The Women’s Association for Morristown Medical Center has found another diamond in the rough.
Wildfair, a 250-year-old estate on 33 acres in Chester, has been chosen for this year’s Mansion in May. After 50 years and 20 mansions, the association’s springtime show houses are an eagerly anticipated tradition– and the signature fundraiser for the nonprofit, which has raised more than $14 million for the hospital over the years.
Wildfair is a rambling stone structure with many reincarnations, starting as a working farm with a gristmill and sawmill and, most recently, becoming home to the Epifano family.
“We’ve been working on it for a little over a year,” Pam Epifano said during a media preview tour, on a grey, chilly morning last month. “It’s very much a family adventure.”
Although they have not yet moved into the house, her three sons, ages 24-29, have taken the lead in returning the property to its roots. They’ve started by changing its name from Fox Chase Farm back to the original Wildfair. They have a more ambitious plan to restore its agricultural productivity as well.
Epifano is at Wildfair almost every day. Hands-on and very enthusiastic, she regularly confers with the 38 design firms that are transforming every room in the house for Mansion in May.
The Kitchen, or Shokukai (translated as “food gathering”), is her bailiwick. On the preview day, the Shokukai (room 12 in the program) was strewn with faceless cabinet boxes and a mood board. Very few clues were offered for what will follow in the spring.
Looking straight out from out from the kitchen island and separated by a two shallow steps is the Great Room, room 11, by Rachel Kapner of CWI Designs. The largest room in the mansion, the vast space has a stone wall at the far end, large windows on both sides, and a barrel-vaulted ceiling covered in natural wood. When completed, the kitchen and great room will likely be the heart of the home.
On the left side of the kitchen, visitors will find Breakfast Room, number 13, by Hanna Goldberg of Hanna Charlotte Interiors. Small and cheery, it was in the process of being tiled. Just a few steps away, the mood changed abruptly.
Arlene Riley of Bernards Decorators has her work cut out for her in the Mud Room (number 15), a windowless and, arguably the most derelict, room in the mansion. It adjoins the even more depressing Laundry Room (no. 16), undertaken by Stephanie Barbara of Lily and the Rose Design. Good luck ladies!
Samples of paper, paint and fabric, along with drawings and photographs, aided designers as they described their projects. Kristin Badolato of Kristin Ashley Interiors offered a bit more, with a large sample of exquisite Gracie chinoiserie wallpaper, destined to line the walls of the Dining Room. It was easy to imagine the large, sunlit space will be a knockout.
Several rooms have existing cherry cabinetry that Epifano chose to preserve intact. Among them is the dramatic Upper & Lower Library (room 7), by Karla Trincanello of Interior Decisions.
The ground floor and basement are connected by a sharply curved staircase. It’s an unusual and intimate configuration that takes advantage of warm toned cherry paneling to set the mood. The lower level will be transformed into a seating area around an existing fireplace, surrounded by fabric and carpeting with an animal theme, and book-filled shelves.
Another example of cherry millwork can be found at the other end of the house, in The Office (room 4), by M. McDevitt and J. Turner of Elements Interior Design Studio. The designers named it I Take my Whiskey Neat, and plan to fill the shelves with a variety of adult beverages and compatible accessories.McDevitt and Turner said visitors should not expect samples. But you never know.
Despite major renovations and expansions, most recently in 1934 and again in the 1990s, Epifano said much work remained. “The property needed a lot of love.
“The house was empty for several years when we bought it. A couple of chimneys had to be taken down and rebuilt, new windows installed, and seven new heating systems had to be installed,” she said, dressed in working clothes for the tasks ahead.
One might expect Epifano to feel overwhelmed by the restoration. Not at all. She has more than a few such projects under her belt.
The Epifano family owns Epic Management and Construction, with a portfolio that includes residential projects and major commercial properties such as Rutgers Stadium (now known as SHI Stadium) in Piscataway, the Mansion at Natirar in Peapack, and Temple B’nai Jeshurun in Short Hills.
Proceeds from Wildfair Mansion in May are earmarked for a MEVION S250-FIT Proton Therapy System™ to be unveiled at Morristown Medical Center’s Carol G. Simon Cancer Center in 2025.
According to the hospital, proton therapy is an advanced cancer treatment that targets tumors with sub-millimeter precision, leaving healthy cells intact. It is performed on an outpatient basis and takes a few minutes per session. Non-invasive and painless, it allows patients to live normally during their treatment, a giant step forward in radiation therapy.
Wildfair will open to the public from May 1 to May 31, 2025. Tickets are $50 before May 1, and $55 after. Individual private tour tickets go on sale on March 1, 2025. Select designer items also may be purchased by the public.
Article courtesy of Morristown Green
