This Connecticut Georgian Colonial is an Old House Lover’s Dream

For old house lovers, it’s often the details others consider drawbacks that tug at the heartstrings the most. Such was the case with Justin Reis and Mark Schwindenhammer when their real estate agent took them to see a foreclosure in the rural town of Hampton, Connecticut.

Faded and peeling frescoes from the 1940s covered the dining room walls. “The Realtor said, ‘Don’t worry, you can patch these up and paint over them,’” Justin recalls. “I was like, ‘Are you insane?’ These, to me, are the most special part of the house.” Justin and Mark also embraced the Georgian Colonial’s uneven floorboards and wavy windowpanes.

Justin Reis and Mark Schwindenhammer, who work as event designers, enjoy creating seasonal outdoor spreads at their pastoral property in Hampton, Connecticut.

At the time, the two were just looking for a weekend retreat from New York City, but after decamping in the house for a few months in early 2020, they decided to make it their primary home, which is frequently used for entertaining. (They’re both event designers, after all.) “We equate ‘country’ to great hospitality,” says Justin. “We love starting fires in our guests’ bedrooms before everyone turns in for the night or sending them home with armloads of flowers and fresh eggs.” (Speaking of, wait until you see the chicken coop below.)

Aside from the kitchen, which required a renovation to shore up its structural support, the couple focused on preserving the existing character, while layering in materials that speak to the surroundings. “We tried our hardest to bring the outside in, to make the environment around us part of our experience,” says Justin. They also researched the home’s previous owners, many of whom were women, to stay true to its spirit. (One resident was Florence England Nosworthy, a fairly recognizable illustrator. Another was 1970s magazine editor Muriel Hall.) “There’s this sort of divinely feminine energy that runs through the house,” says Justin. “Obviously it’s not the most natural thing for us, but in the end, there’s something really special about not touching it all that much.”

Layers of Found Treasures

“It’s sort of a gentleman’s navy,” Justin says of the living room’s saturated wall color that took three tries to get right but is now the perfect backdrop for the large pull-down map scored from Putnam Antiques Marketplace. Original and antique windowpanes in the classic 12-over-12 double-hung style filter in fall’s dappled light and cast a glow on layers of found treasures. Weathered floorboards and hand-hewn exposed beams frame comfortable upholstered sofas and chairs, providing plentiful places to plop down at the end of the day.

“Lighting the first fire of the season is so magical,” says Justin. “It’s the perfect sort of transitional moment to get cozy.” The warming cabinet above the living room’s fireplace, which likely had a door at one time, offers a spot to tuck in collected items. Another autumn ritual: stacking firewood along the living room wall. The narrow shelves were built by a previous owner to accommodate her book collection.

Frescoes on Display

Connecticut Georgian Colonial Dining Area

In the dining room, muted blue millwork complements the hand-painted frescoes that were signed by the artist in 1948. The paintings are thought to reflect some of the flowers—irises and columbine—that grew in the garden at the time the artist rendered them.

Old Meets New Materials

Although they weren’t looking to renovate, the kitchen floor was essentially “floating over nothing,” says Justin. The wood floorboards were also warped beyond repair. (They’re now repurposed as shelves elsewhere.) To replace them, the couple selected rough-edged porcelain tiles in varying sizes and asked the contractor to lay them randomly throughout the kitchen and, later, the pantry. The depth of one of the two existing islands was extended to add more seating, then both were topped with new granite waterfall countertops in a textured leather finish. “We love the idiosyncrasies that come through in older pieces, but we also love a touch of luxury, especially in incredible materials,” Justin says. Surrounding the islands are built-in cabinets that house an oven and the refrigerator.

In the breakfast nook, Webster, one of the couple’s two Italian greyhounds, is partial to a velvet settee that pairs with an industrial table on casters. The ‘289 Main’ pennant was made and gifted to the couple by a friend (in honor of their address and business name),

Pretty and Practical Spaces

In what had previously been the laundry room, Justin and Mark created a pantry, complete with ample beadboard-backed open shelving and herringbone wood countertops.

