My Houzz: Traditional Style Shines in a Connecticut Home
Ample room for entertaining and traditional touches come together in this NYC couple’s weekend retreat
Faith Towers
November 10, 2015
Houzz Contributor. Faith Towers is a designer, writer and crafter with a passion for all things creative. She received her art degree from Skidmore College, and her work has been featured in Forbes and Yahoo. She writes her blog called Design Fixation and also spends her days designing wedding invitations and stationery.
Houzz Contributor. Faith Towers is a designer, writer and crafter with a passion... More
Natalia and Chris Hancock wanted to buy a home in the country with plenty of room to house their large extended family. Natalia, a personal chef and nutritionist, and Chris, who works in finance, live and work in Manhattan full-time during the week but escape to their Suffield, Connecticut, traditional-style home almost every weekend to spend time with family and friends. The quiet New England locale, which is also Natalia’s hometown, provides them with a much-needed break from their city lifestyle.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Natalia and Chris Hancock, and their 5-month-old son, Rory
Location: Suffield, Connecticut
Size: 6 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms
Year built: 1996
The couple spend almost every weekend at this home, and they really wanted it to have plenty of space for visitors and also to be ideal for large gatherings with numerous expansive areas perfect for entertaining. Natalia’s parents come for longer stays, and her sister and brother and their families often visit from Massachusetts and Nevada. The generous square footage in the living room lends itself to parties, with vast windows and doors that open onto a patio overlooking a pond.
Although the house was built in 1996, it has many Georgian-style features, including pedimented windows and dormers and arched doorways. Leather chesterfield sofas in the living room coordinate with the room’s wood tones and reclaimed exposed beams and are consistent with the architecture of the home.
Rug: ABC Carpet & Home; sofas: Restoration Hardware
Who lives here: Natalia and Chris Hancock, and their 5-month-old son, Rory
Location: Suffield, Connecticut
Size: 6 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms
Year built: 1996
The couple spend almost every weekend at this home, and they really wanted it to have plenty of space for visitors and also to be ideal for large gatherings with numerous expansive areas perfect for entertaining. Natalia’s parents come for longer stays, and her sister and brother and their families often visit from Massachusetts and Nevada. The generous square footage in the living room lends itself to parties, with vast windows and doors that open onto a patio overlooking a pond.
Although the house was built in 1996, it has many Georgian-style features, including pedimented windows and dormers and arched doorways. Leather chesterfield sofas in the living room coordinate with the room’s wood tones and reclaimed exposed beams and are consistent with the architecture of the home.
Rug: ABC Carpet & Home; sofas: Restoration Hardware
An ornate entryway welcomes visitors, giving them a small taste of the traditional style of the rest of the home. The decor was inspired partly by the style of Natalia’s childhood home that her mother expertly decorated.
The grand two-story entryway is wallpapered with pale blue stripes, accentuating its height.
The dining room, which sits to the right of the entryway, is filled with lush textiles and an opulent crystal chandelier.
Gold accents are a theme seen in almost every room.
Seasonal accents can be found throughout the main areas of the home as well, complementing the many gold fixtures and accessories.
Chris uses this office space to work when he’s away from his office in New York. A large vintage map of Hartford County fills one wall as a nod to the couple’s love for the area.
Natalia’s sister Nicky, pictured at left, is a frequent visitor, along with her family. Nicky’s husband also grew up in Suffield, so they all enjoy being back together in their hometown.
Dentil molding, a detail popular in traditional Georgian architecture, can be found throughout most of the house.
Coffee table: Arhaus
Coffee table: Arhaus
The couple spend a lot of time relaxing in front of the fieldstone fireplace in the family room. They chose the large sectional as a functional piece so the kids can play and the adults can lounge comfortably.
Natalia is a personal chef and nutritionist in New York, where their kitchen is relatively small, so she is thrilled to have a spacious kitchen where she can cook for her family on the weekends. Now that she’s a mom, Natalia says with a laugh that hosting parties “always seems like too much when we’re preparing for one, but then I’m planning the next one when I wake up in the morning.”
The smaller kitchen table is used more often than the dining room table, as it is conveniently situated between the kitchen and the family room. Natalia grew up eating at this very same table, which her father refinished.
Chairs: The Hitchcock Chair Co.
Chairs: The Hitchcock Chair Co.
A small reading room complete with rocking chairs sits upstairs from the kitchen. The bookshelves are lined with vintage cookbooks and favorite novels.
The decor in Rory’s nursery is spare, letting the beautiful handmade baby blankets take center stage. The navy tufted rocker is the perfect spot to sit before nap time.
Natalia loves to outfit the beds with fluffy white duvets, one of her must-have decorating details. “It’s like sleeping in a cloud,” she says. Chris’ mother made the quilt on the bed, and its muted color scheme fits perfectly with the serene feel of the master bedroom.
Leather recliner: Arhaus; French Empire panel bed: Restoration Hardware
Leather recliner: Arhaus; French Empire panel bed: Restoration Hardware
The couple enjoy the size of their master bath and having two sinks. Green and cream checkered tiles run throughout the master bath floor.
The window seat in the master bath does double duty as a changing table and offers Natalia, pictured, a beautiful view of the fall foliage in the front yard.
A dresser provides convenient storage next to the bathtub. Hand-painted detail work adorns the doors, matching the light green tones in the wallpaper.
The toilet is in its own space with a door, a convenient detail that adds functionality.
Large columns and pedimented windows lend a stately feel to the facade.
An exuberant and welcoming seasonal arrangement of pumpkins and mums sits by the front door.
Chris grew up in a rural town in Canada and is happy to have plenty of acreage to explore with his friends on ATVs in the summer and snowmobiles in the winter.
The back patio is the perfect spot for hosting large gatherings during warmer months.
Outdoor furniture: Klismos Collection, Restoration Hardware
The back patio is the perfect spot for hosting large gatherings during warmer months.
Outdoor furniture: Klismos Collection, Restoration Hardware
Natalia and Chris, seen here with Rory, both appreciate being back in the tight-knit community that Natalia grew up in. “One of the things I like most is that it’s in a town that I love,” Natalia says.
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See more photos of this home
My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
Browse more homes by style:
Small Homes | Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
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I absolutely agree with ndvheller.......the outside is pretty but is not carried thru inside. Beige boxes is accurate. Six bedroom six bath for a weekend house....jeez.
Although my vision of the perfect weekend retreat is a cabin in the woods, this home is lovely in its timeless traditional design and it reminds me of the vast privilege that some Americans enjoy. Beautiful family and precious baby!