This white-clapboard 1854 Greek Revival house rests on five acres of rolling hills in upstate New York. The historical narrative we contrived involved a refined, eclectic European family who had migrated in the nineteenth century to begin life anew in the Catskills. The decor therefore represents a fusion of old-world finery and New England practicality, layered and cultivated over time. For authentic texture, we preserved the original fireplace of rough-hewn brick. In the bedroom, the decorative olio encompasses Indian block-printed fabrics, Tunisian and Turkish carpets, a Louis XVI–style chair in worn green leather, and a pair of gilded and painted Italian oak beds dressed with an African Kuba coverlet. A cosseted refuge from the city.