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high-style hideaway
Sarah Kaplan had no fear when it came to renovating and redecorating
her Connecticut home. She trusted her instincts and charged forward with a brash but graceful mix
of vintage and modern charm.
Country Home, March 2004 -
As a collector of everything from hotel silver to small-scale sculpture, Sarah Kaplan
just doesn't throw much away. But she and husband Robert Aldrich blithely tossed out
the rule book when it came time to remodel their centuries-old farmhouse in a rural corner of Connecticut.
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Though it's a bit
Euro-modern (note the sisal rug and the Parsons table) and
a little bit Park Avenue (enter the carved mirror and the formal chandelier),
Sarah Kaplan's eclectic dining room pulls together, thanks to a calming gray
color scheme.
Sources: Sofa Hanna – Dovecote. Table Ponte Dining Table,
59x83 inches, $4000; chairs Nell Armless Dining Chair, charcoal mohair,
$900/each – Room.
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Sarah, who owns Dovecote, a home-furnishing store in nearby Westport, mixed high fashion
and flea market for a distinctive country look that confidently melds her love of all things
vintage with Robert's contemporary style. Few homeowners would combine chrome-and-glass tables with
gilded mirrors and crystal chandeliers, or put sheepskin rugs under bergere chairs- especially in a
house built around 1760.
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Left In the library, a fireplace sets a bookish tone much in keeping with vintage
leather club chairs; a gilded sunburst mirror and a mirrored coffee table add a contrasting dash.
Right A mohair setee [Setee Mimi – Dovecote.] and a 1940s mercury-glass lamp make for a cozy reading spot.
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But Sarah's collecting philosophy makes room for everything, and it defines
her design principle: "I don't usually have a plan," she says. "I just buy what I love, what I'm
attracted to. Sometimes it's modern, and sometimes it's 200 years old. If I like it, I buy it."
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An original stone wall lines the drive leading to Sarah's side door. |
That explains how she and Robert ended up with the house itself, a rambling cottage on three
landscaped acres that is a striking counterpoint to their ultramodern apartment in New York City.
Fortunately, previous – and somewhat inappropriate – renovations hadn't ruined the home's basic character.
When they bought it three years ago, architect Jonathan Wagner helped the couple reconfigure the
house and stamp it with Sarah's one-of-a kind style.
"Overall, we wanted to have a house that was
comfortable, open, and simple," Sarah says of her decorating approach. "What I like about the house
is that it's not too done. But I don't have any secret, really. I just do it and step back and then
redo it until I like what I see – I'm always moving things around, at least once or twice a month.
And I'm always bringing things in, taking things out."
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