Scott Francis knows how to spot a treasure. Whether skimming Facebook Marketplace listings or wandering the aisles at his favorite New England flea market, Elephant’s Trunk, the interior designer regularly snaps up unique finds, each of which he knows will eventually be the just-right piece to complete a room.
That treasure-spotting instinct also served him well when he and his partner, Mike Fabbri, were on the hunt for a country getaway in Litchfield, Connecticut. After they had lost out on many homes because of the pandemic’s competitive housing market, the couple made a last-minute bid on a house they had spent just 25 minutes touring on a snowy January day. “We were looking for a historic home with a lot of character; something we could expand on that had an authentic feel,” Scott says.
Set on three acres and surrounded by mature fruit trees and expansive gardens, their circa-1729 center-chimney Colonial overlooks 500 acres of adjacent conservation land. While researching the home’s history, the couple discovered that the property had royal roots that dated back to 1719, when the land was part of the British crown’s charter under King George II. “We have the handwritten deed written in massive calligraphy that is signed by whoever was in charge of signing on behalf of the king,” Scott says.
Given that lineage, it was important to the couple to respect the home’s architectural history. Previous owners had carefully preserved some of the home’s earliest details: a large brick chimney with three fireplaces, wide-plank chestnut and oak floorboards, plaster walls, and hand-hewn posts and ceiling beams.
Scott says he and Mike were mindful to ensure that all their updates also felt period-appropriate, from the new cedar roof to the kitchen floorboards, which the designer painstakingly refinished three times to expose centuries-old patina. “You can tell that all of those who owned this house before us were thoughtful caretakers,” Scott says. Surely the next lucky homeowners will say the same of its current inhabitants.
Tour more of Scott and Mike’s home below:
Horsing Around
In the sitting room, the hearth’s 7-foot-wide by 6-foot-tall opening is topped with an impressive solid granite lintel and radiates warmth even when unlit, as do the rustic timbers that frame the white plaster walls. The brass horse medallion above the fireplace, one of many equestrian touches in the home, is from a New York City antiques shop. “I stored it under my sofa [in the city] forever. When we bought this house, I knew it would be perfect there,” Scott says.
Beneath the 1885 horse oil painting (bottom left), Scott repurposed an early 1800s chest as a bar where he stores china, candles, and linens. The backgammon set on the coffee table was handmade by the couple’s friend (Nine Fair Backgammon), who personalized it with a rendering of Dart, their dog, on one side of the raffia game board, and a picture of Gramercy Park, where they live in NYC, on the other.
Get the Look:
Trim paint color: Stony Ground by Farrow & Ball
Wall paint color: School House White by Farrow & Ball
Sofa and armchairs: Lee Jofa
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Cozy Surroundings
In the living room around the corner, an English roll-arm sofa, a stately wingback chair, and a leather director’s chair provide additional inviting seating.
Throughout the room, landscape paintings speak to the surroundings. The piece above the living room sofa specifically reminds Scott of the view of their house, down to the maple tree depicted in the art. “It was one of those things where when I saw it, I was like, I have to have it,” he says. “I also love the colors in the painting so much.”
Get the Look:
Director’s chair: “Holbrook” by Ralph Lauren
Sofa: by Baker
Ceramic lamp: by Christopher Spitzmiller, Inc.
A bench covered in vintage crewel fabric sits in a portion of the living space that Scott says used to be the screened-in sleeping porch that ran along the back of the farmhouse. “But at some point, probably in the early 1900s, it was enclosed,” he says.
Down to Earth
Previously wrapped in dark wood and likely used as the home’s ice house, the kitchen got a good brightening courtesy of honed marble countertops and green-gray cabinetry. Originally, the kitchen ended where the range is, but the couple built in more functionality with additional cabinetry on the other side for more prep space.
The refrigerator hides behind the paneled doors near the sink, while turned-wood cabinet knobs, a freestanding butcher-block-topped island, hand-hewn oak beams, and schoolhouse-style pendant lights add country charm. “These historical homes, which obviously didn’t have electricity, were built so that the sun rises on the kitchen, the heart of the home,” Scott says.
Get the Look:
Wall paint color: Stony Ground by Farrow & Ball
Cabinet paint: French Gray by Farrow & Ball
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Past Meets Present
Antiques that Scott has culled over the years have slid into place throughout the house as though they’ve always belonged. In the dining area, American and French copper pieces gleam in the sunlight beside wood furniture so well worn that it feels smooth to the touch. The antique oval table is surrounded by hand-painted Colonial dining chairs topped with block-print cushions. (The chairs’ small scale makes it easier to accommodate more diners.) Overhead, a painted wood and iron chandelier from an antiques shop in nearby Woodbury adds a primitive note.
Get the Look:
Dining chair cushion fabric: “Bindi” by John Robshaw
Antique Pairing
A painting from the Brimfield Antique Flea Market holds court alongside an antique chest on the stair landing.
On Point
Made from a fabric depicting German shorthairs, the guest room drapes were the jumping-off point for the space’s broader design scheme, including the corresponding taupe-y paint color on the walls and the pair of secondhand iron twin beds. The fetching compilation has the approval of the couple’s two dogs, Dart and Daeny, who frequently sleep on the beds, even on rainy days. “They both jump on the beds and get mud all over them,” Scott says.
Get the Look:
Curtain fabric:“Pointers” by Schumacher
Wall paint color: Oxford Stone by Farrow & Ball
Situated between the two beds, a desk does double duty as a nightstand and comes in handy when visitors need to take work calls. Outside the room, a French corner bobbin chair is from another favorite source, George. “My mom often asks, ‘When are you going to paint the doors?’” Scott says of the weathered patina on the original interior doors, which he has no intention on updating.
RELATED: Bobbin Decor Is Having a Moment Right Now
Coordinated Quarters
Most of the upstairs guest beds are outfitted in the same bedding to keep the look cohesive, including on the landing near the stairway where he carved out another sleeping nook for guests. The combinations of rusty red pillows and navy-and-cream antique overshot coverlets lend a sophisticated take on an all-American color scheme.
Get the Look:
Duvet: by Ralph Lauren
Iron bed: by Charles P. Rogers
Curtain trim: by Holland & Sherry
Timeless Retreats
“I love an Edwardian bathroom; they just look so historic and timeless,” Scott says of the renovated guest bathroom. Honed Carrara marble and glass keep the look streamlined with a built-in mirrored medicine cabinet above the pedestal sink.
In the primary bathroom, a freestanding tub overlooks the 500 acres of conservation land beside the house. The rug is a thin Kazak from the 1800s. “I love collecting these old rugs,” Scott says. “They’re hard to come by, but they’re perfectly worn.”
Get the Look:
Sconces: by Visual Comfort
Faucet fixtures: by Perrin & Rowe
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Garden Party
A local farmstand within walking distance provides fresh fare for Mike to put on the grill while guests kick up their feet on the patio’s wicker furniture. “I put screen doors on our doors because there’s such an amazing breeze,” Scott says. “The climate in Litchfield is so lovely it rarely gets above 78 degrees. During the summer, it’s the place to be.” The bluestone patio overlooks a split-rail fence and rolling farmland that occasionally serves up rusty reminders of its hardworking heritage. “We’ve found tons of old horseshoes in the yard,” Scott says.
Get the Look:
Wicker furniture: by Kingsley Bate
Back door paint color: Inchyra Blue by Farrow & Ball
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The house, which used to be part of a working apple farm, is surrounded by apple trees as well as mature maple, locust, and walnut trees—a dreamy setting for meals served alfresco under a wisteria-covered pergola. The previous owner put up the pergola, but Scott dug out the grass underneath and covered the ground in keystone rock trimmed in cobblestone. He also connected the outdoor dining area with electricity and water so they could use it more for entertaining, especially when they entertain larger crowds. “When the wisteria is in bloom, it’s so full and the scent is intoxicating,” he says. “If you sit there in the summer, there are so many bees pollinating, and it is the loudest hum you can imagine. It’s wild.”
For his outdoor tablesettings, Scott frequently opts for cabbageware dishes (by Bordallo Pinheiro) alongside Reed & Barton silverware handed down from his grandparents.
Perennials including blooming phlox, rosebushes, and a Japanese maple provide varying color and texture near the back door to the kitchen and the dining room.
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This story first appeared in the June/July 2026 issue of Country Living. Photographs by Kirsten Francis; styling by Lucy Bamman.
Kelly Ryan Kegans is a Minneapolis-based writer, editor, and photo stylist with more than 25 years of experience producing home design content for brands including Country Living, Better Homes & Gardens, and HGTV Magazine. Her own home is populated with more books than shelves, a few too many scrubbed pine tables, and moody photos of gray day landscapes, which are her happy place.
