Though it's only hours away from Manhattan, the Catskills in New York feels like a world apart from the lights and skyscrapers of the city.
That is what Amanda Seyfried was looking for when she discovered the 1920s stone house with original barn nestled among a crop of spruce and fir trees. “Before I even went inside the house, I knew I wanted it,” Seyfried told Elle Decor last year.
Amanda hired designer Sarah Zames of Brooklyn-based General Assembly to update the home's interior without losing its original character. The newlywed actress wanted a retreat that she and her husband, actor Thomas Sadoski, could gradually make their own and raise their baby daughter.
Zames turned the barn into guest quarters with cozy West Elm furniture and wool Restoration Hardware rugs over the reclaimed oak floors. An original wood-burning stove was retained and highlighted against a custom concrete tiled wall. The barn had birthing stalls for horses that were converted into guest bedrooms.
Amanda uses another stable on the property for her horses and goats. Her rescue dogs relax on the rugs in the house.
In the main house, the footprint of the thick stone walls was left unchanged, but the rooms were given a fresh update with white dove, the prominent color on the walls, while built-ins added efficiency to smaller spaces. Upstairs bedrooms were opened up by taking the ceiling back to the rafters and gutting the area to convert three smaller bedrooms into two.
Carefully selected materials and textures enhance the natural character of the home. Antique tables outfit the pavilion gray dining room with vintage sconces from Etsy on either side of a large picture window.
Though acting projects often take Amanda Seyfried to California for long periods of time (she can currently be seen in the sequel to the popular movie version of Mamma Mia!) she loves coming back to her authentic place in the Catskills where history and character meet comfort and privacy. It's the perfect place for an animal and nature lover like Amanda Seyfried to stay grounded.
