Have you ever dreamed of living in a charming cottage? Hi everyone,
Ken here, welcome to "ThisHouse"!
Today we are exploring Roseland Cottage in Woodstock, Connecticut. It was built
in 1846 by wealthy businessman, Henry Bowen, to serve as a cozy, but spacious summer home.
It was designed in the gothic style with a steeply pitched roof concealing ornate ginger breading.
From finials, to diamond pained windows,
and pointed arching millwork, it became the quintessential gothic cottage.
Approaching the cottage from the gravel drive, you would pass by parterre gardens with thousands
of flowers contained within a boxwood hedge maze. Looking up, we will notice the intricate,
twisting details capping the chimneys. Brining our eyes back down, we will enter the cottage
below a crenelated, cantilevered overhang, swinging open the pointed double doors.
This brings us into the stair hall where the grand staircase turns towards the second floor
and out of sight. The door we just entered is surrounded by pointed, diamond pained,
stained glass windows allowing an array of colorful light to illuminate the walls
which are finished out in lincrusta Walton wall coverings featuring several layering patterns.
First we will make our way into the front parlor, where mixed and matched chairs are arranged over
several overlapping rugs. Towards the front of the room there is a large bay window with built
in seating, a perfect place to relax and enjoy a good read. We can now turn around and make our way
through the pointed arch, crowned by a golden eagle, to make our way into the back parlor.
The back parlor, with its baby grand piano, doubles as a music room, though it shares
many of the same traits as the front parlor. That being said, there is a unique feature blocking the
upper portion of the doorway, which is the side of the grand staircase, decorated in a gothic motif.
On the opposite end of the room we will find an opening leading us into the conservatory.
This room boasts a massive, cathedral window,
the millwork of which appears to pierce through the ceiling.
With all the busy patterns and grand features inside this home,
lets not forget to search for the smaller details such the unique patterns found on the hardware.
Continuing along, we will come across the dining room and imagine enjoying a meal by lantern light.
While the windows could be opened inward to allow for a cool breeze, a fire could also be lit in
the hearth. In this photo, we will find another curious feature, on the left hand side, there is
a built in china cabinet which could be locked and disguised simply as a door to another room.
The kitchen, though it has more modern appliances in this old photo, still gives us a good idea of
the space in which staff would have prepared the family’s meals. While we are already
seeing behind the scenes, we can take a look at the laundry room. Staff could have performed
most of their duties completely out of sight, even having their own staircase and landing,
but before we explore the second floor, lets head back downstairs to see a few more rooms.
We can find a couple of bedrooms on the first floor with one featuring its own full bathroom.
But even more exciting than that, is what is often touted to be the first
in home bowling alley built in the United States. Though it is essentially a long,
blank hall, a single pointed arch cohesively ties the room into overarching gothic style.
Let’s find the grand staircase again and head upstairs.
After passing a niche set within the rounded wall of the stairs,
we will arrive at the second floor stair landing where we can begin exploring the bedrooms.
The Green room was designed to perfectly fit the bed between its two windows on separate walls.
And on the other side of the room, a large fireplace will keep guests warm.
No two bedrooms are even remotely the same, with each boasting their own décor themes and various
architectural features. One of the bedrooms, with otherwise plain finishes, houses an oriel window.
Finally, we will see what was known as the presidential suite where a handful
of US presidents stayed while visiting Henry.
Thankfully, the Roseland Cottage remained in good
hands throughout the years and is now open to the public as a house museum.
Did you have a favorite room or architectural feature? Let me know which part of this
cottage was your favorite down below in the comments section. And while you’re there,
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