Inside a Creatively Reimagined Connecticut Country Escape
Jane Keltner de Valle and AD100 designer Giancarlo Valle breathe new life into the charming 1863 house
The august English writer and critic Samuel Johnson once opined, “The two most engaging powers of an author are to make new things familiar and familiar things new.” Johnson’s maxim finds eloquent expression in the captivating Connecticut home of Jane Keltner de Valle, cofounder of children’s skin care line Paloroma (and AD’s former style director), and her husband, AD100 designer Giancarlo Valle. Together, the dynamic couple have conjured a vision of classic New England charm animated by a wholly contemporary spirit—a marriage of the familiar and the novel that speaks to their professional pedigrees, their personal passions, and the spirit of their young family. It is also a testament to the twin virtues of innovation and restraint, inspiration and ease.
The site for the Valles’ adroit balancing act is a stalwart 1863 house, painted crisp white with dark green shutters, which once served as a parsonage for the town’s historic Greek Revival church. Trim and subdued, the original, essentially cubic structure has a wood-paneled living room added in the 1920s and a kitchen extension built in the 1970s. “We loved the proportions. It felt very modern in its simplicity. It’s gracious, but not in an overdone kind of way—elegance without the frills,” Giancarlo says of the home’s appeal. “The house was well-loved, and you could feel the good energy,” adds Jane. “It had an unimposing formality that we tried to maintain. Even as we put our own stamp on it, we wanted the house to remain as it has always been.”
.jpeg)
That meant no anachronistic Pilates studio or open-plan kitchen, no hammam, and no marble-clad bathroom large enough to host an ice cream social. Yet within the house’s rooms, the couple teased a palpable sense of wonder and delight through discreet decorative gestures that put an entirely new complexion on the traditional architecture. Naturally, examples of Giancarlo’s own furniture designs buoy the winsome ambience: the toothsome chunkiness of his dining room sideboard; the insouciant curves of his living room sofa; and the custom kitchen island inlaid with delft tiles, to name just a few. In the primary bedroom and bath suite, he added attenuated, branch-form columns that introduce a note of fairy-tale forest magic to the sprightly mix.
Many of the pieces were crafted in a makeshift woodshop set up in the garage, including a series of boxy sconces knocked up from scrap wood. “Fabricating things on-site made them feel even more special and connected to the life of the house,” the designer notes. “My dream is to turn our dilapidated barn into a proper woodshop and guesthouse, but that’s going to have to wait until we catch our breath.”
Contributions by friends and colleagues underscore the feeling that the renovation is truly a family affair. Designer Minjae Kim, who once worked in Giancarlo’s studio, is represented by wood benches he fashioned for the couple’s two children, one inscribed “PV” for daughter Paloma and the other “RV” for their son, Roman. The work of designers Aaron Aujla and Benjamin Bloomstein of Green River Project, fellow members of the AD100, appears throughout the house, notably in the signature raffia-festooned club chairs that enliven the living room, and the dining room table incised with an outline of the Green River in upstate New York, which meanders through Bloomstein’s family property. (“The kids use it as a track for marbles,” Jane offers.) The dining room walls are adorned with medallions by ceramist Matt Merkel Hess, representing local flora and fauna, including moths, leaves, horses, birds, acorns, and even ticks, the scourge of Connecticut.
Of course, Jane’s incisive eye and deft touch are unmistakable in the house’s sophisticated color palette, the chic yet unpretentious fabrics and finishes, and the array of antiques and vintage treasures, many collected from local shops and auction houses as well as sources in New York and abroad. Her own childhood desk and dollhouse add a decidedly personal, nostalgic flourish to Paloma’s fetching bedroom. “The look is very traditional, East Coast country-club vernacular—stripes and splashes of hunter green—but all filtered through our lens,” Jane says, describing the aesthetic sensibility that permeates the home. “The process was a true collaboration in every sense, and a chance for Jane to really flex her design muscle,” Giancarlo adds, tipping his hat to his estimable wife. “It was also a unique opportunity to create a home that blends our worlds together.”
