The Next Era of Bellevue Avenue’s Neoclassical Masterpiece
Restoration and Interior Design by Chad Michael Peters
The Entrance Court: A stately first impression centered on a two-tier marble parterre planter and a light grey herringbone limestone driveway loop, perfectly framed by the restored 18th-century sunburst gates. The historic limestone pillars have been freed from invasive greenery, and the monumental pier lanterns upgraded with clear beveled glass and warm, ambient flicker-flame mantels.
The pink as a pop of color in the parterre gardens nods to the faint light hue in the newly renovate stucco and roof.
This is just the beginning of what Champ Soleil could be.
The Carriage House French Georgian Restoration
The Vision
True estate design requires every secondary pavilion to command the same gravitas as the primary manor house. The Carriage House possesses remarkable historic bones—anchored by an authentic slate mansard roofline and arched dormers. The objective was to execute a meticulous exterior restoration that honors its French Georgian grammar while introducing ultra-high-end finishes.
The Material Transformation
The Facade: The weathered concrete exterior was replaced with a premium, smooth-troweled limestone stucco in a warm alabaster cream, washing the building in a luminous, inviting glow.
The Thresholds: Outdated doors were replaced with custom, solid mahogany carriage doors finished with a marine varnish. They feature classic raised panels, multi-pane arched glass tops, and heavy unlacquered brass hardware.
The Forecourt: The concrete forecourt was excavated and replaced with tumbled limestone pavers laid in an interlocking herringbone pattern, introducing undeniable Old World grandeur.
The Result
By anchoring the structure with elite, historically accurate materials, a once-aged outbuilding has been transformed into a breathtaking, cohesive companion piece for the estate.
Welcome home to
The Field of Sun
Rising majestically behind the historic wrought-iron gates of Bellevue Avenue, Champ Soleil stands as an unparalleled monument to 18th-century French architectural strictness .Commissioned in 1929 by the legendary Drexel-Ogden family, this magnificent 16,601-square-foot chateau was masterfully engineered by the renowned architectural firm Polhemus & Coffin.
Taking its direct, uncompromising lineage from La Lanterne—the royal hunting lodge of Louis XVI at Versailles—Champ Soleil was conceived with a brilliant "see-through" layout. Built single-room-deep along its central pavilion axis, the home acts as a grand architectural lens, capturing the shifting, coastal Newport daylight and throwing a continuous, luminous glow across its formal salons.
Enveloped in pristine limestone detailing, high-pitched slate mansard roofs, and hand-carved entry pediments, the estate represents the absolute zenith of Gilded Age old-money permanence.
Inspired by French history and the shoreline of Newport
Le Pavillon du Treillage: An architectural tour de force anchoring an expanded, honed limestone pool terrace. The pool pavilion’s interior features an intricate, mint-sage wood trellis framework seamlessly interlocked with a spectacular, hand-sorted seashell mosaic grotto (coquillage) and a tiered marble fountain, all sheltered beneath a soaring verdigris copper dome roof.
THE FORMAL DINING ROOM AT CHAMP SOLEIL
A Masterpiece of Gilded Age Entertainment & Classic French Elegance
The Vision
Commissioned for the founding families of modern American finance and originally styled by the legendary Maison Jansen of Paris, the dining room at Champ Soleil stands as one of Newport's most elite private banquet spaces. Engineered specifically for grand-scale estate entertaining, this formal dining wing boasts an impressive capacity to seamlessly host up to 62 guests in a setting of absolute regal opulence.
The Architectural Composition
The Paneling & Mirrors: The room is completely enveloped in bespoke, wooden paneling. Interspersed throughout the woodwork are monumental, custom gilt-framed mirrors strategically placed to amplify the natural light filtering through the massive garden-facing windows.
The Neo-Baroque Masterpiece: Suspended from the high ceiling is a spectacular, Tiered Neo-Baroque crystal chandelier. The fixture casts a warm, scintillating glow across the entire length of the formal hall, reflecting beautifully off the parquet flooring below.
The Austrian Hearth: Nestled elegantly within its own private masonry alcove sits an authentic, historic Austrian stove. This rare architectural feature serves as a warm, majestic focal point that grounds the massive scale of the room with intimate, old-world charm.
The Result
By balancing monumental entertaining dimensions with delicate, light-reflective European materials, the Champ Soleil dining room remains a triumphant example of historic preservation. It is a space designed not simply for meals, but for unforgettable, legendary estate galas that perfectly honor Newport's architectural golden era.
