Just a Little Peek: Inside Delaware’s (Royally-Tied) Rockspring Estate

"The house is an expression of our personality."

Images courtesy of Carroll Laurence

Photos: Brandywine Sotheby’s International Realty

Well, this obviously trumps that time my friends and I found a wad of old bills hidden in the rafters of my basement closet. See, Francesca Rudin, she of unique vintage collectibles shop Scout and Annie +Details in Kennett Square, lives with her family at Rockspring, a 14-acre estate in New Castle County, Delaware. It’s a home with quite the story.

Once a property belonging to the famous Du Pont family, Rudin says she and her husband found it terribly dreary, with little light or notable architectural details to speak of when they bought it nearly fifteen years ago. They wanted it regardless, however. “Our goal was to bring it into the 21st century and to let in a lot of light because it was a dark house. Peter really had a vision of how to do that, so now it’s a very bright and airy house,” she recalls.

The Peter in question is architect Peter Zimmerman, who’s had a hand in designing other area homes like this and this.

But why the Rudin’s commitment to what sounded like a TLC-needing home?

“Probably insanity,” laughs Rudin.

Except it wasn’t an irrational dream, for in addition to having Zimmerman on their team and Rudin herself having a special eye for distinct home goods and decor, her husband has a related gift to speak of: “My husband is a visionary when it comes to architecture.”

That, and the fact that in spite of the home’s surface difficulties, they could still see beyond it and recognize that it was a true “diamond in the rough.” Moreover, it was (ahem, is) well-situated, being close to I-95 and nearby shops and services. Thusly, they re-did the house “from top to bottom, the complete interior.”

Interestingly, it was during this time that Rudin says they came upon personal artifacts from the previous owners. The coolest object? An original Du Pont scale, discovered in the attic, that she and her husband then restored and embedded in their master bathroom. “The mechanism is in the wall, but you just stand on the bed of the scale, which is embedded in the floor.”

The biggest surprise, though? Finding out that prior to the Du Ponts, the property had at one point been owned by an Irish farmer. And prior to him?

Rudin almost didn’t want to share the deets, but we made sure to get it out of her: “My husband got the documentation on the property and it turned out that we’re the fifth owners since the King of England.”

Amazing. Which one is not clear, though, but does it really matter? Rudin’s design of the interior beats out even the likes of the throne. For one, she’s got a vintage BMW motorcycle in her dining room for crying out loud. The rest of the residence is just as uniquely charming and, as Rudin says, “has a lot of say about all of us.”

Some of her collectibles – and similarly fetching goods that aren’t, but might as well be – can be found throughout. A vintage steering wheel, for example, is in her car-loving son’s bedroom. “The house is an expression of our personality,” she says, noting that while it’s sizable, it remains relatively formal.

“We live like a modern family. The decor is quirky in some ways; it’s not modern, but it’s transitional, style-wise, and I like to include low-brow and high-brow. [There are] lots of interesting things in the house. It’s very much a storyboard for our lives.”

A limited selection of photos of Rockspring can be found below.

THE FINE PRINT
Beds: 4, potentially 7
Baths: 5 full, 2 half
Square feet: 13,000+
Parking: 4-car garage with finished apartment
Price: Not for sale

Images by Brandywine Sotheby’s International Realty. Courtesy of Carroll Laurence.