Family Time | Tessa Neleman-Pimontel and her husband Hans Neleman stand with their three children in the driveway of their New Canaan home.
Simply Striking | The front door, which they found at United House Wrecking, opens into a spare entry hall; the distressed ebony table is from Vagabond Vintage.
Family Portraits | The brick chimney in the dining room, from the original cottage, is covered with paintings from Neleman’s Dutch family. The dining table, chairs and chandelier are from Casa Armida in San Miquel de Allende.
Old Becomes New | In the kitchen, a former display case for tools is now used for the couple’s collection of white dishes. French bistro-style chairs are from Vagabond Vintage, the lights above the counters are Visual Comfort.
Lofty Goals | A window is visible through the old hotel grates above the couple’s Mexican four-poster bed. The chairs are family heirlooms, the metal and glass cabinet a yard sale find.
Walk the Line | The chandeliers in the hall were salvaged from a hotel and painted white; a pair of ebony benches is from Mexico.
Rendered Complete | Pimontel’s watercolor of the house.
Calm and Collected | Groupings of objects help compartmentalize belongings, for books, photography, and Neleman photography props. The oil painting in the gold frame is by musician Michael Stipe.
Calm and Collected | Groupings of objects help compartmentalize belongings, for books, photography, and Neleman photography props. The oil painting in the gold frame is by musician Michael Stipe.
Calm and Collected | Groupings of objects help compartmentalize belongings, for books, photography, and Neleman photography props. The oil painting in the gold frame is by musician Michael Stipe.
Room to Relax | A distressed leather Ralph Lauren sofa and two antique chairs hold center stage in the cozy library.
Backyard Bliss | The kidney-shaped pool was virtually “a frog pond” when Neleman first moved in.
This article appears in the November 2010 issue of Cottages & Gardens.