You never know where inspiration for a story will strike. I was reading Page 6 yesterday and they mentioned that Cornelia Guest (above) is putting her ancestral home, Templeton, on the market again. In case you don't know, Cornelia's mother was the chic style icon C.Z. Guest. Templeton in Old Westbury on Long Island was actually the guesthouse on the estate of White Eagle, designed by Carrere and Hastings, which was owned by Cornelia's great-grandfather Henry Phipps and inherited by Frederick Guest, her grandfather. He felt the house was too big and grand for his family to smaller quarters on the property. Of course, Templeton was added onto and now the 28 room home on 15 acres includes 11 bedrooms, a pool, tennis courts, barn, formal gardens, and a greenhouse. I've included photos of how it looked while C.Z. was still alive that were published after her death in 2003 and more recent photos.
C.Z. Guest in her garden in Mainbocher opera coat. I was actually privileged to meet C.Z. at a big beauty event at Bergdorf Goodman shortly after I moved to New York in 2001. She was there to promote her garden line of products of course I bought one of her candles. It came in a beautiful flower pot and included seeds you could plant after the candle had burned down. She was just as chic as you could imagine, even into her 80's!
A look at the the downstairs library which features club chairs and a wall banquette upholstered in French printed cotton. The walls and bookcases are also covered with the fabric.
The downstairs library from House & Garden, June 2004.
The desk in the ground floor library.
A John Singer Sargent portrait of a baby Winston Guest with his grandmother, Anne Phipps, sits above a small sofa. It is a study for the final portrait which hangs at Old Westbury Gardens.
A look at the same room from House & Garden, June 2004.
The hallway with its famous leopard carpet.
As the caption from House & Garden, states, the leopard carpet conceals muddy paw prints from all the dogs.
The dining table holds stacks of Winston Guest's old equestrian books piled up by Cornelia. "I just have so many books. My father used to say, 'No more books!'"
The dining table set for House & Garden, June 2004.
A wider look at the dining room.
The blue and white room overlooks the garden.
A wider view of the blue and white room with it's tiger carpet and portrait of C.Z. by Salvadore Dali above the mantel.
The dramatic painting in the salon was purchased by Winston Guest in Paris.
The sunroom that looks like it had it's original lattice removed.
The sunroom from House & Garden, June 2004.
The entry foyer holds very large elephant tusks, a trophy from Winston Guest's big game hunting. The ocelot hide chairs were featured in Bruce Weber's book A House Is Not a Home.
Portrait of 6 year old Cornelia on Ivanhoe with her Jack Russell terriers, by esteemed equine artist Richard Stone Reeves.
A bedroom at Templeton.
A collage of rooms at Templeton including Cornelia's bedroom with her portrait by Andy Warhol, center. The bottom row are photos of White Eagle.
The gardens at Templeton include topiaries which Cornelia stands in front of, below. It can all be yours for $20,000,000 too!
