Houzz Tour: 1950s Ranch Home Remade Into a Charming Cottage

The beautiful acre around this 1950s split-level ranch was what caught interior designer Susan Anthony’s eye. Looking to downsize, she had a vision of transforming the Westchester County, New York, home into a charming cottage. “The former owner was a teacher, and she loved to garden. I think most of her energy went into the gardens, not the interiors,” Anthony says. “The setting was so beautiful that I decided to recycle the old house rather than build a new one.”

Being green took on more than one meaning. In addition to recycling as much as possible, using recycled materials and making the home energy efficient, Anthony was inspired by all of the beautiful greens she saw in the landscape and brought the colors she saw outside to the interiors. “I looked around outside and chose colors like wheats, creams and shades of green to use indoors,” she says.

Photos by Ellen McDermott

Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Interior designer Susan Anthony
Location: Irvington-on-Hudson, New York
Size: 2,200 square feet (204 square meters); 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms

BEFORE: Although this is a photo of the back of the house, it gives you an idea of the style of the facade before. It was a simple 1950s split-level ranch.


AFTER: Before, one had to cross the property to reach the front door. Anthony extended the garage by 4 feet and excavated to create this entry into what used to be the basement of the split-level home.

Clapboard and fence finish: Solid Body Stain in Useful Gray SW7050, Sherwin-Williams; garage door paint: pickled by an artist; rest of paint by Benjamin Moore: Monroe Bisque HC26 (window and door trim) and Moonlight White 2143-60 (roof, ceiling, fascia and eves)


At the new front entry, at left and above to the left of the garage doors, Anthony used granite stones found on the property for the facade. New shutters and a new door add to the cottage charm.

Paint by Benjamin Moore: Louisburg Green HC 113 (shutters); Quincy Tan HC25 (front door); shutters: Timberlane


Anthony’s move was a transition into a new phase of her life as she downsized from a large family home into this home. She brought with her the things she loved most, including many antiques. When she downsized, she thought carefully about which pieces were her favorites and would work in the cottage, and then figured out where she needed to fill in the blanks.

This Swedish Mora clock, also known as a grandmother clock, is the first thing one sees upon walking through the front door. It’s one of Anthony’s favorite objects.

Handrail finish: Bohemian Black paint used as stain, Sherwin-Williams


A combination of shiplap and molding with barn-like X details creates a warm farmhouse feel in the new foyer. Anthony was also able to fit in an extra spare bedroom, a bathroom, closets and a laundry room on this lower level. The buffet and urn are antiques. The antique stone floors have radiant heat. She scooped up the mirror at a Ralph Lauren sale.

Paint by Benjamin Moore: Camouflage 2143-40 (shiplap) and Mountain Peak White OC121 (lower paneling, trim, doors, ceiling and stair risers); flooring: Waterworks; lighting: Paul Ferrante


Anthony took out a wall between the living room and the dining room. This allowed her to extend her dining table to accommodate up to 22 people. As a Thanksgiving and Christmas host, she has an open-door policy. Guests may include her three grown children, her ex-husband and his girlfriend, her former in-laws and any of her children’s friends who aren’t able to make it home for the holidays.

She replaced the home’s doors and windows with energy-efficient ones, with the exception of two new Andersen windows that had been installed recently. One of them is the diamond-paned window you see here. She had her contractor add panes from an antique window. They are attached with molding and can be removed easily for cleaning and painting.

The large hutch was another score from a Ralph Lauren sale. The designer stained the existing floors and the pine hutch to match, and she backed the shelves in mirror to reflect her collection and the light. The pottery is her collection of French mustard and confit jars.

The window treatments are wool challis, which the designer recommends because the fabric breaks and hangs so beautifully. Just be sure to keep the moths away.

Paint by Benjamin Moore: Mushroom Cap 177 (walls and ceiling); Mountain Peak White OC121 (trim and doors)


Across the space is the living room. The designer added two matching French chandeliers, one over the dining table and one in here, to create a connection between the two spaces. This one hangs over an old Chinese bed-turned-coffee table. “I like to anchor a room with two large pieces,” she says. In here the hutch and the coffee table are those two large pieces.

The side table in the foreground is a Biedermeier, and the one on the other side of the sofa is an antique French wine table that tilts. You can see the wheat and green hues inspired by the garden throughout the rooms.

