Today, we're saluting Katharine Hepburn on what would have been her 107th birthday by taking a peek inside her beloved home in the Fenwick section of Old Saybrook, Connecticut.
In "Me," her 1996 autobiography, Hepburn wrote: "Fenwick is and always has been my other paradise." She loved the property, which has been in her family since 1913. A hurricane in 1938 would completely destroy the original home -- after all, it is as close a home can be on the Long Island Sound without actually being in the water. In the aftermath, Hepburn and family bravely handled themselves as if it was a little party damage. They combed the shoreline for their silverware. Soon, they rebuilt.
Hepburn spent much of her free time at the estate, taking morning swims even when there was snow on the ground. Though the property was grand, the home's decor was on the more modest end of the spectrum -- for instance, her kitchen's key feature was a secondhand stove, which had belonged to her first husband, Ludlow Ogden Smith. Here are a few other views of Fenwick, as decorated by Hepburn.
When Hepburn's home went up for sale in 2011, we were a bit shocked to see how the interiors were renovated. Of course, we expected some modern updates (it might be a challenge to cook on a decades-old stove), we didn't expect to see...well, every trace of character removed completely.
Watch the video above and tell us: What did you think of the renovation?
Have something to say? Check out HuffPost Home on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr and Instagram.
**
Do you have a home story idea or tip? Email us at homesubmissions@huffingtonpost.com. (PR pitches sent to this address will be ignored.)
Related
Before You Go
