House Lust: Inside Bois Doré, the Most Decadent Mansion on the Market

It has twenty-three bedrooms, fourteen bathrooms and one unapologetic poodle.

January 26, 2021

Casey Nilsson,

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)

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115 Narragansett Avenue, Newport-14

The mansion, completed in 1927, is named after the linden trees that line the drive.
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A view of the wrought-iron gates along Narragansett Avenue.
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The front doors are wrought iron and glass; the facade is limestone.
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The eighty-five-foot grand hall connects the east and west wings of the mansion.
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A view of the kitchen.
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The kitchen features two Viking ranges and an antique white cast iron range hood.
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A view of the butler's pantry.
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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.

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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.

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Another Battersby trompe l’oeil painting in the dining room, of Louis XIV.
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This marble-floored loggia sits between the drawing room and dining room.
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A cavernous drawing room offers multiple conversation areas.
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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.

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Bois Dore's mascot atop a velvet armchair in an anteroom with painted wall panels.
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The parquet landing on the second level, with one of two staircases.
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The elevator features a cheeky leopard print rug.
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One of twenty-three bedrooms.
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Another bedroom.
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One of fourteen bathrooms.
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A brick terrace overlooks the lawn.
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The sweeping lawn at dusk.