Anthony can thank an odd smell for her new 10-foot ceilings. After ripping up the carpet that she suspected was the culprit, Anthony realized the smell was still lingering. Upon further investigation, she discovered that a second roof had been installed directly atop the old roof, and black mold had formed between the two. She had to redo the whole roof, and while doing so, decided to raise the ceilings in the main living spaces. The new roof is made from recycled tires, and the insulation is also made from recycled materials. She installed new energy-efficient systems, ductwork and fans.


New French doors in the living room and dining room let in more natural light and lead to this patio in the side yard. “I had just been to a wedding in Capri and fell in love with the patios there,” she says. She shared her Capri photos with her mason, who re-created the look. She then added a butterfly garden and a mix of comfortable furnishings.

Anthony had the trees pruned to allow more natural light into the house, then had the branches put through a wood chipper to use in the yard. Any concrete and bathroom tile removed was crunched up to be reused in aggregate. Shrubs that were in the way of the new construction were transplanted, and drains were added to provide water for a future rain garden.

Metal stools: Pottery Barn; pedestal table: Crate & Barrel; chair: Lane Venture


BEFORE: Because one big renovation the former owner had completed recently was the kitchen, Anthony decided to keep the cabinets and granite countertops, while making cosmetic changes.


AFTER: The designer took down a wall that used to divide the kitchen from the dining room, where you see the bar here. She replaced old appliances with more energy-efficient ones and donated the old ones to Green Demolitions.

The wooden bar top came from an antique French shop counter, a piece she’d used for a former client. When the client decided to replace the top with granite, she gave it to Anthony, who then gave it to her carpenter to hang on to and then promptly forgot about it. When it came time to address the counter, he told the designer he had a surprise for her, and pulled out the old French wood top. They added iron brackets to fasten it to the aisle.

Paint by Benjamin Moore: Gray Owl OC52 (cabinets), Mushroom Cap 177 (walls) and Mountain Peak White OC121 (trim and doors); slate backsplash and antique stone floors: Waterworks


The bay window was existing but didn’t have a cushion on the seat. Anthony turned the area into an eat-in nook by adding a mattress cushion upholstered in a checked fabric in the bay, and pulling up an antique table and new French chairs.

“I had wanted a Dutch door my whole life,” Anthony says of the new door to the backyard. It makes it easy to pass things out to guests on the patio without letting the dog out.

Chandelier: Scofield Lighting


The wallpaper in the master bedroom is a sweet polka dot pattern that recalls an English cottage. The big basket under the Biedermeier side table adds a French touch. The bed upholstery is a pale Wedgwood blue mohair velvet.

Bedding: Legacy; Persia bed: Ralph Lauren; wallpaper: Nina Campbell NCW2075/01; paint by Benjamin Moore: Polar Ice 1660 (ceiling) and Mountain Peak White OC121 (trim and doors)


This area is Anthony’s private getaway when she has a house full of people. She keeps a small TV and lots of her favorite books at hand near this settee in her bedroom so she can curl up and relax with them.

The room has British Colonial flair. The bamboo side tables are antiques, and the bookcase is an English antique. The four prints are from 19th-century hand-painted drawings of Tuscany. She continued the textures on the window treatments, with a woven shade and a curtain rod carved to resemble bamboo.


Her master bathroom brings in more soft greens for a relaxing feel. Toilets and sinks throughout the house are low flow.

Paint by Benjamin Moore: Gray Cashmere (walls) and Mountain Peak White OC121 (trim, ceiling and doors)


This Moravian star light fixture was always a favorite of Anthony’s daughter’s, so Anthony brought it from their former home and installed it in the room where her daughter stays when she visits.

The wallpaper is a homage to Rose Tarlow, who is known for sanding damask wall coverings to make them look aged. The bed upholstery is linen velvet.

Ceiling paint: Heartsmere 1114, Benjamin Moore; bedding: Legacy; wallpaper: Ralph Lauren RL LWP 50939W; bed: Hickory Chair


Anthony had bought the black floor tile years ago for the powder room in her former home but never used it. She couldn’t buy more because the tile had been discontinued, so she turned it into a tile rug in her hall bath. She chose a black and white toile wallpaper to match. The rest of the tile is Carrara marble.

The operable window is tinted shower enclosure glass, which provides privacy but lets the light in.

“Everybody thought I was crazy to leave a big, beautiful house for this one when I bought it,” Anthony says. “Now they wish they were in a cottage like mine.”

Tile and sink: Waterworks; wallpaper: RL LWP 30641W, Ralph Lauren; ceiling, trim, cabinet and door paint: Mountain Peak White OC121, Benjamin Moore

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