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By Beth S. Buxbaum
Originally a rustic, Bucks County fieldstone farmhouse built in 1817, this home was a modest two-room structure. Today, this home exudes a refined, yet cozy, lived-in feel. With a sophisticated and elegant presence, the property has slowly been renewed and transformed.
Chris and Cynthia Swayze purchased the property in 1987. Both are native Bucks County residents, with Chris growing up in Newtown and Cynthia in Fallsington. When they were married, they lived in a tiny Trinity in New Hope. With the arrival of their first daughter, Rebecca, they bought a larger house in the area. A few years later, they were ready for an upgrade. Chris and Cynthia purchased a new salt-box home in Solebury in 1985. “This house was just not the right fit,” explains their daughter Rebecca. After only a year, they began to look for an old house, which was really what they wanted before purchasing the Solebury home. Rebecca adds that her parents are “serial real estate lookers,” always looking-out for a just the right home.
To their delight, they found the right home while browsing the real estate listings. This historic farmhouse popped up. Intrigued by the possibilities, Chris and Cynthia went to see the property. They were cautiously interested. “It was a mess inside and out,” says Chris. The house hadn’t been touched in years, lacking repairs and upgrades. “My parents were up for the challenge,” Rebecca explains, “and they were excited with the potential to put their own mark on this property.” She adds that they also enjoyed the amount of land. Initially the property they purchased had 10 acres and they bought the remainder of the land to total 32 acres. With both a huge property and home in need of attention, Chris and Cythia were anxious to begin the refurbishing. Initial projects included updating the 1817 structure, and renewing the one addition constructed in 1940, consisting of a new kitchen and second floor bedroom. At the time of this 1940 expansion, there were existing kennels that were attached to the original, standalone springhouse. Not much information was available about the earlier years of the homestead, other than it was a working farm. The kennels they found supported accounts they received that one of the more recent owners raised collies.
Other historical accounts noted that the homestead was named Rockland Farm, as indicated by the sign on the entrance drive. Chris shares that the property is all rock. As they tilled the soil to rework and landscape the land, they dug up a massive number of rocks, which was a nod to the property’s naming.
“When we took possession of the house it was not visible from the road,” Chris explains. He describes how the property was overgrown with weeds, brambles and untamed foliage. “The inside of the house was also in bad shape,” Chris continues. “There were no screens in the windows, there was no air conditioning, and when the heat was converted from coal to oil, a pile of coal was left in the basement,” Chris adds. All these items were slowly addressed as they began to make this house their new home.
This purchase was during the earlier years of their marriage and they lacked the resources to make some of the needed repairs and upgrades. Chris and Cynthia did everything themselves. They were quite a team, with Chris’s background as an engineer and Cynthia’s design sense. One project presented an obstacle. They were having difficulty finding someone to install an air conditioning system, because of the thick stonewalls. So, Chris drew up the plan himself. “I designed an air conditioning system and hired a contractor to install it according to my specs,” Chris explains. With Cynthia’s passion and talent for interior design, she began to redefine the interior. “I always loved decorating rooms,” Cynthia remarks, “and as a child I liked moving things around.” Cynthia painted walls, added wallpaper, selected light fixtures and artwork, and embellished their living space with flea market finds, vintage pieces, estate sale items and some antiques.
Working to redefine their new home, Chris and Cynthia began to add their own touches and personal styling to the original 1817 structure and 1940 addition that consisted of a new kitchen and second floor bedroom. With her love for decorating, Cynthia enlivened their living space. “My mother created this house and made the home come alive,” Rebecca adds. A lot of the design influence was guided by Rebecca, who was in the interior design industry and co-owns Home Tonic in Newtown. “Mom started asking me to help update some of the rooms,” Rebecca explains.
As their lifestyle and tastes changed, so did the character of the living space. When they bought the house, the interior was more colonial. Since then, they have curated their personal style with an eclectic blending of English and French country. One goal in this renewal was to complement and showcase the house’s historic relevance, while giving it a fresh, more modern feel. Rebecca describes that they blended antique and vintage furniture, fabrics, and color tones to enhance the interior with a distinctive English and French vibe. Most of the interior changes involved refreshing the spaces, by moving around furniture pieces, reupholstering, and changing wallpaper and window treatments.
