Overlooking the Connecticut River, River Knoll was built in 1748 by a ferry captain and today serves as a summer retreat for a family that respects its history. Originally a 1,500-square-foot Cape style cottage, River Knoll had undergone an unfortunate addition in the 1980s that overwhelmed the house. The owners called upon architect Brooke Girty, a specialist in historic properties, to renovate and expand the home so that visitors would not be able to tell where the old part ends and the new begins.
Girty worked with designer Cathy Kincaid to ensure the interiors were harmonious with the home’s original scale. “We nodded to that cozy New England look,” Kincaid told VERANDA magazine. Cathy selected a color palette suited to the woodland setting to create unity. She utilized curtains and canopies to distract from the home’s awkward architectural angles and add coziness. Landscape architect Drew Kenny integrated the house and landscape by creating a series of landscapes from refined to wild. Avid boaters, the river provides the owners with easy access to the Hamptons, Newport, and Nantucket via the Atlantic seaboard.
This is a truly exceptional home, inside and out. Cathy Kincaid is one of my all-time favorite designers, and the level of detail she pours into her interiors is truly an art form. Today let’s tour River Knoll with photography by Tria Giovan from the May/June 2020 issue of VERANDA. Additional images from Kincaid’s portfolio are also included. I could spend hours analyzing every single detail! As an added bonus, we will also peek inside the owners’ yacht, also designed by Cathy!
For more on Cathy Kincaid, I highly recommend her book, The Well Adorned Home: Making Luxury Livable. You can also see more of her work by visiting the following features by The Glam Pad.
- CATHY KINCAID AND THE WELL ADORNED HOME
- FOR SALE: HISTORIC HOME BY WILSON FUQUA AND CATHY KINCAID
- A 1920S DALLAS TUDOR RESTORED BY CATHY KINCAID AND WILSON FUQUA
- A TIMELESS CLASSIC HOME BY CATHY KINCAID
- A STUNNING SPANISH COLONIAL BY CATHY KINCAID AND J. WILSON FUQUA
- AN ELEGANT ORANGERIE BY CATHY KINCAID AND WILSON FUQUA
- A SOUTHERN ACCENTS CHRISTMAS
- A DALLAS HOME TOUR WITH J WILSON FUQUA & ASSOCIATES
A 1920s Dallas Tudor Restored by Cathy Kincaid and Wilson Fuqua
Remaking History in Connecticut
Cathy Kincaid and The Well Adorned Home
A 1939 Georgian-Style Farmhouse by Susan Zises Green
Utterly gorgeous — mind blown!
Truly one of the most lovely home I’ve ever seen, I love everything about it.
Wow, Andrea, that is such an exquisitely beautiful house! I had seen the pictures in Veranda and thought it was nice. NOW, with all these marvelous extra pictures, it’s breathtaking! The details and color combinations are so subtle, refined and interesting. And the boat!!! I would not have thought of those fabrics on the boat but wow!! Thank you! New appreciation for Cathy Kincaid – and researching the architect! Xo Elizabeth
Wow! Thank you for this tour. An amazing home inside and out. Every detail is perfection and the fabrics and wallpapers are so lovely. I could live there forever.
I don’t normally comment much but this house merits major exclamation points! It is absolute divine, both inside and outside, right down to the boat. The attention to detail is magnificent – the embroidered covers for the jam jars, are you kidding me? Who thinks of that? The subtlety of the colors and how they are distributed throughout the house. How curated everything looks. Absolutely perfect. Picture me holding an Olympic score card of 10!
Certainly my favorite dream home (and boat!) that you have ever featured here!
Even DH had to see every photo and just loved the property, home and boat!!
Brillant design and such charming décor – the details are fantastic!!
Thank you so much for sharing more photos!!
A Very Happy Mother’s Day to All!!
Cheers!
Jan at Rosemary Cottage
Gotta add my kudos along with all the other commenters to Cathy Kincaid. She has absolutely brilliant spot-on taste! Great house, landscaping, pool, boat – this place has got it all!
As above, I had seen this home in Veranda and thought it very nice but these photos show how truly special it is…love all the details, all the plates on the walls, the fabrics, wallpaper and special touches…a dream of a garden…an above and beyond boat…thank you!
Wow what a dream house, it certainly has every bell and whistle. Perfection!
Breathtaking . Cathy Kincaid is my go to for inspiration. Her mix of pattern and color as in the wallpapers and fabrics in this home is beautiful genius. Any way to source these? As I look at my “favorites” page, I see that most are posts from The Glam Pad. Your site is my daily treat. Very nice that the history of this home was taken into account as the design was planned. Houses will always tell us what they need if we listen. Thank you, Andrea, for another gorgeous post.
Hi Mary,
Thank you so much for the kind words! 🙂 Many of the wallpapers are from Sister Parish… I will be writing more about them very soon! For additional sources, please see the VERANDA feature – https://www.veranda.com/home-decorators/a32166027/cathy-kincaid-connecticut-house-tour/ I hope that helps! 🙂
Xx,
Andrea
The Glam Pad
Gorgeous! Gorgeous and Gorgeous! The jam cosies…exquisite!
I own her book but there are so many more lovely vignettes in this piece. So many fabrics and wallpapers to savor! Thanks for delving into this wonderful home.