Built in 1765 by poet/naturalist Myron Benton, Troutbeck served as a country house and retreat for Benton’s friends and associates, including Mark Twain, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and the naturalist John Burroughs. The next owner, Joel Spingarn, was a cofounder of the publishing house Harcourt, Brace & Co. and of the NAACP; during his residency, he used Troutbeck to entertain illustrious friends such as Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall, W.E.B. Dubois, and Theodore Roosevelt. Later the property was used as country inn and tavern and conference center, until the fourth and current owner, Anthony Champalimaud, bought the property with a plan to turn it into a subtly luxurious retreat reminiscent of Soho Farmhouse in England.

Working with his mother, Alexandra Champalimaud of Champalimaud Design, and his wife, Charlie, Anthony spent more than a year on the redesign. The goal was to modernize the sprawling estate with a subtle nod to its history; nothing too overdone or slavish to the past. For booking information, go to Troutbeck.

Here’s a look.

Above: The stone manor house is set on 40 acres; the grounds include two streams, two tennis courts, a pool, and several outbuildings.

Above: In the interiors, “Historic details remain amid contemporary updates and antique furnishings, as though collected over generations, “according to the owners. The library has the original wood paneling and wood-burning fireplace.

Above: “Ephemera, shells, geodes, and collectible minerals are interspersed between the book collection of vintage volumes that came with the house,” the owners say.

Above L: A sparsely decorated hallway. Above R: A detail of a corner of the library.

Above: The Troutbeck Restaurant serves American farm-to-table cuisine sourced from local farms and purveyors from the Hudson Valley.

Above: A curved copper bar anchors the all-day bar area.

Above: The open-all-day pantry is stocked with items for purchase from local farms and purveyors.

Above: The four Manor House bedrooms are outfitted with Frette linens.

Above: A Frette robe in one of the guest baths.

Above: Another Manor House guest room.

Above: The bedroom overlooks the leafy garden.

For more characterful interiors in upstate New York, see: