Fifteen minutes east of Chadds Ford, at the end of a circular driveway, is a stately 1734 Georgian fieldstone manor house with shutters the color of lemon custard. Sweetwater Farm once sheltered wounded Revolutionary War soldiers and the Marquis de Lafayette and was a refuge for slaves on the Under-ground Railroad.
In the fields around the 16-room house, thoroughbreds and goats graze amid wildflowers. From each window there are views of majestic maples on the 15 lush acres, and of the 50 undeveloped acres beyond. Proprietors Grace Le Vine and Richard Hovespian were drawn to this bucolic charm. Le Vine, a niece of the late Princess Grace of Monaco, has filled the living room with a marvelous display of vintage photos of her famous aunt.
Inside you will find tall, deep-set windows and a sweeping center-hall staircase. Almost every room has a wood-burning fireplace, random-width floors of oak and pine, and original paintings. Rustic Pennsylvania primitive pieces are mixed with 18th- and 19th-century antique furnishings and reproductions. The guest rooms have canopy beds and four-posters, with handmade quilts and fine linens, embroidered spreads, dried-flower wreaths, and hidden nooks containing odd collectibles.
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