Faircourt Mansion, the storied Bernardsville estate where wealth, intrigue and history meet, will be the site of an amazing fundraiser this coming weekend when home decor fans tour the property and enjoy a silent auction, Jazz Age automobile display, music and hors d’oeuvres provided by the Bernards Inn. The one-day event, part of a series of “Homes of Distinction” tours to benefit the Bernardsville Public Library, happens on Sunday, May 15 between 4 and 7 p.m.
This Gilded Age masterpiece was originally built in 1897, rebuilt in 1916, and most recently punched up in a clean, uncontrived way by architect Annabelle Selldorf of Manhattan and interior designer Matthew Frederick of New Jersey. Following a two-year renovation of Faircourt, the 30,000-square-foot Tuscan-style villa is now home to a couple and their two children.
Frederick, of M. Frederick Interiors, gave this former Brooke Astor home a serious dose of clean-lined modernity by employing his restrained but warm aesthetic to spaces that had been rejuvenated by Selldorf, who widened the windows and preserved just the right balance of original grand architecture.
The designer was recently featured in Architectural Digest’s annual “Before & After” issue (November 2015) which highlighted the over-the-top Faircourt Estate.
Frederick, whose mantra is “elegant living for everyday life,” boasts a portfolio of projects in the Garden State as well as Manhattan, the Hamptons, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Washington D.C., Virginia, Georgia, Florida, Chicago, Russia and France.
Visit bernardsvillelibrary.org/events for more information about the mansion and the May 15 tour. Event patrons are asked to park at the Bernardsville Public Library for shuttle transportation to Faircourt Mansion.