country house with meticulous attention to detail …
Main image; Tommy and Dee Hilfiger in the hallway of Round Hill, which is decorated with 18th and 19th-century hunting scenes and a Jacobean table.
We knew we were going to buy this house from the second we walked in. It felt so comfortable. The broker was giving us all the details, but Tommy leaned over and whispered, ‘Let’s make this happen’,” says Dee Hilfiger of their country house in Connecticut which has commanding views of Long Island Sound and the Manhattan skyline.
Designed in 1939 by noted architect Greville Rickard for real estate magnate Charles Paterno, the six-bedroom residence on 22 acres could be described as a cross between a Normandy château and an English Tudor manor house. Features include an Elizabethan-style carved-oak staircase, limestone fireplace, beamed ceilings, elaborately carved millwork and intricate plasterwork.
When Tommy and Dee bought the mansion, they embarked on a restoration project that took six years. “We felt it was important to restore the property rather than just renovate it. The carvings on the wood panels, banisters, and doors throughout the interior were works of art,” says Tommy.
Specimen trees and coneshaped topiaries on the front lawn.
The breakfast room features a low painted ceiling and oak panelling.
In the kitchen, the cabinets and island are made from pickled antique oak and the stools are upholstered in horsehair.
Architect André Tchelistcheff had the task of updating the mechanical systems while meticulously restoring the interiors and exteriors, top to bottom. The roof required three years to complete: clay tiles were templated and cast by hand in Turkey and then installed one by one. For the interior decoration, the couple first called in Cindy Rinfret. Playing up the baronial character of the house, she installed Black Forest hunting trophies and antlers galore. Later, Los Angeles–based designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard added exotic patterns and luxurious textiles. “We started to layer antiques, paintings and textiles to create the kind of country house in which a family would have amassed a collection over generations.”
The baronial fireplace in the beam-ceilinged entry hall decked out for autumn.
In the powder room, a custom-made dressing table nestles into the curved wall.
For Tommy and Dee, Round Hill was a chance to engage in some of their favourite pastimes – travelling and shopping. “This house was truly a wonderful opportunity to pay homage to other cultures,” Tommy explains. They filled it with old master portraits, Flemish still lifes, Chinese porcelains from the Ming and Qing dynasties, Venetian glass, Moroccan furniture, vintage Royal Doulton dinner services, Tiffany silverware, and an important Persian carpet that once belonged to the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. After twelve years, the family relocated to Florida and Round Hill was sold. The new owner insisted on buying the house completely furnished. “They wanted everything!” says Rinfret.
Tommy’s bathroom, with tobacco-coloured Italian marble.
The main bedroom features bed hangings of Scottish tartan. The walls are lined in a chocolate-coloured velvet with nailhead trim and an antique Austrian cabinet chest sits at the foot of the bed.
Hilfiger Homes, by Tommy & Dee Hilfiger, with foreword by Anna Wintour, (Vendome Press, €65) is out now.
SEE MORE: Tommy And Dee Hilfiger Share Their Annual Traditions
We may earn a commission if you buy through affiliate links on our site.
