A Grand Dame

Last year, when I visited Brent and Josh in Sharon Springs, I toured one of the most beautiful homes I had ever seen. It belongs to Michelle Curran, the most intrepid real-estate agent in town. (Michelle was responsible for handling the sale of the Beekman mansion to ‘the boys’ in 2007.) On this particular trip, I was traveling with a companion – my friend Jessica Hodgson, who is a very talented photographer. Brent raved about Michelle’s house and her legendary parties. By all accounts, we had to see this place.

Michelle’s house once belonged to Dr. John H. Gardner and his family. Construction began in the 1850s and was completed in 1860. The house sits at the summit of a hilly, 88-acre property just outside of town on a high promontory overlooking the Mohawk Valley. The seven-bedroom, 8000 square-foot, Italianate-inspired mansion is faced entirely with limestone, much of it quarried on site. It stands resolute: stately and tall and proud.

Indoors, Michelle has left the house with much of its rough-hewn patina. Worn wood floors and chipped plaster walls catch the light beautifully, adding a rustic, cozy charm to the vast spaces. To counteract the effects of time, Michelle has used vibrantly-hued wallpapers and paint to lighten the rooms, which have 14-foot high ceilings and tall windows. It all works beautifully to create something that is utterly unique.

Michelle has been living in the home since 1990 and currently has the property up for sale. Jessica took these gorgeous photos of the home and I was eager to share them with you. We were both so impressed by this home and its owner’s decision to leave much of it intact, embracing the patterns of time rather than trying to scrub them away. I hope you enjoy these photographs!

To see more of Jessica’s photography, please click here.

 

 

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