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A Millbrook, New York, couple built a Greek Revival home to bring the owner’s collection of mainly 18th- and early-19th-century English antiques out of storage. Completed in 2012, the house was designed to feel settled in its Hudson Valley setting while providing a tailored backdrop for the antiques and art.
A Greek Revival home in Millbrook, New York, built to display its owner’s collection of English antiques, is the subject of a Veranda home tour. Completed in 2012, the house was designed by architect Cynthia Filkoff and interior designer Lynne Stair as a setting for furnishings and art the owner had collected over about 30 years, much of it previously in storage.
The owner and his wife had been considering a different lot when, over coffee, they decided to remain on their existing property. The alternative site was a treeless hilltop, which the owner said was not what they wanted for their Millbrook home. Instead, they placed the new house at the bottom of a slope, behind large oak trees, to make it appear established in the landscape.
The owner said the goal was for the newly built home to look as though it had long been part of the area. Filkoff, of Di Biase Filkoff Architects, studied the exterior details of a nearby Presbyterian church dating to about 1848 to guide the house’s moldings. She also visited English country houses designed by Robert Adam, including Syon House, for ideas about the scale of the entry hall.
Stair, of New York design firm McMillen Inc., worked with the owner to arrange his antiques and art. The interiors include a Regency desk and carved pine paneling in the study, Georgian dining furniture, and a 19th-century Gothic bench in the entry hall. The house also uses distinct color schemes, including an oxblood finish in the dining room and a custom yellow in the drawing room.
A Purpose-Built Home for the Collection
The house is an example of a couple adapting a new build around both a collection and its setting. Rather than place the antiques in a generic interior, the owners and their design team drew on historical architectural references and details from the surrounding area to create rooms that could accommodate the pieces without making the house appear newly imposed on the landscape.
The project also brought antiques out of storage and into daily use. The owner described collecting primarily 18th- and early-19th-century English pieces, while Stair said her role was to provide a backdrop that would not overpower them. The result, as presented in Veranda’s report, combines historical references with rooms intended for reading, entertaining and family life.
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From Millbrook Farmhouse to Greek Revival
Before building the house, the couple lived in a farmhouse on their Millbrook property, which the owner described as small despite sitting among about 100 acres of meadows. They wanted more space and an architectural style better suited to the antiques they had accumulated. The decision to build at the same property followed a change of mind about moving to a separate lot.
The design references span local and English architecture. Filkoff used a nearby 19th-century church as a guide for exterior proportions, while English country houses informed the entry hall. Inside, classical details include Corinthian capitals and a frieze inspired by Robert Adam. The house’s historical appearance, however, is an intentional design effect: it was completed in 2012, not built in the 19th century.
““That was our goal, to make it look and feel like it’s always been here.””
— The homeowner, speaking to Veranda
What the Home Tour Leaves Open
Veranda’s report is a design-focused home tour, not a real estate listing or a preservation assessment. It does not provide the property’s current market status, the home’s size, the full value or inventory of the collection, or details about ownership beyond the account given by the homeowner. The article also does not establish whether the house has been formally recognized as historically significant; its period appearance reflects a design goal rather than evidence of 19th-century construction.
The Home’s Ongoing Use
The source material does not announce a sale, renovation or other upcoming change. It presents the completed house as a lived-in setting for the owners’ collection and entertaining. Any future plans for the property or its antiques remain unreported.
Key Questions
Where is the Greek Revival home?
It is in Millbrook, in New York’s Hudson Valley, on the couple’s existing property.
When was the house built?
Construction was completed in 2012. Its historical look was intentional; it is not an 1850-era house.
What kind of antiques does the owner collect?
The collection is primarily 18th- and early-19th-century English furniture and decorative pieces, gathered over about 30 years, along with an art collection.
Who designed the house and its interiors?
Architect Cynthia Filkoff designed the house, and interior designer Lynne Stair worked with the owner on the rooms and the placement of the collection.
Source: veranda.com
