Legendary actress Glenn Close listed her longtime retreat in Westchester County this month. The home is notable for two reasons. The first is the fact that it’s a postcard-ready picture of peaceful, relaxation-ready reclusion. The second is that it’s located in Bedford Hills and, apart from being lyrically pastoral, this sleepy NYC bedroom community is home to a women’s prison that until this week housed the real-life inspiration for the female lead in the film ‘Fatal Attraction.’
Is there a connection? Of course not. It’s just coincidence. So let’s have a look at the house, and try to forget that iconic 1980’s feature-film image of rustic bunny stew, despite the tenacity of its pop-cultural aftertaste.
The farmhouse dates to 1910. Close has owned it for three decades; she purchased it two years after her terrifying performance in ‘Fatal Attraction,’ and one year after her far more terrifying turn in ‘Dangerous Liaisons.’ Many period details remain in the home, and its present owner has conducted renovations sensitively when they’ve become necessary.
The tin ceilings are especially evocative, and show the updated kitchen in its best light. But the home has a lot more to say in its quiet, tasteful voice. Toning throughout is superb, with warm and cool balanced extremely well. Soft mint green, eggshell, variations on off-white; the mix of green, blue and grey stone in countertop design is both creatively appealing and soothing, while the home office—with a checkerboard tile floor in terra-cotta, white, and black, and an azure ceiling—exploits the theme to its full potential.
There are four bedrooms and 4.5 baths in the house. The master is a beaut, bright and timeless, and features an extended window seat, and an attached creative workspace that opens onto a deck to allow a survey of the acreage: the lot extends to over 10 2/3 acres, with forest, gardens, a guest house, and a barn.
Close is slated to appear in Netflix’s production of ‘Hillbilly Elegy’; Ron Howard is directing the film. Shooting is set to begin, well, right about now.
