Inside Anna Speckhart’s 1880 Stone Cottage in Ridgefield, Connecticut

Some people spend years hunting for the perfect house. Anna Speckhart found hers in less than two days. One Zillow scroll, one field trip to Ridgefield, Connecticut, and suddenly she, her husband Carlos, and their two kids were signing on the dotted line. “We didn’t overthink it,” she says. “The house and grounds were just so special.”

The stone cottage, built in 1880, isn’t just a house, it’s a reset button. On weekends, Anna (model, mom, and founder of Speckheart and Momsworldwide), Carlos, their two kids (June and Charlie), and a new puppy escape here from their small New York apartment. “Every time we come back from the city, it feels like we’ve landed in another world,” she says. One with room to breathe (and washable slipcovers to handle whatever the kids and dog throw at it).

Inside, the vibe is cozy-meets-practical. Think: layers of linen in neutral tones, furniture that can actually withstand spilled juice, and a kitchen that refuses to play it safe. “The cabinets are this minty-sage green with soapstone counters,” Anna says. “It’s the best pop of color.” Not everything was a win (she admits June’s “pink on pink” bedroom was a little much), but refinishing the dark cherry floors to a lighter natural tone changed the whole mood of the house. “It felt like we’d just opened up the windows.”

Anna is quick to say she’s no designer—“That’s more Carlos’s thing”—but with some light remodeling, a few built-ins, and plenty of Instagram inspiration, the 2,300-square-foot cottage now feels like theirs. The original stonework, still intact after nearly a century and a half, adds an old-world charm to what is otherwise a laid-back, lived-in space.

What stands out most, though, isn’t any single design detail but the feeling: relaxed, grounded, and just a little bit undone in the best way. Bikes on the lawn, puppy paws on the floor, kids running laps around the kitchen island. “We wanted it to feel warm and lived-in,” Anna says. Mission accomplished.