The House

You’ll find it’s not ostentatious or intimidating, despite the elegant decor and the fine art on the walls. The rooms feel intimate and comfortable. It isn’t just a house — it’s a home.

The house was designed by prominent architect Albert Kahn, known for his work on several iconic structures in Detroit and industrial design in Ford Motor Co. factories. The look of Edsel and Eleanor’s house was inspired by Cotswold-style cottages in England. The family moved into their home in 1928.

Inside the House, the rooms feature classic western European interior design styles.

Like many of us do, the Fords updated spaces in their home as time passed. In the 1930s, Edsel hired famed industrial designer and Ford Motor Company collaborator Walter Dorwin Teague to redecorate four rooms. Teague created rich and original designs using a sleek, modern Machine-Age aesthetic. Later in the 1950s after Edsel’s passing, Eleanor hired friend and interior decorator Polly Jessup to design spaces that reflected her taste and highlighted her collection of fine art and antique furniture.

Around every corner, you can discover world-class art and design pieces collected by art-lovers Edsel and Eleanor. They displayed paintings by Vincent Van Gogh and Diego Rivera – a personal friend of Edsel – classic European portraiture, modern-style sculptures, and ancient Asian and African artifacts.