Sally Jessy Raphael’s $6.5M upstate manor comes with 17 bedrooms and 30 hand-carved mythical creatures
Photo courtesy of Douglas Elliman
Former tabloid talk show host Sally Jessy Raphael’s 25.5-acre equestrian estate just hit the market for $6,500,000. Even without the fame connection, this fanciful and fabulous property is worthy of its own TV show. The property consists of a 43-room Elizabethan manor house, two caretaker homes, a carriage house with groom’s quarters, a yoga studio, a 12,000-square-foot stable, a greenhouse, and more. Known as Elmwood Farm, the Pawling, NY, estate is the town’s most expensive listing. The main house, built in 1860 is itself an architectural event, with 17 bedrooms, 10 fireplaces, and endless ornate and whimsical details.
Inside, hand-carved pilasters, hand-painted plaster ceiling motifs and moldings, leaded glass windows, and variegated gables with carved vignette timber fascia and Gothic spires frame a painstakingly updated home. The mansion’s many rooms are surprisingly perfect for modern life.
The intimate living room is anchored by a fireplace and framed by wooden beams and rich restored wooden flooring. Everything is big enough to serve a medieval feast in the well-appointed country kitchen and capacious dining room. A gorgeous sunroom is surrounded by arched steel-framed windows overlooking the verdant grounds.
The home’s many ornate chambers are ready to provide endless entertainment for your guests, friends, and family. The music room features marble-tiled flooring and a massive fireplace. The plaster-framed den is perfect for small gatherings. And who wouldn’t want a private chapel?
Details provide a distraction–and companionship–at every turn: A figured-oak grand staircase is enhanced by 30 newel posts with hand-carved mythical creatures. On the second floor, you’ll find walls adorned with hand-painted storybook murals.
There are currently no fewer than 17 bedrooms here. Each with its own lavish decor, they appear to range from palatial to merely adorable. Bathrooms feature antique fixtures and plenty of charm.
Beyond the main manor house, the grounds hold a wonderland of good things. A barn awaits your trusty steed, as does a sprawling garage. The property promises to be the perfect upstate country retreat for an army of your favorite knights and damsels, where there’s never a shortage of spaces to explore.
[Listing details: 618 Quaker Lane Road by Harriet Norris of Douglas Elliman]
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