Joan Rivers and Her House -- the Girl Next Door

Huh?  I know, but let me explain.  I was looking through Architectural Digest on line and came across a 2003 article on Joan Rivers and her house in Connecticut.  I was intrigued because her property in New Milford, Connecticut, abuts my in-laws' property, although there are acres and acres between their homes.  I've always wondered what her house looked like, having heard that there was a lot of work going on over there some years ago.  When I saw these pictures, I thought they would be fun to share.

All the interior work was designed by Joe Cicio, whom Rivers apparently gave carte blanche in redoing the entire house.  Here is a before of the living room:

photo: Billy Cunningham

I love this picture because the view is so indicative of the area -- the Litchfield County hills of western Connecticut makes for some of the most beautiful scenery in New England, I think.  This area of Connecticut is peppered with celebrities who take refuge from New York City to a "country house", as did Rivers.  Here is the amazing after...

photo: Mary E. Nichols

 

Cicio  transformed Rivers' home into a true country house.  I am in love with the effect the warm wood beams have on the space, and how they, along with the stone, create the casual tension between the rustic and the more elegant in the furnishings.  I could move in there in ten seconds flat.  Another before...

photo: Billy Cunningham

And after...

photo: Mary E. Nichols

Another before...

photo: Billy Cunningham

And after:

photo: Mary E. Nichols

Brilliant transformation, don't you think?  Even if it's not your style, the structual difference with the windows is something to behold.  The entire character (or lack thereof) of this house was reinvented.  Below is a before and after that really blew my socks off.

photo: Billy Cunningham

photo: Mary E. Nichols

Can you even believe that hallway change?  Brilliant!  From conception to design to execution.  Word around town at the time all of this work was being done was that Rivers was great to the local help, so I heard from my mother-in-law.  Just a little gossip to share.

Now for the question you've been tossing around in your head, you can admit it -- are my husband's parents celebrities?  To my two girls, perhaps yes, but to the rest of the world, no, they are just ordinary, nice folks who happened to have bought a home years ago in an area that was once pretty much undiscovered.

I do believe that Rivers sold the property a year or two ago.  Someone definitely benefited from all of Joe Cicio's work, don't you think?

Talk to you soon,
Carol