Tour a Refreshed 1931 Scarsdale Tudor
Foley & Cox updates the Westchester home for 21st-century living.
In the family room, a chandelier from Visual Comfort & Co. hangs above a custom sectional and ottoman by Peruvian Touch and a pair of armchairs from Stellar Works. Photography by Tim Lenz
Known for its easy commute from Manhattan and gracious, expansive single-family homes, Scarsdale, New York, has been a choice Big Apple suburb since the late 19th century. Smitten with the town’s charm, the young buyers of the 1931 Tudor featured here went all in, hiring a local architect to make over the 4,500-square-foot six-bedroom. It was a serendipitous match, as architect Rosamund A. Young had previously renovated the house next door. This new commission “was beautiful,” Young recounts, “with petite, elegant detailing.” But it had not been renovated since the 1980s, and none of the systems had aged well. Inspired to retain the look of the original structure, Young and her contractor pulled the house apart to install new HVAC, plumbing, and electrical. “After that,” she adds, “we started putting the layers back together.”
The powder room mirror is from Arteriors. Photography by Tim Lenz
Engaging an interior designer for the project was something of a family affair, since the wife had grown up in homes designed by the Manhattan-based firm Foley & Cox. “We’ve been working with the family for 20 years,” says the company’s principal, Michael Cox, whose book, The Language of Home: The Interiors of Foley & Cox, has just been published by Monacelli. “She represents what we call our second generation of clients, and we’re proud to have them.”
Cox took on the assignment early enough “to be able to work with Ros on some of the interior architecture and the finishes,” with the shared goal of creating a home that was fresh, timeless, and unique. “Michael just jumped off the diving board with everything that had already been done,” Young comments, describing Cox as a dream partner.
In the living room, walls painted Farrow & Ball’s Studio Green meet a ceiling covered in Fornasetti Nuvolette by Cole & Son through Kravet. Photography by Tim Lenz
Among the original details left untouched is the elegant staircase in the entry. The fireplaces in the living and dining rooms, which face each other across the foyer, were also retained but given modern updates. The surrounds were replaced with stone, different in each room but united by the same Arabescato Corchia marble facing. The dramatically dark living room purposely contrasts with the lighter dining room, and although the house is pointedly kid-friendly, the living room was conceived as an adult space. It is not without whimsy, however: Cox papered the ceiling with fanciful Fornasetti-inspired clouds, courtesy of the wall covering firm Cole & Son. Furnishings throughout the home include custom pieces, additions from the Foley & Cox Home collection and other high-end lines, the clients’ own furniture, and market sources like CB2.
In the upstairs common room, created for the homeowners’ three children, a Thomas O’Brien–designed ceiling fixture looms above a custom-colored coffee table scored on 1stdibs and a Serena & Lily sectional. Photography by Tim Lenz
“The juxtaposition of the old and the new makes this house exhilarating,” Young enthuses, “and Michael finished this house to a level of detail I’ve never seen before. Every piece of art, every tissue box, every hand towel is in place.” The end product, Cox adds, “is a perfect representation of the kind of mix we love as designers. The trick is always finding a balance that works for the clients. You can pair antiques and vintage pieces with more contemporary art and furnishings and still feel like there’s a solid foundation and sense of history behind it all.”
The print version of this article appeared with the headline: Classic Comfort.
