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A Veranda report profiles designer Ashley Whittaker’s ongoing work on a 1930s neo-Georgian estate in Greenwich, Connecticut. The design pairs historical details with playful patterns and practical spaces for a family with five sons; architect George Knight also updated the house’s layout to support family life and entertaining.
Designer Ashley Whittaker is continuing work on a 1930s neo-Georgian estate in Greenwich, Connecticut, whose recent design has been shaped around both the home’s historic character and the daily life of a family with five sons. A Veranda report profiles rooms that mix traditional architecture with bold color, patterned furnishings and practical updates, including a game room Whittaker describes as elegant but playful.
The owners bought the property about five years before the report, after deciding to leave New York City for more space. The family’s sons were then between eight and 18 and active in sports. The estate occupies about six acres with mature trees; its additional features include a pool and pool house, two detached garages, and a guest apartment above one garage. The house had grown over time, with wings added in the 1990s.
Whittaker’s favorite space is a compact game room furnished with a wool-covered banquette, brass drinks tables and an antique Russian cabinet holding dominoes, cards and board games. Pierre Frey fabric brings together two 18th-century Indo-Persian borders on the walls, giving a traditional stripe treatment a less uniform look. Whittaker told Veranda, “There’s a playfulness to the space. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, but at the same time, feels elegant.”
The design extends that balance to larger rooms. In the 30-foot living room, Whittaker created two seating areas with matching velvet sofas and chairs in varied shapes and sizes. Botanical, ikat and chevron fabrics sit alongside creamy Venetian-plaster walls and a landscape photograph by Carol Greenan Bouyoucos. In the dining room, glossy peacock-blue lacquer covers the paneling, while decorative painter Chris Pearson added white chevron bands to the dark floor. Whittaker said that floor treatment was inspired by a 1970s room by Albert Hadley that she and the client had admired for years.
A Historic House for Family Life
The project shows how a period home can be adapted for contemporary family routines without removing the architectural character that drew its owners to it. Architect George Knight, whose New Haven firm has experience renovating older Connecticut houses, worked with Whittaker on circulation and shared spaces. Their changes included opening up the kitchen and improving its connection to the family room.
Knight said the kitchen had been overhauled to become “an attractive social space” rather than a background service area. He also reconfigured a back stair so children could come down from their bedrooms into the kitchen, where there is room for homework. The result, as Knight described the aim, was a house that felt “more familial than formal.”
The home also has to accommodate different scales of use: everyday family time as well as larger gatherings. Whittaker said the living room was arranged to work for two people reading as well as for cocktail parties of up to 60. The report notes that holiday dinners for 30 are part of the household’s seasonal routine.
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Renovation Meets Georgian Architecture
The owners found the property with help from Knight, who had previously overseen an update of the same house. The residence had been altered over the decades, including the addition of wings in the 1990s. The report describes Knight and Whittaker’s work as a combination of preserving its historical character and making its rooms more open and usable.
That approach appears in both the architecture and decoration. Knight expanded a doorway between the kitchen and family room to improve the flow, while Whittaker used furniture, art and color to soften the formality of large Georgian rooms. The house’s collection includes works by Robert Motherwell, Peter Beard and artists connected to the owners, set alongside antique furnishings and contemporary pieces.
For the holidays, the report describes wreaths with red bows on the windows, magnolia garland on the double-height stair hall’s banister and a Christmas tree in the center. Whittaker also mentions three fireplaces. These seasonal details are part of the report’s account of the home, not a separate renovation announcement.
““There’s a playfulness to the space. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, but at the same time, feels elegant.””
— Ashley Whittaker, designer, in comments to Veranda
Details of Ongoing Work
Whittaker told Veranda that her work on the home is ongoing. The report ends while introducing a new project she and Knight are creating, so it does not specify what that work involves, when it will be completed or whether further changes are planned. It also does not provide a full renovation budget or a detailed timeline for the architectural updates.
The account is a design tour based on interviews and photographs, not a construction record. It does not establish the full scope of earlier renovations or identify every change made since the owners bought the property.
Whittaker and Knight Continue Work
The next confirmed development is that Whittaker and Knight are working on a new project at the house, according to the report. Its nature and schedule remain unspecified. No completion date or further public announcement is included in the source material.
For now, the report documents the estate as an evolving home rather than a finished project. Any additional details about the work would depend on a later update from the designers or the homeowners.
Key Questions
Where is the estate?
It is a 1930s neo-Georgian home in Greenwich, Connecticut, set on about six acres.
Who designed the interiors?
Ashley Whittaker led the interior design work. Architect George Knight worked on updates to the home’s layout and shared spaces.
What makes the game room distinctive?
The room combines a wool banquette, brass drinks tables and an antique Russian cabinet of games with a wall treatment using two 18th-century Indo-Persian borders. Whittaker said the space feels playful while remaining elegant.
What changes were made to support family use?
Knight reworked the kitchen as a social space, changed a back stair to connect children’s bedrooms more directly with the kitchen, and widened the opening between the kitchen and family room.
Is the renovation finished?
The report says Whittaker’s work is ongoing and that she and Knight are creating a new project at the house. It does not give details or a completion date.
Source: veranda.com
