Dating back to the 18th century, Doylestown Township’s 9-acre Serendipity Farm is the 39th Bucks County Designer House & Gardens.
Presented by the Village Improvement Association of Doylestown, the public can explore the house, as well as a comfortably roomy, two-story guest cottage; a barn; a pool house and the creatively landscaped grounds April 27-May 31 (closed Memorial Day). In total, there are more than 30 design areas in the house and cottage combined — more than 50 if you count each of the landscape vignettes.
During a recent media preview, a few of the designers shared some of the challenges they experienced with their rooms. Design Home Interiors of Montgomeryville had their pick of ultra-modern pieces from their six main furniture manufacturers to put in the parlor, but had to make it work with the dark blue color of the walls, and the exposed old stone walls and dark wood ceiling beams.
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“It was nothing like what we originally designed, but that’s the way design works,” said assistant designer Sarah Hull.
Kristine Robinson of Robinson Interiors in Jenkintown is a professor of interior design at Temple University. When she took on the sunroom — which offers perhaps the best view of the pond on Serendipity Farm’s sprawling grounds — there was a ceiling fan that had to go, Robinson said. So did dangling stereo cables in a corner of the room. Stylistically described by the VIA as “vintage vavoom,” Robinson went 1970s with it. The fan got switched out for a lighting feature of dangling copper medallions, and the cables got covered up with a tri-fold linen screen decorated with whimsical mushroom pictures.
“They’re serious pieces that don’t feel so serious, like grandma’s house,” she said.
The team of designers started working on the grounds in late February. So amid cold and snow, imagine how difficult it was for designer Joan Curtis to transform an unheated outbuilding next to the house into “The Sunday Room.” Curtis said that as a child, she had a special place to get away from her siblings and get in touch with her artistic muse, and her design area is supposed to recapture that. “I wanted something that was rustic and something that wasn’t in the house,” she said.
When you’re upstairs in the old section of the house, and you get a feeling that the wood plank floor in “Cate’s Room” is slightly slanted, that’s because it is, said the room’s co-designer Joyce Danko, who is based in Bethlehem.
“Nine children were born in this room,” said Danko. One of those babies, Grace Brenneman, is 90 years old and lives in Souderton.
Speaking of babies, proceeds from the designer house benefit Doylestown Hospital, which was founded by the VIA in 1923. Designer house chairwoman Joyce Hanson noted that the VIA has made a $1 million pledge to support the expansion of the hospital’s maternity center.
Part of the fun of wandering through the main house is watching for what rooms are the original farmhouse, and what was added in 1977 by builder George E. Michael Jr., when he doubled the size of the house and raised his children there. One of the highlights of that section of the house is the glamorous “That’s Amoré!” master suite, which Lux Interiors of Richboro imagined as a honeymoon suite for famous Hollywood couple Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.
Michael also added a basement, which is an arresting mancave and wine cellar, furnished by Interior Design by Elizabeth Maurer.
Budget plenty of time to take your tour because the house is loaded with artwork to admire and purchase, plus there’s boutique shopping in the barn, and refreshments by the pool in the Water’s Edge Café.
Note that children need to be 10 or older to be admitted, and that the house is not handicapped accessible.
To keep you coming back for more, the VIA has a series of seminars and special events throughout the run of the designer house:
? “Creating the Wow Factor,” 11 a.m. May 1.
? “Capture Your Bucks County Moment,” 2 p.m. May 1 and 11 a.m. May 27.
? “Updating Your Look on a Budget — Use What You Have,” 2 p.m. May 2.
? “Proper Skin Care Techniques,” 11 a.m. May 6.
? “The Art of Collecting Art,” 2 p.m. May 6.
? “De-Clutter with Style,” 11 a.m. May 8.
?“Fashion Shows and Brunch,” 6:30 p.m. May 8 and 11:30 a.m. May 9 at the Doylestown Country Club, 20 Country Club Lane, Doylestown. Tickets: $45 (includes designer house tour ticket). Purchase tickets on the website or call (215) 345-2191 for reservations.
? “Breast Cancer Prevention — Empowering Our Community,” 2 p.m. May 8.
? “The ‘Ins and Outs’ of Selecting Colors for Your Home,” 11 a.m. May 9.
? Mother’s Day Champagne Brunch, May 11, seatings at 10 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Tickets: $40, $35 for ages 10–20, $20 for children 5–9. House tour tickets are $18 when purchased with brunch. Purchase tickets on the website or call (215) 345-2191 for reservations.
? “The Management of Hip and Knee Arthritis,” 11 a.m. May 13.
? “Understanding Paint for Better Color Choices — It’s What’s in the Can that Counts!”, 2 p.m. May 13.
? “Slim Secrets,” 11 a.m. May 15.
? “Using Color and Wallpaper in Design,” 2 p.m. May 15.
? “Meet the Design Team,” 4 p.m. May 15.
? “Five Steps for Deciding Which Interior Design Trends to Follow,” 11 a.m. May 16.
? “A Country Lifestyle and the Trappings That Go with It,” 2 p.m. May 16.
? Doylestown Hospital Community Health Fair, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 17.
? “Choosing the Best Fabrics for Your Lifestyle,” 11 a.m. May 20. ? “New Surgical Techniques,” 2 p.m. May 20.
? “Hiring the Right Contractor for Your Project,” 11 a.m. May 22.
? “How to Get the Most from Your Designer,” 2 p.m. May 22.
? “Container Gardening: Edibles and Ornamentals in Harmony,” 11 a.m. May 23.
? “Scarves, Tying the Knot and the Art of Accessories,” 2 p.m. May 23.
? “The Art of Collecting: Selecting and Arranging Fine Art in Your Home,” 2 p.m. May 27.
? “Tips for Successful Frame Design and the Art of Hanging,” 11 a.m. May 29.
? “Making Antiques and Vintage Items Work for You,” 2 p.m. May 29.
? “The Renaissance of Faux Surfaces and Wall Coverings,” 11 a.m. May 30.
? “How You Can Arrange a Small Selection of Flowers in Your Own Vase at Home,” 2 p.m. May 30.
? “Blue Jean Bash,” 5 p.m. May 31. This closing event features a drawing for a 50/50 raffle.