A perfect 18th-century farmhouse in Connecticut

There is a gentle and escapist character to the countryside of Litchfield County. Around two hours’ drive north-east of New York City, it is a rural New England setting that draws those looking for a quieter way of life, as well as being home to a community of artists, writers and designers. When the Manhattan-based owners of this farmhouse began looking for somewhere to spend weekends and holidays, it was the sense of character, history and calm that drew them to this area of Connecticut.

‘It is a restful retreat from the city for us,’ says the owner of the 18th-century farmstead, which has a guest house and barn. ‘We tend to spend a lot of weekends up here and sometimes a week or two at a time. Our children are now 22, 19 and 13, but my husband and I were thinking of the house as a place that would evolve with the family, and of a time when they might even have children themselves. We wanted space to be able to spend time with them – having the farmhouse and the guest house means we have a good set-up.’

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Parts of the farmhouse date back to the 1750s, while others are from the 1800s. For the next stage in the evolution of their home, the owners turned to the designer James Huniford, known as Ford. They had spotted an earlier project of his – a barn conversion in Woodstock – in the pages of a magazine. After meeting at the house, Ford and his clients got on well, agreeing to push ahead with the project to sensitively update and restore the house rather than reinventing it.

‘We have always wanted an old house, but also loved the fact that it had grown over time and been added on to,’ says the owner. ‘It felt interesting, as though it had a story and we were adding another layer to that story. But we wanted the house to keep its integrity and, when we talked to Ford and brought him over here, he had such a great vision for it. He knew exactly what we wanted but also had his own ideas.’

Fully respecting the provenance of the house, Ford kept any structural changes to a minimum, while drawing out the character of the interiors. One of the key decisions was to turn the old dining room alongside the side door into a welcoming entrance hall, with a sofa and armchairs arranged around the existing chimneypiece. This space is now a firm family favourite. A new dining room – full of soft tones and rustic textures – was created in the former library.

‘The brief was to update the house, while making it feel comfortable and inviting for the family, with nothing too fussy or too formal,’ says Ford. ‘For the dining room, for example, I found some old linen grain sacks in Massachusetts and had them backed with paper, so that they could be put up like wallpaper. The stripes on the sacks don’t quite align and their tones and textures are slightly different. It is rare to have a client who understands that kind of creativity and that not everything has to be consistent. They didn’t want elaborate curtains anywhere downstairs, so I had shutters made that are almost Shaker-like.’

In the kitchen, Ford exposed the original wooden beams, restored the oak floorboards and replaced a run of Eighties windows with traditional rope-and-weight sash windows. Full of light and enjoying views over the garden, the room is spacious enough to accommodate not just the custom-designed units, but also a breakfast table and a seating area, with an elegant hickory and canework bench.