This article originally appeared in the December 2009 issue of ELLE DECOR. For more stories from our archive, subscribe to ELLE DECOR All Access.Marcel Proust made us aware that even the most seemingly insignificant sensory experience can trigger important memories. For him it was a madeleine and a cup of linden tea. For me there is nothing quite like the satisfying crunch of fresh snow beneath the tires as I turn on to the long driveway of North Creek Farm, with its majestic alle of century-old maple trees. Silhouetted against the snow are two large red barns, a family of golden-haired Shetland cows, Nubian goats, miniature donkeys, and woolly sheep. By the time I pass the icicle-encrusted winter gardens and pull up to the white 1860 Georgian manor house, my children and I are full of joyous memories of being home for the holidays. William WaldronThe living rooms tufted-leather armchairs are from John Rosselli Antiques and Decorations; the ottoman, which is covered In a vintage kllim, and the 19th-century painting are both from Myrtle.North Creek Farm is the Hudson Valley weekend getaway shared by my mother, Dolores Barrett, and my stepfather, Edward Klein, who bought the house and its 56 acres on a total lark nearly seven years ago, after I had stumbled on an enticing magazine ad for a gentlemans farm.We weren't even house hunting, Dolores remembers. At the time she owned a place in Bridgehampton, Long Island, where she and Ed maintained a glamorous-and hectic-social life. But the photos of bucolic North Creek Farm spoke to them both, so they drove up to take a peek. William WaldronIn the game room, Regency chairs from Yale Burge Antiqus surround a table from Mill House Antiques & Gardens; the walls are covered in a Bennison linen.I immediately fell in love, says Dolores, whose sense of style and exacting eye for detail served her well during her eight years as vice president of public relations for Polo Ralph Lauren. Id always wanted a place far back from the road, with unforced landscaping. The house and its setting were not ostentatious, yet they had a kind of innate elegance and dignity. For Ed, the former editor in chief of The New York Times Magazine who now contributes to Vanity Fair and writes best-selling biographies, a tranquil place to wind down, work, and be with his family was irresistible. It's a very rural area surrounded on all sides by farms-inspirational for a writer, he says. Dolores and I knew instantly that this magical place would be the ideal gathering spot for our grandchildren.William WaldronA brass chandelier by Vaughan Designs hangs above an heirloom dining table; the chairs are upholstered in a Cowtan & Tout fabric.They made an offer then and there. It was completely unlike them to do something so impulsive and was thrilling for the rest of the family, which now numbers four adult children and seven grandchildren. Our clan is a modern one: step-parents, step-siblings, cousins. and step-cousins all mingled together. Both Christmas and Hanukkah are celebrated at North Creek Farm. Many of us are in the media, and dinner discussions often turn into heated debates, while pajama-clad children run in and out, seeking attention or another lollipop. The interiors needed to embrace this raucous spirit. And given its year-round use, the house had to transition seamlessly from Thanksgiving to Christmas to the Fourth of July, from corn-on-the-cob casual to my mother's famously chic, formally decorated holiday tables. William WaldronThe vent hood is by Broan, and the dishwasher is by Bosch. Rob Southern, a Manhattan-based interior designer, was the perfect choice to help Dolores implement her dream of a refined yet relaxed country home. It's a place to connect. But let's face it, Southern says, families work best when members are able to have private time as well as public time. As much as I wanted it to feel farm like, its for writers and avid readers, so every room had to support many functions, with a surface for a laptop and good lighting to read by. Everything had to be child-friendly, but also have the ability to close off and be private. Each room has a lovely view, either of the lake, the barns and paddocks, or the extensive gardens. Southern capitalized on this by bringing natural motifs indoors, in both colors and patterns. "The outside really dictated the inside, he says. Dolores, Ed, and I wanted to retain tradition, but without being overly historical or too literal. William WaldronIn the primary bedroom, the Sheraton-style bed, a family heirloom, is dressed in a skirt of a Travers print that Is also used for the curtains; the lamps are from Myrtle, and the etching is by Caio Fonseca. Southern used textiles have references to the past, but in a modern palette. In the game room"the site of Monopoly marathons, my daughter Annalises fashion shows, and my son Jack's chess games with Pa (his nickname for Ed)," Southern saysthe walls are upholstered in an 18th-century design of birds and flowering branches, updated in a sophisticated watery blue and beige. He anchored the living room with a bold crewel on two walls. It has a handcraftiness to it, a nod to the time the house was built, he says, but it feels fresh on the walls. William WaldronA guest room is sheathed in Cowtan & Touts Stria wallpaper; the firms Ferns linen is used for the headboard, which was designed by Southern, as well as for the shades and the wing chair. Throughout, family antiques are mixed with modern elements, a reflection of his parents' eclectic taste. A Sheraton-style tester bed in the master bedroom is flanked by a pair of overscale contemporary ambercolor glass urn lamps and offset with a Caio Fonseca print and a vivid geometric American needlepoint rug. The key with Dolores and Ed, Southern says, "was to take all of their various likes and interests and marry them in a way that would make the place flow. And it does. When we're alone in this house, Ed and I marvel at its beauty and serenity, Dolores says. Yet when it's filled with the laughter of our grandchildren, North Creek Farm is at its very best.Tour this elegant house in the Hudson Valley This story originally appeared in the December 2009 issue of ELLE DECOR.