The Collection
Ten singular works of craft, land, and vision — each irreplaceable, each permanent.
Somerset Manor was not assembled from a catalogue. Every element — every fireplace, every beam, every stone arch, every acre of forest — was chosen, commissioned, or created by its owners over the course of three decades. What follows is a record of ten of those elements, presented as they deserve to be: as works of permanent value, each with a provenance, a story, and a continent behind it.
The Grand Dining Fireplace
Carved in Lyon, France, 1999–2003. Atelier of the Loire Valley. Modeled after a fireplace in the Château de Fontainebleau.
Among the eight French limestone fireplaces commissioned for Somerset Manor, this is the most commanding — a towering heraldic composition featuring carved shields, foliate scrollwork, and allegorical figures. The master carver who executed this piece had spent his career working on actual French châteaux. He traveled between Lyon and Harvard, Illinois, for four years, carving each element in France and reassembling it on-site. The result is not a reproduction. It is an original work of European craft installed in the American Midwest.
The English Beamed Ceilings
Sourced from England, 1999–2005. Timber reportedly includes English white oak salvaged from the Windsor Castle fire restoration.
Every beam spanning the principal rooms of Somerset Manor was sourced from England and shipped across the Atlantic. The timber carries with it centuries of European history — and, according to the owners, includes oak from the Windsor Castle fire restoration, for which the Giugnis are said to have outbid the Crown. Whether legend or fact, the beams are undeniably extraordinary: hand-finished, deep-toned, and installed by English craftsmen who traveled to Harvard, Illinois, to complete the work.
The French Parquet Floors
Quarried and milled in France. Installed by French artisans, 2001–2005.
The floors of Somerset Manor's principal rooms are laid in the classic French chevron pattern — a technique requiring mathematical precision and a craftsman's patience. The oak was sourced from French mills and installed by the same team of artisans who worked on the fireplaces, creating a unified material language across the entire ground floor. Each plank was hand-selected, hand-laid, and hand-finished. No two rooms are identical. The floors have the warmth and irregularity of something made by human hands over time — because they were.
The Gothic Limestone Arches
Carved in Indiana limestone by European stone masons. Installed throughout the manor, 1999–2005.
The pointed Gothic arches that frame the doorways, alcoves, and windows of Somerset Manor are not decorative additions — they are structural and architectural, carved from Indiana limestone by stone masons trained in the European tradition. In the master suite, a soaring arched alcove with Gothic tracery windows opens directly onto a view of the 18-acre lake. At night, the lake reflects the lit columns on the opposite shore. The arch frames this view as deliberately as any painting in any gallery.
The French Clay Roof Tiles
Manufactured in France. Shipped to Harvard, Illinois, and installed by specialized roofing craftsmen, 2003–2005.
The roof of Somerset Manor is covered entirely in French clay tiles — the same material used on the great houses of Burgundy and the Loire Valley. Every tile was manufactured in France, shipped across the Atlantic, and installed by craftsmen who understood the specific techniques required for this material. The result is a roof that weathers and ages as European roofs do — developing a patina that no synthetic material can replicate. From the air, it is the first thing you see. It is also the last thing that will ever need replacing.
The Dome
Constructed on-site as a private aviary for Henri Giugni's collection of exotic birds. Later repurposed as an event and reception space.
Henri Giugni traveled the world importing exotic birds — until the bird flu epidemic ended that chapter of his life. The dome he built to house them remains: a soaring, light-filled structure unlike anything else on the property. Visible through the porte-cochère arch of the main house, it now serves as a private event pavilion — capable of hosting receptions, exhibitions, or private dinners under its curved glass and steel canopy. There is no other room like it within 500 miles.
The Vineyard Terrace
Created from the excavated earth of the 18-acre lake. Terraced and graded for viticulture, 1990s.
When Henri Giugni excavated the 18-acre lake, he did not discard the earth. He moved it southeast of the main house and sculpted it into a series of terraced hillsides — the precise topography required for a working vineyard. The terraces have been graded, drained, and maintained for decades, awaiting the vines that the next steward of Somerset Manor may choose to plant. The soil is rich. The southern exposure is ideal. The infrastructure is in place. What remains is only the decision to begin.
The Zen Garden
Assembled over decades by Henri Giugni from his travels across Asia and the Pacific. Stone sculptures, Japanese maple, and imported garden elements.
Henri Giugni's travels took him across Asia — to Japan, to Senegal, to the Pacific — and he brought pieces of each world back to Somerset Manor. The Zen garden is the most intimate expression of this: stone frogs flank the entrance, a laughing Buddha presides at the center, a Japanese maple bleeds crimson against the surrounding evergreens. A hand-laid stone path leads through manicured boxwood to a timber torii gate. This is not a garden designed by a landscape architect. It is a garden assembled by a man who had seen the world and wanted to keep some of it close.
The 18-Acre Lake
Excavated by Henri Giugni beginning in the late 1980s. Stocked with bass, pike, perch, and 12 additional species. Home to 100 Trumpeter Swans each winter.
The lake did not exist when Henri Giugni arrived. He made it. The excavation took years — some of the streams that feed it were dug by hand. The earth removed became the vineyard terrace. The water became home to 15 species of fish, a private dock, and the most extraordinary wildlife corridor in northern Illinois. Each winter, up to 100 Trumpeter Swans return — descendants of the four pairs Henri imported in 1985. The lake is not an amenity. It is a living ecosystem, created from nothing, by one man's vision.
The 80,000 Trees
Planted by Henri Giugni beginning in 1985. Former agricultural land transformed into a private nature preserve over four decades.
When the Giugnis arrived, the land was flat and bare — Illinois cornfields as far as the eye could see. Henri planted 80,000 trees. Not all at once, not with a crew, but over years and decades, one decision at a time. Today, Somerset Manor is surrounded by a mature private forest that provides complete privacy, a habitat for deer, turkey, and migratory birds, and a landscape that looks as though it has always been there. It has not. It was willed into existence by a man who believed that the land deserved better than corn.