Imagine...

It is the turn of the century.  Your business has joined the tidal wave of the industrial revolution. Your financial success brings social responsibilities.  In your home town of Philadelphia, Boston, New York or Albany, you have built a home worthy of entertaining your peers, joined the "club," and support charity teas, balls and cotillions.

But your town's social “season” takes an annual mid-summer pause. What are you to do?

Any self-respecting American industrialist and his socially astute spouse would move turn-key into their summer home, with full staff.  And word is that Lenox, Massachusetts is where the Astors, Morgans, Vanderbilts, Westinghouses, Tappans and Carnegies are all building summer cottages.

Never mind that the average “cottage” has minimum 20 rooms and 30 acres.  This is the life that Edith Wharton is immortalizing in her new novels.

So, you head to Lenox, and you build a mansion on the main street to rival (or exceed) your neighbors – also only summer visitors. Your 6,000 square-foot, 10 bedroom home is designed to entertain lavishly and accommodate your family and guests comfortably.  The 3,000 square foot carriage barn holds the transportation suitable to your status and excess staff who cannot fit into the rear servant quarters.

The result is a combination of Dutch Colonial and Revival styles with a rare addition of a gambrel roof, so that the four bedrooms on the third floor can enjoy the same headroom as the six on the second floor.  The entrance hallway is large, yet inviting.

The entry hall and main downstairs rooms at Hampton Terrace feature colors inspired by the Pavilion at Brighton Beach, England. Rich yellows, greens, blues and reds are accented by elaborate moldings and trims, many highlighted with bronze and gold.  The downstairs is filled with period antiques, Orientals and old photographs from six generations of the owners' families.

The entrance hall showcases a beautiful fireplace and mantel - the first of seven in the home.  Eight rare crystal sconces adorn the living room, which also features a family heirloom 1929 Steinway "L" Grand Piano - played by Claudio Arrau, Jerome Hines, Robert Merrill, Roberta Peters, Emanuel Ax, Arthur Fiedler and many others - a period Victrola, a 1940s carousel horse and massive burl wood armoire.  Soft music floating in the air is the only sign that this 19th century home exists in a modern era.

The living room leads to a side porch that is comfortably furnished and conducive to an early-morning perusal of the Berkshire Eagle, or a pre-dinner glass of wine.  Guests have been known to spend entire days on the porch reading books or just listening to the church bells ring.  Every shop and restaurant in Lenox is less than a five-minute walk from this porch, and it frequently serves as a respite after shopping, before dinner or after Tanglewood.

The parlor is another room that inspires lounging.  It contains an authentic 1930s red leather bar - a family heirloom, a television hidden in an antique cabinet and several comfortable overstuffed chairs.  The bar is fully stocked for BYOB - wine, highball and martini glasses, openers, shakers, ice, et al.

 Breakfast is served daily in our Dining Room and on the adjoining Sun Porch.  We always feature locally roasted coffees, tea, fresh fruit and juices, breads for toasting and cold cereals. Additionally, we daily rotate hot entrees, which can include French toast, pancakes, scrambled eggs or egg Frittata, seasoned grits and other delicious choices.

The journey to your bedroom reveals a surprise.  Look up and the home's most distinctive feature comes into view - a three-story suspended staircase that seems higher than the house itself. Along the upward wind you will find arches, curved balustrades, interior columns, detailed moldings and a palladium window.  Featured on the second-story landing is a hand-painted china cabinet showcasing the family's doll collection.