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A Veranda report profiles designer Ashley Whittaker’s ongoing work on a 1930s neo-Georgian estate in Greenwich, Connecticut. The house combines historic details with playful color and pattern, while architectural changes and comfortable furnishings adapt it for a family with five sons.
Designer Ashley Whittaker is continuing work on a 1930s neo-Georgian estate in Greenwich, Connecticut, using bold color, patterned interiors and family-focused changes to balance the home’s formal architecture with everyday use. A report by Veranda describes a six-acre property shaped over decades and adapted for clients who moved from New York City with their five sons.
The house’s game room captures the project’s mix of polish and informality. Whittaker highlighted its wool-clad banquette, brass drinks tables and antique Russian cabinet stocked with dominoes, cards and board games. Pierre Frey’s pairing of two 18th-century Indo-Persian borders gives the walls an unconventional take on traditional stripes. “There’s a playfulness to the space,” Whittaker told Veranda. “It doesn’t take itself too seriously, but at the same time, feels elegant.”
The clients bought the residence about five years before the report, after deciding to leave New York City for more room. The home sits on roughly six acres with mature trees, and includes additions made in the 1990s, a pool house, a swimming pool and two detached garages, one of which has a guest apartment. Whittaker described the property as one that “rambles in a really charming way.”
Architect George Knight, whose New Haven firm has experience renovating older Connecticut homes, had previously overseen an update to the same property. His changes included reworking the kitchen as a social space, adjusting a back stair so the children could reach it from their bedrooms, and widening the opening between the kitchen and family room. The report says the work aimed to make the house feel “more familial than formal.”
A Historic House Made for Family Life
The project illustrates how owners and designers can adapt a large historic home without relying on period styling alone. Knight’s circulation changes connect the kitchen and family room and give the children a practical route through the house, while Whittaker’s furnishings make formal rooms usable for both gatherings and daily routines.
That balance is especially visible in the 30-foot living room. Whittaker arranged two seating areas around matching velvet sofas and added chairs in varied shapes and scales. The mix of botanical, ikat and chevron fabrics uses blues, greens and earthy taupes, while a landscape photograph by Carol Greenan Bouyoucos introduces a contemporary note. The room is designed to work for a large cocktail gathering as well as a small family evening by the fireplace.
The interiors also show how decorative choices can refresh traditional architecture without removing its defining features. In the dining room, glossy peacock-blue lacquer covers the paneling, and decorative painter Chris Pearson added white chevron bands to the dark floor. The rooms retain their historic framework, but the color, art and textiles give them a more personal, less formal character.
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From Georgian Form to Modern Use
The estate was expanded over time, including the addition of new wings in the 1990s. Before the current owners’ project, Knight had already worked on the property, giving him familiarity with its layout and earlier renovations. According to Veranda, the client contacted him after finding the house, having asked for his help during the search because of his firm’s experience with old Connecticut homes.
Whittaker’s approach extends beyond the game room and living room. The dining room’s blue lacquer and painted floor reference a room by designer Albert Hadley that Whittaker and her client had admired for years. Artworks by Melinda Hackett, Robert Motherwell and Peter Beard appear in the home, alongside a photograph by Susanna Howe in the primary bedroom. Veranda reports that the homeowners’ collection includes work by artists who are friends of the family as well as established names.
Seasonal decorating adds another layer to the residence. In the report’s account, wreaths with red bows cover the windows during the holidays, and magnolia garland decorates the double-height stair hall. Whittaker also pointed to three fireplaces as part of the house’s cozy holiday atmosphere.
““There’s a playfulness to the space. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, but at the same time, feels elegant.””
— Ashley Whittaker, designer, speaking to Veranda
The Remaining Work Is Not Detailed
Veranda reports that Whittaker’s work on the house is ongoing, but the supplied report ends as it begins to mention a new project with Knight. It does not identify the scope, location or schedule of that work. The article also does not provide a full renovation budget, a completion date, or a detailed account of which changes were made during the current owners’ project versus earlier updates.
The account is a design and home tour, not a technical assessment of the building. It does not set out the estate’s full construction history, the status of permits or structural work, or the homeowners’ plans beyond the work described. Those details should not be inferred from the room descriptions.
Whittaker and Knight Continue Work
Whittaker and Knight are continuing work on the Greenwich residence, according to Veranda. The report does not specify what they are creating next or when the project will be completed. Any further changes, timelines or details about the property’s renovation would need to be confirmed by the designers or the homeowners.
Key Questions
Where is the estate?
The home is in Greenwich, Connecticut. Veranda describes it as a 1930s neo-Georgian residence on about six acres.
Who designed the interiors?
Ashley Whittaker decorated the house for longtime clients. Architect George Knight worked on the home’s layout and had previously overseen an update to the property.
What changes made the house more family-friendly?
Knight reworked the kitchen as a social space, adjusted a back stair serving the children’s bedrooms and expanded the doorway between the kitchen and family room, according to Veranda.
Is the renovation finished?
No completion date is given. Veranda says Whittaker’s work is ongoing and begins to mention a new project with Knight, but does not provide further details.
What makes the game room distinctive?
The room pairs a wool banquette, brass drinks tables and an antique Russian cabinet of games with unusual patterned walls. Whittaker described it as playful while still elegant.
Source: veranda.com
