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A Millbrook, New York, couple built a Greek Revival-style home, completed in 2012, to display the owner’s collection of English antiques and art. Veranda’s house tour describes how architect Cynthia Filkoff and designer Lynne Stair shaped the new home to feel established in its Hudson Valley setting while giving the collection a considered backdrop.
A Millbrook, New York, couple built a Greek Revival-style home to bring the owner’s decades-long collection of 18th- and early-19th-century English antiques out of storage and into a house designed around them. In a house tour, Veranda reports that the home was completed in 2012, with architecture and interiors intended to suit both the collection and the Hudson Valley landscape.
The owner had collected antiques for about 30 years, focusing mainly on English pieces from the 18th and early 19th centuries. He told Veranda that close attention to carving, timber, proportion and craftsmanship helps him judge a piece’s period and provenance. Some of the collection, along with an expansive art collection, had been waiting in storage for a suitable home.
The couple had been considering building on another lot, but changed course after realizing they wanted to remain at their existing property in Millbrook. The owner said that alternative site was a treeless hilltop, which did not fit their preference. Instead, they placed the new house near the bottom of a slope, behind large oak trees, to give it a settled appearance.
Architect Cynthia Filkoff of Di Biase Filkoff Architects designed the house, and Lynne Stair of McMillen Inc. guided its interiors. Veranda reports that Filkoff studied details on a nearby circa-1848 Presbyterian church and visited English country houses designed by Robert Adam for reference. Stair paired formal architectural details and antiques with strong colors, patterned finishes and rooms intended for everyday use and entertaining.
A New Home for a Stored Collection
The project shows how a private collection can shape a home’s design rather than simply fill rooms after construction. The owners wanted the house to accommodate antiques and art accumulated over decades, while its placement and exterior details were chosen to make the new construction sit comfortably in its setting. The result, as described by Veranda, connects decisions about architecture, landscape and interior design to the practical aim of displaying the collection.
The account also documents a collaborative approach: the homeowner brought detailed knowledge of the objects he collected, Filkoff drew on local and English architectural references, and Stair worked to create a backdrop that would not compete with the furnishings. Those choices offer readers a specific case study in designing around existing objects without treating a historic-looking style as evidence that a house itself is old.
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From Millbrook Farmhouse to Greek Revival
Before building, the couple lived in a smaller farmhouse on a property of about 100 acres in Millbrook. The farmhouse’s limited space was a problem for the collection, and the owners also wanted an architectural style they felt suited their antiques. They considered a separate lot before deciding to build at their existing property instead.
The new house was completed in 2012. The owner told Veranda that the aim was for it to look and feel as if it had long been part of the landscape. Filkoff used the nearby church to inform exterior molding proportions and studied Robert Adam-designed English houses, including Syon House, as references for the scale of the entry hall. The article describes raised paneling, a carved stair railing and antique limestone floors in that space.
Stair’s rooms mix period furniture with distinct finishes. The dining room features Georgian furniture and a custom oxblood glaze; the drawing room uses a custom yellow chosen to complement mahogany and gilt furnishings. The morning room combines de Gournay wallpaper with green draperies and a Murano glass chandelier, while a former porch became a bar and cocktail lounge.
““That was our goal, to make it look and feel like it’s always been here.””
— The homeowner, speaking to Veranda
Details Beyond the House Tour
Veranda’s report is a design-focused house tour, not a property listing or a historical survey. It does not provide the homeowners’ names, the home’s address, its construction cost, or a full inventory and valuation of the antiques and art. The material also does not establish that the house is historic: it says construction was completed in 2012 and that the design was intended to evoke an older home.
The report describes the owners’ preferences and the design team’s references, but does not give independent assessments of the house’s architectural significance, environmental effects or market value. No additional construction or preservation plans are identified in the supplied material.
No Further Project Milestone Reported
The supplied report describes a completed home rather than an active construction project. It gives no announced next phase, renovation schedule or upcoming public event. Readers seeking further details would need to consult the full Veranda house tour or later reporting from the publication; the available material does not indicate that another update is planned.
Key Questions
Where is the house?
It is in Millbrook, New York, in the Hudson Valley. Veranda’s report does not provide a street address.
When was the home built?
The house was completed in 2012, according to the Veranda report. Its design was intended to make it look established in the landscape, but it is new construction rather than a 19th-century house.
What does the owner collect?
The collection consists mainly of English antiques from the 18th and early 19th centuries, gathered over about 30 years, as well as an expansive art collection.
Who designed the home and its interiors?
Architect Cynthia Filkoff of Di Biase Filkoff Architects designed the house. Lynne Stair of McMillen Inc. advised on the interiors and placement of the collection.
Why did the couple build at their existing property?
The couple had considered another lot but decided they preferred to stay where they were. The owner told Veranda that the alternative site was a treeless hilltop, so they built behind large oaks on their Millbrook property instead.
Source: veranda.com
