Even though Scene Therapy is more interested in homes rather than the people that occupy them, we’ve decided to make a nonpartisan series of posts exploring various presidents homes, from Democrats to Republicans, past and present, to coincide with the United States’ national holiday. The series begins with the current incumbent of the White House, looking at Donald Trump’s Seven Springs Estate in Westchester.
Located in Bedford, the 60-room house, built in 1919 for Eugene Meyer (publisher of the Washington Post and Federal Reserve chairman), sits on 230 acres. The house is built in a European-influenced design with interiors completed by ‘Italian artisans’.
According to reports, the estate was purchased by Trump in 1996 for just $7.5 million with the view to open a Trump-branded golf course on the estate, but these plans were dashed by protests. This defeat might explain why, of the countless properties Donald Trump has acquired throughout his lifetime, the Seven Springs estate seems to be the least ‘Trumpian’ in its style. Despite the setback, Trump kept the property as a ‘retreat’ for his family, and is rarely visited by the current president. His golf club dreams were eventually realised in 2004 with the opening of the Trump Bedminster Golf Resort.
Seven Springs is a 50,000 square foot mansion with three swimming pools, a carriage house and 15 bedrooms. The house is reached via a sweeping driveway leading through maintained lawns to the circle drive in front of the three-storey limestone property. An elaborate stone fountain centres the turning circle, while a small stone portico encloses the main door. Symmetrical Georgian-style windows complete the facade of the house with quaint dormer windows topping the grey-slate rooftop.
Inside, the architecture retains the refined grandeur of the outside with marble floors, stone staircases and high moulded ceilings. The Georgian windows let a flood of natural light into the home, making for a light and airy residence. There are open fireplaces in numerous reception rooms including the wood-panelled library, which seems to have retained most of its original design including the original veined wood panels and inset shelves, delicate ceiling plaster work and a detailed stone fire surround, along with the addition of some new shimmering gold furnishings.
Hear more about this property in this Forbes video, or by visiting Trump.com’s Seven Springs page.
images: google maps