--- Town & Country admired the Ford Plantation's appeal to active, community minded families. Not to mention that we were also charged up at the prospect of taking on a decorating project. In its 153-year history, the magazine has had a long record of reporting on houses, their decoration and their occupants, but we'd never designed one from scratch, and the chance to do so proved irresistible. We imagined a house that would be comfortable, tasteful, extremely well made without being precious, and full of personal style - in this case, the style we imagined that a family drawing to the Ford philosophy might possess. --- And so Town & Country made a deal with the Ford Plantation. We decided to work with a singular decorator in a collaborative spirit, and to open the completed house to the public this November to benefit charity. The decoration budget was set at $400,000, a fairly moderate sum, considering the house's size and eventual price tag of $4 million. We agreed to a completion deadline of August 15, 1999-which sounded innocent enough, even though our "house" at that point was still a hole in the ground. --- THE HOUSE Plans for the house, which is set on a point of land overlooking a lake, had been drawn up for the Ford Plantation prior to our involvement by respected architect Jim Strickland of the Georgia-based firm Historical Concepts, Inc. In keeping with the traditions of southern classicism, Strickland had taken various bits of the classical vocabulary - columned porches, breezeways, a pedimented Georgian façade - and recompiled them into a rambling and functional contemporary house. He even developed a story line that had the "19th-century" core of the building relocated to the site in the 1930s, when the porches, kitchen and breezeways were tacked on. Thomas Jayne's budget for the showhouse was $400,000. He spent in the most visible places and scrimped on elements that would play quieter, supporting roles. In the combined living and dining room (opposite), the splurge was on globe-pleated apple-green curtains of Clarence House fabric, embroidered in an Indian-inspired pattern by Penn & Fletcher. A major style statement, they unify the dual-purpose room and bring a note of indulgence to an otherwise pared-down scheme. "We got a lot for our decorating dollar," says Jayne. OPPOSITE TOP: The living room half of the total space has the most frankly traditional décor in the house. Two things it deliberately doesn't have: an Oriental carpet and many antiques (only the side tables by the window, the andirons and the paintings predate 1999). The message? Traditional rooms can be stylish as well as practical for a modern family and a second home. Furniture by Jonas Upholstery is covered in fabrics from Cowtan & Tout (sofa) and Pierre Frey (armchairs); the three-legged table is from Baker Furniture, the round occasional tables from McGuire Furniture. OPPOSITE BOTTOM: In the dining area, Jayne blends a go-for-broke antique in the form of a Boston classical sideboard from G. K. S. Bush Antiques with compatible contemporary pieces. The Prouve-style table was made by Greg-Gurfein, the chairs by McGuire. The painting, Shanty by a River, is by John Adams Spelman. continued on next page