House Lust: Inside Bois Doré, the Most Decadent Mansion on the Market
It has twenty-three bedrooms, fourteen bathrooms and one unapologetic poodle.
You needn’t scroll through dozens of photographs of Bois Doré to get the picture. You just need this one, of a French poodle, scruffy at the crown and perched atop an antique settee with an air of devil-may-care.

Bois Doré in Newport, like its resident purebred, is unapologetically decadent, from the Battersby trompe l’oeils painted directly onto the dining room walls to the 2,000-square-foot ballroom with an eight-foot antique Regency chandelier.
Designed by famed architect Charles A. Platt, Bois Doré — “gilded wood” in French, after the leafy lindens that line the drive — was completed in 1927 for William Fahnestock, an investment banker. Its stewards have included Campbell’s Soup heiress Eleanor Winifred Dorrance Hill Ingersoll and, later, oil heiress Carolyn Mary Skelly, both grande dames of Newport society who knew how to throw a party.
The times have changed (boy, have the times changed) but it’s almost comforting that such a structure — museum-worthy at 19,000 square feet — still stands, preserved and with purpose, awaiting the moment when getting dolled up and dancing the night away returns once again.
Here’s your House Lust:
-
115 Narragansett Avenue, Newport-11
Bois Dore, 115 Narragansett Avenue in Newport, is on the market for $10.9 million. (Images via Mott and Chace Sotheby's)
Bois Dore, 115 Narragansett Avenue in Newport, is on the market for $10.9 million. (Images via Mott and Chace Sotheby's)
-
115 Narragansett Avenue, Newport-14
The mansion, completed in 1927, is named after the linden trees that line the drive.
-
115 Narragansett Avenue, Newport-4
A view of the wrought-iron gates along Narragansett Avenue.
-
115 Narragansett Avenue, Newport-7
The front doors are wrought iron and glass; the facade is limestone.
-
115 Narragansett Avenue, Newport-25
The eighty-five-foot grand hall connects the east and west wings of the mansion.
-
-
115 Narragansett Avenue, Newport-26
-
115 Narragansett Avenue, Newport-27
The kitchen features two Viking ranges and an antique white cast iron range hood.
-
115 Narragansett Avenue, Newport-30
A view of the butler's pantry.
-
115 Narragansett Avenue, Newport-34
The dining room is bedecked with custom Martin Battersby trompe l’oeil paintings. "Trompe l’oeil," or "deceive the eye," works are optical illusions that evoke collage but are one-dimensional. These were painted directly onto the walls one summer in the 1960s.
The dining room is bedecked with custom Martin Battersby trompe l’oeil paintings. "Trompe l’oeil," or "deceive the eye," works are optical illusions that evoke collage but are one-dimensional. These were painted directly onto the walls one summer in the 1960s.
-
115 Narragansett Avenue, Newport-37
Battersby depicted illustrious characters of the French court in his paintings, including this one of Marie Antoinette with a hairline crack at her neck.
Battersby depicted illustrious characters of the French court in his paintings, including this one of Marie Antoinette with a hairline crack at her neck.
-
-
115 Narragansett Avenue, Newport-39
Another Battersby trompe l’oeil painting in the dining room, of Louis XIV.
-
115 Narragansett Avenue, Newport-53
This marble-floored loggia sits between the drawing room and dining room.
-
115 Narragansett Avenue, Newport-32
A cavernous drawing room offers multiple conversation areas.
-
115 Narragansett Avenue, Newport-55
A view of the 2,000-square foot ballroom, reportedly the largest in Newport, with a Regency chandelier.
A view of the 2,000-square foot ballroom, reportedly the largest in Newport, with a Regency chandelier.
-
115 Narragansett Avenue, Newport-58
Bois Dore's mascot atop a velvet armchair in an anteroom with painted wall panels.
-
-
115 Narragansett Avenue, Newport-60
The parquet landing on the second level, with one of two staircases.
-
115 Narragansett Avenue, Newport-62
The elevator features a cheeky leopard print rug.
-
115 Narragansett Avenue, Newport-63
One of twenty-three bedrooms.
-
115 Narragansett Avenue, Newport-66
-
115 Narragansett Avenue, Newport-70
One of fourteen bathrooms.
-
-
115 Narragansett Avenue, Newport-21
A brick terrace overlooks the lawn.
-
115 Narragansett Avenue, Newport-4_AFTER
The sweeping lawn at dusk.
For more information on Bois Doré, contact Mott and Chace Sotheby’s Kylie McCollough at 401-864-8830 or visit mottandchace.com.
RELATED ARTICLES
House Lust: A Purple Victorian is on the Market in Westerly
House Lust: A Luxe Townhouse in a Converted Masonic Lodge in Newport
House Lust: The 5 Most Expensive Homes Sold in RI in 2020