Gracious Hedgerows Colonial in Chester Township

“Elegant simplicity” is a phrase that comes to mind when describing this custom-built home in Chester’s Hedgerows neighborhood.  Taking its design cues from Early American architecture, this classic white Colonial adjoins a red barn-style garage with three parking bays, giving it the look of a vintage farmstead.  The difference is that this home is filled with up-to-the-minute amenities and design elements that speak to a 21^st century lifestyle. 

Natural light spills into the spacious 12-room floor plan of five bedrooms, four full baths and a powder room.  Set amid 2.48± acres of rolling property, the home was built by the current owners in 2007, making it one of the newer residences in Hedgerows.  This desirable Chester Township community consists of just 39 New England reproduction homes based on 18^th century architecture.  Careful attention to detail is evident in all the homes in this sought-after enclave.

Among the outstanding amenities gracing the interior are red oak hardwood floors (which were fashioned from the property’s oak trees) on the main and second floors, traditional millwork, plantation shutters, built-ins and French doors.  Three fireplaces on the first floor are delightful focal points in some of the main gathering spaces.  Other highlights include a teak and granite gourmet kitchen fitted with stainless steel appliances, a private master suite on the second floor, and a partially finished lower level with full bath, exercise area and play room.

Hedgerows truly captures the one-of-a-kind charm of Chester real estate.

In 2002, the Mendham Office of Turpin Real Estate handled the sale of Fox Chase Farm in Chester which had been listed for $5.8 Million.  Composed of 58 picturesque acres of orchards, pastures and woodland streams, the 22-room main residence was originally an old stone mill combined with a farmhouse.

The sale of Fox Chase Farm came about after much persistence and patience, notes Doris Ju, the selling agent from Turpin.  “My buyers had been looking for quite some time and just could not find that special house. However, as soon as we drove down the winding drive, over the babbling brook, and saw the stone manor house, we knew immediately that Fox Chase Farm was a very special property. I’m not sure when my buyers became totally enchanted with the house but I imagine it was sometime after passing the sugar maple house on our way from the main house to the beautiful new post and beam barn. The buyer turned to me and said, ‘I think this is it.’ Although Fox Chase Farm was a true manor house, stately and somewhat formal, they saw that it was also an amazingly warm and cozy country home and the perfect place to raise their four children.”

Transformed by Eberle Builders and Hiland Hall Turner and Associates Architects, the approximately 6,800-square-foot country mill built in the 1900s served as an unusual starting point for the majestic 13,000-square-foot manor.  Much of the exterior stone was reclaimed from the original structure or from old barns and hedgerows. New millwork was made on-site to duplicate original moldings.  Other materials were recycled for this authentic re-creation. The results are so seamless is that it is almost impossible to tell where the original house ends and the new one begins.

Additionally, landscape architects created perennial gardens bursting with color amid the stonewalled terraces and patios.  Five fenced pastures, a post and beam Amish-style barn, a riding ring, garage apartment, and a three bedroom stone cottage overlooking apple orchards are further amenities at Fox Chase Farm, truly a classic piece of New Jersey real estate.

Hedgerows: An Exceptional Chester Neighborhood

Nestled into a peaceful setting just minutes from the historic village of Chester is Hedgerows, a premier neighborhood of homes replicating New England architecture.  A true vision of Americana, the finely-detailed residences offer bright, open floor plans ideal for entertaining.  Just three tree-lined streets make up Hedgerows, and each street is named for local tree species dotting the landscape such as red oak and sugar maple.

Most of the homes were built during the 1990s, and properties are situated on about an acre or more.  Current listings of Hedgerows homes for sale can be previewed here.

Each home in Hedgerows displays equal measures of character and warmth.  Classic layouts are designed with high ceilings, expansive rooms, hardwood floors, custom carpentry and elegant period appointments.  The exteriors are equally authentic to the Colonial time period, featuring cedar shake and clapboard finishes.  These timeless home styles are appropriate for any style of furnishing, from traditional to ultra-modern.

Hedgerows is a standout community in Chester real estate; its residents enjoy living in this lovely established neighborhood that is convenient to so many local amenities.  Discover more about Hedgerows in Chester by reaching out to one of our local offices in Mendham, Far Hills, Bernardsville, Oldwick or Chatham.

Turpin’s Far Hills office sold LuShan in Chester for $7.3 million in 2000.  A storied piece of New Jersey real estate, this hilltop estate was originally owned by Time and Life publisher Henry Robinson Luce and his first wife, Lila. 

Henry Luce’s time at LuShan, however, was short lived.  Shortly after its completion in the mid-1930s, he filed for divorce from his wife of eleven years when he fell in love with Clare Boothe Brokaw, a playwright and former editor of Vanity Fair magazine.  Lila Luce granted her husband a divorce with a heavy heart, keeping painted portraits and photographs of her first husband displayed at LuShan even after her second marriage to lawyer Sewell Tyng. 

Selling agent, Leigh Fenwick recalls that “The Luce property sale was fun!  The buyer cleaned the tile floor in the dining room and found two tiles that were hand painted by the two Luce boys when they were little.  The house was in terrible shape but the new owners made it into a real showcase.  The views were always fabulous.”

The grand Norman style manor was at the time sited on approximately 153 acres.  Noted architect Louis Adams of Adams and Prentice in New York designed the baronial home of limestone and washed aggregate blocks capped by a red tile roof.  Panoramic views from the garden terrace take in the peaceful countryside and the distant Manhattan skyline.

Extravagant details found within LuShan carry the personal stamp of its primary owner, Lila Luce.  A hedge maze she designed graces the rear of the property.  She attended to every aspect of the décor, from the rare books found in the library to the 18^th century Asian tapestries lining the walls.  A 15^th century French oak bench, an ornately carved 600-year-old chest of drawers, and antique wallpaper designed for a French king were some of her purchases.  “That house and all the things in it were her artistic creation coming to life,” noted daughter-in-law Ann Luce, the former wife of her son Peter Paul.

Lila Luce Tyng remained at LuShan until her death in 1999, several days after her 100^th birthday.  In 2000, the new owners re-named the estate Sycamore and brought the home into the 21^st century with renovations like central air conditioning, state-of-the-art telephone and security systems and electronic air cleaners.

For more information about this estate, see New Jersey Country Houses: The Somerset Hills, Volume  2, by John K. Turpin and W. Barry Thomson.