The heap of wicker baskets, many scooped up for just a few dollars, is an ever-evolving display. “We love them for their practical purposes (collecting eggs, cutting flowers, using them to hold bread or produce, etc.), but we especially love to find really impractical shapes, like a pitcher or a chicken,” Justin says.

Meet the Chicken!

Elizabeth, a Buff Brahma, is one of the many chickens named after European female monarchs.

Nooks with Character

Mark sanded and refinished the wide-plank floorboards upstairs, where a marble bust anchors one end of the hallway. The dark room that looks out to the hall is an anteroom in which they’ve covered the walls with art and objects they’ve collected. “We wanted this to feel more like a cabinet of curiosities,” Justin says. The framed butterflies are from Deyrolle in Paris and there’s a vintage needlepoint of an Italian Greyhound. Of the gallery walls throughout, including the art in the hallway, Justin says, “We are such collectors because we are drawn to so much. A gallery wall is such a great way to incorporate all the things we love.”

Feminine Touches

Upstairs, feminine touches are on display, including the toile wallcovering in the guest bedroom. “It was the red toile wallpaper that officially led to the ‘this is our house’ moment,” says Justin. Ticking stripe bedding plays well with the preexisting pattern, and an antique oil portrait lends a nod to the home’s many previous female inhabitants. Justin and Mark—on separate visits to an antiques shop—both spotted and fell in love with the chinoiserie-upholstered armchairs that now nestle next to the room’s fireplace.

Botanical Flair

Georgian Colonial Upstairs Bathroom

New botanical wallpaper pairs with olive green cabinets and millwork in the upstairs bathroom. The antique globe sconces are from 1stDibs.

Get the Look:

Tucked-In Beds

Georgian Colonial Home Twin Beds

In the long, narrow space around the corner from the primary bedroom, a pair of twin beds from Craigslist tucks in more overnight guests. “It’s rare that we’re here by ourselves,” Mark says. “We love to get our friends out of the city for the weekend.”

Cozy Sleeping Quarters

white bedroom with fireplace

One of the home’s four wood-burning fireplaces is in the primary bedroom where Mark had the idea to “float” the platform bed in the center of the room. “We wanted to lighten the room up a little, so the low bed in the middle of the room helps with that,” Justin says. “It’s the best place to fall asleep in the winter looking up at those beams on the ceiling.”

Handmade Goods

Some of Justin’s pottery and Mark’s handmade cutting boards await being boxed in an upstairs room that the couple use as a shipping and receiving room for the goods they make and sell on the website 289 Main. The table is a vintage wallpaperer’s table.

Francophile Coop

fancy chicken coop

Inspired by the garden follies of France’s Château de Groussay, Mark designed and built the property’s two chicken coops. At one end sits a fanciful tassel-trimmed tent pavilion, which can be closed off as the brooder house. It’s home to a mixed-breed flock who lay eggs in a variety of colors ranging from dark olive to speckled brown to white.

Mark takes a time-out with one of the chickens, Bumblefoot. “She suffered a minor foot injury when she was young,” says Justin of the Splash Maran. “Mark spent a lot of time nursing her back to health, so she’s extra-affectionate toward him.”

English-Inspired Gardens

The pair transformed the property’s once-overgrown three acres into a dreamy English-inspired garden with two chicken coops that house their 30 chickens, a woodworking shop, a pottery studio, and a cutting garden of perennials, annuals like zinnia and cosmos, and hundreds of varieties of dahlias. Justin has even won several county fair ribbons for his dahlias. “We are close to putting in 1,000 tubers,” he says. “Every year, we dig them up and divide and store them, so that is another annual seasonal ritual.”

Justin also uses the dahlia blooms, including the Peaches N’ Cream variety, in floral arrangements.