Sunday, July 12, 2009

Jackie's Summer Days at Red Gate Farm

After Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' death, a maid who had cleaned her home in Martha's Vineyard for several years, told her story to the "National Enquirer" and also provided shots of the interiors. The article did provide some insights as to what Jackie's life was like during summers at Red Gate Farm.


Red Gate Farm in 1994
The main house was 3100 sq. feet; "John's guesthouse" in foreground.



After the rennovation....
One report said the house tripled in size and the guest house was torn down.



The Dining Room
Meals were simple and light: Breakfast was Folger's coffee, 1/2 cup of All Bran,
and skim milk, and some fruit. Jackie would have a very light lunch of carrots,
cottage cheese and ice tea. Dinners with Maurice were usually fish or occasionally
red meat, salad with fresh fruit for dessert, as well as a glass of white wine.



Jackie's closet (this was after it was cleaned out for the summer)


Maurice Templesman's bedroom adjoined Jackie's.



Jackie's Bedroom at time of her death.
Note all the books!
One of her "quirks" was that the fireplace in her room be lit every morning
and evening no matter how warm it was outside. Her sheets were pink Irish
linen and she had three beautiful nightgowns also of linen which were pressed
and laid out for her each night.



Jackie had this collage of family photos in the kitchen.
She had similar collages in her NYC apartment and loved putting them together.



The summer days of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis were simple and predictable, according to the maid who cleaned her house for three summers. She rose every day at 7 AM, ate breakfast, then covered her entire body with Pond's cold cream and swam for 2 hours in Squibnocket Pond. After lunch, she would go biking, waterskiing or kayaking from 1-4 PM. Dinners were early and light and she would often watch movies on her VCR till about 9 or 10 PM before retiring for the night.







3 comments:

RulesGirl said...

I quite like how simple the decor is. If you read bios on Jackie, then you know how much time, effort, and money was put into her White House restoration project. She worked with brilliant European interior designers and created quite a lavish living space. These photos look like they could be anybody's home. I think in her later years, her life was less about riches and glamour and more about just being at ease with herself and with her life. I adore her collage idea. I may do something like that myself!

jade said...

more picture in pinkpillox.com

keeblerc said...

I checked out pinkpillbox.com and want to thank you, jade, as it is an excellent site with wonderful photos of all of Jackie's homes.

And you are right, RulesGirl, Jackie's home interior style is indicative that she'd reached a point in her life where it was all about being simple and homey. Even at 1040, designer Mark Hampton said after her death that it basically had stayed the same since she moved in and that many of her friends couldn't understand why she was content with the lack of A/C, the kitchen which hadn't been updated in years or the threadbare carpets, peeling wallpaper and drapes "which had holes in them." He considered it proof of her "WASPY" taste where "continuity was valued more than freshly quarried marble."

I LOVED her collage idea and am putting together a new one today for my home!