That blending has indeed paid handsome dividends in scenes of pure domestic bliss. “So many memories have been made here: Christmases, Easter egg hunts, birthdays, summer garden parties with bouncy houses and cornhole. The children already feel a real connection to this place,” Jane attests. And what better seal of approval could one ask for?
Jane Keltner de Valle and Giancarlo Valle’s Connecticut home appears in AD’s November issue. Never miss an issue when you subscribe to AD.
1/20Roman and Paloma frolic on the lawn of the 1863 house, built on the site of one of the first schools for girls in the United States.
Photo: Stephen Kent Johnson2/20The living room is outfitted with a Studio Giancarlo Valle sofa, wood-and-raffia chairs by Green River Project, a Gianfranco Frattini cocktail table, an Ingo Maurer table lamp, a Giancarlo Valle for Nordic Knots rug, and Mexican butaque chairs. Painting on the right by Anastasia Bay.
3/20In the living room, a Jean Prouvé swing-arm lamp surmounts a Pierre Jeanneret desk and chair.
Art: Peter Schlesinger4/20A Mexican butaque chair sits in a corner of the living room.
Makeup by Joseph Carrillo5/20From left, Jane Keltner de Valle, and Paloma, Roman, and Giancarlo Valle.
6/20Copper pans hang above a Fisher & Paykel range in the kitchen.
7/20In the kitchen, a vintage Italian chandelier hangs above a custom island inlaid with Delft by Plain English tiles. The café curtains are in a Kravet stripe.
Anastasia Bay8/20Axel Einar Hjorth chairs pull up to a Swedish farm table in the breakfast room/pantry. A Fisher & Paykel refrigerator is concealed in the custom cabinetry. Painting by Anastasia Bay.
Matthias Merkel Hess9/20The dining room has Bonacina chairs, a Green River Project table, a Studio Giancarlo Valle credenza, a vintage iron chandelier, curtains of Malabar fabric, and a Giancarlo Valle for Nordic Knots rug. Ceramic wall medallions by Matt Merkel Hess.
© 2023 Landon Metz / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.10/20A Plateau lamp (left) by Studio Giancarlo Valle and Natalie Weinberger is joined by Pierre Paulin chairs and a custom sofa and sconce in the den. The linen-wrapped cocktail table is from the estate of Mario Buatta. The large painting is by Landon Metz.
© 2023 The Larry T. Clemons Collection / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.11/20The primary bedroom is furnished with Studio Giancarlo Valle bedside tables, a Minjae Kim bench, Paavo Tynell sconces, a Pierre Jeanneret chair, a Giancarlo Valle for Nordic Knots rug, and Roman shades of Zak+Fox fabric.
12/20In the dressing area of the primary bath, a Christopher Astley painting hangs above a Studio Giancarlo Valle daybed. Valle crafted the slender wood column in the corner, and he replaced an existing door to the bedroom with a thick arch.
13/20Valle crafted a freestanding sink and vanity in the primary bath. Ceramic-framed mirror by Jordan McDonald.
14/20In the primary bath, a Green River Project stool sits in front of a Portola tub from Vintage Tub & Bath.
15/20Studio Giancarlo Valle’s Paloma mirror adorns daughter Paloma’s bedroom. Roman shades in Maharam fabric, quilt from Paula Rubenstein, Charvet Editions bedspread from John Derian.
16/20Roman’s bedroom has a custom daybed and a Schoolhouse table lamp.
Photo: Stephen Kent Johnson17/20Studio Giancarlo Valle side tables and Paavo Tynell copper sconces flank a custom bed upholstered in a Braquenié fabric from Pierre Frey in a guest room. A Minjae Kim bench rests on a Tufenkian rug.
18/20A vintage stool is tucked beneath a Studio Giancarlo Valle desk of reclaimed wood in a guest room.
19/20A vintage Pierre Paulin chair sits on a custom tile floor by Clé. The walls are trimmed in green ribbon. RH towel racks, hooks, and ring. Hand wash and lotion by Paloroma, the couple’s skin care line for babies and children.
Photo: Stephen Kent Johnson / Styling: Colin King20/20Julia B. Casa chairs surround an antique millstone table beneath a towering maple in the garden. Landscape design by KTISMAstudio.