Step into the restored library
Bespoke Architectural Millwork & Panel Design
The Vision
Designed as the ultimate intellectual retreat within the estate, the library is an immersive study in historic English symmetry and masculine luxury. The room is engineered to feel less like a modern home office and more like a private, centuries-old university sanctuary.
The Millwork Architecture
The Paneling: Floor-to-ceiling raised-paneling crafted from select, character-grade English walnut. The woodwork features deep shadow lines, robust fluted pilasters, and a hand-scraped finish that exposes the rich, undulating grain.
The Shelving: Integrated, seamless bookcases recessed directly into the walnut frameworks. Each bay is framed with carved dental molding and detailed with solid, inset unlacquered brass standards for adjustable shelving.
The Result
By wrapping the space entirely in heavy, warm wood architecture and balancing it with deep acoustic dampening, the library serves as a breathtaking, timeless harbor of quiet luxury within the primary estate footprint.
A magical water garden and treillage pavilion.
Le salon d’cinema
The ultimate gilded age escape arrives in the form of this lush home cinema. The walls and sofas are upholstered in a sumptuous, deep red silk velvet, evoking the lushness of rose petals. The room’s boiserie is crafted from rich mahogany, its grain adding warmth and depth. Finishing touches appear as gilt work along the crown moulding and a magnificent Rococo‑style Venetian chandelier that crowns the space.
The entrance to the home cinema includes a custom concession stand built from the same materials and seamlessly finished to match the main salon cinema. This elegant home theater experience would be situated on the basement level of Champ Soliiel.
The newly restored kitchen at Champ Soleil honors the estate's historic Gilded Age identity while updating it for contemporary luxury. Originally built in 1929 by architects Polhemus & Coffin, the mansion's design was inspired by La Lanterne, the 17th-century French Norman hunting lodge near Versailles
The kitchen is a master play on French country, provincial design. From the French floral linen blinds, to the hand forged wrought iron light, each detail nods to the past and embraces the future.
Maison Jansen Continuity: While the iconic French decorating firm Maison Jansen embellished the formal rooms in the 1940s, this kitchen respects that legacy by hiding industrialism behind custom white panels and glass-front built-ins.
Integrated Preservation: The commercial-grade, dual-column glass-front Traulsen refrigerator mirrors a grand European larder, displaying items cleanly while providing 21st-century temperature precision.
Professional Scullery Range: Heavy-duty, dark steel ventilation hoods and commercial burners evoke a true estate chef’s environment, capable of hosting grand-scale Newport entertaining.
A menagerie of sea creatures big and small
Positioned majestically on the far western axis of the estate, running along the quiet border of Coggeshall Avenue, sits the Champ Soleil Marine Topiary Menagerie (Le Jardin de Verdure Marine).
Historically, Newport's Gilded Age titans looked to the land for horticultural inspiration. This design subverts that traditional framework, utilizing tightly clipped evergreen textures to craft a fluid, subterranean narrative that honors Champ Soleil's proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. By treating the estate’s hedges not as structural boundary lines, but as "living waves," the garden shifts into a magical, sculpted ocean floor. It establishes an immediate, poetic dialogue with your hand-painted Limoges Coastal Rococo service and the breezy, maritime pastels of the upper guest suites..
Double mahogany doors open to a foyer paneled in elegant boiserie and painted a soft French grey paint with a lacquer finish. The foyer is given life with museum quality furnishings upholstered in grey silk.
Classic Maison Jansen styled bedroom with furniture and walls all upholstered in the same fabric. The room is highlighted by plum colored silk brocade bed drapery
Classic Maison Jansen styled bedroom with furniture and walls all upholstered in the same fabric
Classic Maison Jansen styled bedroom with furniture and walls all upholstered in the same fabric
The greenhouse will be restored and styled to coordinate with the Vert de Gris color of the estate's treillage poolside pavilion. The area surrounding the greenhouse will host the potager vegetable and flower gardens.
Classic Maison Jansen styled bedroom with furniture and walls all upholstered in the same fabric
The driveways and parking areas of the estate will be defined by new limestone pavers in a luxurious limestone pattern.
Classic Maison Jansen styled bedroom with furniture and walls all upholstered in the same fabric.
The facaded of the building will be restored with a new coat of plaster in a soft, touch of pink, stucco with shutters painted in the same shade,
The bathrooms at Champ Soleil will be clad in marble, have French styled mahogany vanities and gold and crystal light fixtures and sconces.
For an air of fun, we will included a new, canvas striped top bicycle Surrey. Perfect for sightseeing around Bellevue Ave. and Newport.
The workshop in the carriage house is the perfect spot for the estate florist studio. The studio is defined by its waterfall work bench in marble. It look terrific with the chic commercial look of utilitarian parts of the estate.