From room to room, Cynthia and Rebecca began to redefine the interior. One phase was to renew the existing rooms, from the original 1817structure to the rooms in the 1940s addition. The 1817 living room was transformed to be, what they call, the puzzle room. Wallpaper was changed to a floral and bird design in butter yellow with splashes of blues, greens and pinks. “We added a game table and comfy powder blue accent chairs around the fireplace,” says Rebecca. Next, they transformed the original 1817 dining room into a library. “This was a room that wasn’t being used much and it felt more like a library with walls of built-in cabinets and a cozy fireplace,” Cynthia explains. In the center of the library, they placed an old oval dining room table. “We oriented the furniture to make it feel more like a library and less like a dining room,” she continues. Lastly, in refreshing the original 1817 spaces, they put their touch on one of the second-floor bedrooms. Identified as the brown room, this bedroom is awash in earth tones. Brown walls are accented with newly designed drapes, in bright oranges and greens, and a baldachin, designed with the same drapery fabric, embellishing the headboard.
In addition to redefining their new home, Chris and Cynthia wanted more living space. Their first expansion, in 1990, created a side entrance, powder room, family room, and second floor primary bedroom suite. A kitchen refresh also took place in 1990, adding a brick façade to the wall framing the seating area. “We added a new backsplash and stone countertops,” adds Rebecca. Cynthia wanted more cabinet space. “We started to consider a custom piece,” Cynthia adds,” but then I found the perfect antique cabinet in Lambertville and it fit right into the space.” Both Cynthia and Rebecca have a knack for finding the right pieces to fit into spaces. This natural talent carried them through each room’s renewal.
A few years later, Cynthia and Rebecca redid the primary bedroom suite. “We redesigned the entire room around the wallpaper,” Rebecca explains, “my mother fell in love with this wallpaper.” Cynthia chose to focus the redesign with green as the central color. To complement the wallpaper, a white and green floral motif, the walls were repainted a sage green. By blending the color palette, they infused this room with a soft, calm aura. “Our goal was to make it interesting, but not overpowering,” Rebecca says. Accents and accessories were all neutral tones, including the re-upholstered chaise lounge, the rug, and the tufted headboard.
In the bathroom suite, reminiscent of a French boudoir. A kidney-shaped claw-foot tub is surrounded by a gallery wall of antique pictures and framed art. Light fixtures were replaced, the walls were repainted, and a marble cabinet top was positioned on top of the white vanity sink. Now with overtones of French country, the bathroom suite has been refined.
Updating is about refreshing and repurposing, as well as blending all the expanded sections of the house. Having a shared design philosophy, Cynthia and Rebecca focused on telling a story. “The story is that nothing is brand new, but collected over time,” they explain. Every piece was curated for a specific space, but could work in almost every room. “Our design strategy is intentional,” adds Rebecca, “with pieces able to fit in any room.” Rebecca adds that if there is a desire for a refresh, you could move pieces around to other rooms and maybe re-upholster to recreate a piece. “Every room has something recovered,” Cynthia remarks. “We enjoy refreshing rooms because it makes them feel brand new,” Rebecca says.
As they completed the transformation of the existing interior, Cynthia and Chris were on to the next project. In 2000 an addition was constructed over the original spring house and kennels that were attached to the main house. In this newly created space, they designed an office, second entry, and breakfast room. Expansively defined, this breakfast room was appointed with a conservatory ceiling and a wall of French doors leading out to the new flagstone patio. Rich wood tones in the furnishings complemented the neutral-toned ceramic tile floor. Illuminating the seating area is a brass chandelier embellished with crystal chandelier prisms and decorated with festive velvet ribbons, beaded tassels and mercury glass ornaments.
Along with her passion for decorating, Cynthia has enjoyed adding to her special collections. Cynthia collects items along their travels and picks up vintage and antique pieces in local and international flea markets. On display throughout the house are several of Cynthia’s collections. In an antique cabinet, on one breakfast room wall, is an array of green and white chinoiserie including serving pieces and jars. Displayed in the antique cabinet in the kitchen are white porcelain tureens. One very personal collection are the jewelry trees that Cynthia and Rebecca create. Designed from hundreds of collected pieces of vintage jewelry, including broaches, necklaces, and earrings paying homage to Chris’s mother who was the original creator of these jewelry trees. Vignettes of jewelry tress are placed in many of the rooms for the holiday season. Rebecca adds that she also has a select few of these jewelry trees at her store for sale during the holidays. “We will also design sentimental trees for customers decorated with personal selections of jewelry,” Rebecca adds.
Over the years they have slowly renewed both the exterior and interior of this historic property to be enjoyed in its present-day refinement. Now with the holidays approaching, it is time to dress-up the house. A favorite time of year, Cynthia and Rebecca enjoy embellishing each room with Christmas collectibles, ornaments, and family favorites; including their handmade miniature jewel Christmas trees. In the family room sits the life-size Christmas tree and in every room is a grouping of wreaths, garlands, miniature jewelry trees, and stockings hung along the many fireplace mantles. Delicately and tastefully orchestrated, each room is touched with the Christmas spirit and beauty of the season.