CPTV’s New Original Series, ‘You Are Cordially Invited,’ is hosted by Farmington author and interior designer Holly Holden, and will visit masterpiece homes throughout the world, beginning with West Hartford’s Eyrie Knoll.

The living room of Eyrie Knoll in West Hartford, CT, the masterpiece home of art collectors Melinda and Paul Sullivan. Photo courtesy of Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network

By Ronni Newton

CPTV has announced that its new originally series, You Are Cordially Invited, will premiere on Monday, Jan. 4, 2016, at 10 p.m., and a very special West Hartford home will be the first featured property.

Farmington-based author and interior designer Holly Holden, who has more than 25 years experience as a professional designer of classic high-end interiors, will host the program. According to a news release from CPTV, the program will bring viewers a unique opportunity to “visit” masterpiece residences and the owners of showcase homes that are located throughout the United States and beyond, beginning with Eyrie Knoll on Prospect Avenue.

Holly Holden, host of CPTV’s new original series, You Are Cordially Invited. Photo courtesy of Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network

Holden will engage with homeowners in discussions of style, design, architecture, and collecting. She will also focus on the seasoned hosts’ and hostesses’ ideas about entertaining – their secrets and the “faux pas to avoid,” the release states.

The program will also highlight the unique collections which are featured prominently in many of the residences.

“I cannot think of a better residence to begin our series than Eyrie Knoll in West Hartford, Connecticut, the masterpiece home of art collectors Melinda and Paul Sullivan,” who are known for their magnificent collection of Du Paquier porcelain, said Holden in the release.

The tour of Eyrie Knoll will also explore the “use of symmetry in designing appealing rooms” and will reveal a hidden champagne bar in a former phone booth. Plan to hear some of the Sullivans’ stories – including their experience having Julia Child as a dinner guest “and why, in their opinion, potato chips are the perfect pairing for champagne!”

Future programs will visit magnificent private homes in Palm Beach, Chicago, and St. Louis that are not otherwise open to the public. Holden’s own home, the historic Fox Hall estate in Farmington, will also be featured.

Eyrie Knoll, on the West Hartford side of Prospect, built in a Colonial Revival style and will be the first home featured on the new CPTV show, You Are Cordially Invited. Photo credit: Deb Cohen (file photo)

According to the release, “Holden has also received a special invitation from Lady Carnarvon to film at Highclere Castle in England – better known as Downton Abbey to fans of the wildly popular series on CPTV.”

“We are thrilled to be inviting Connecticut Public Broadcasting’s audience into some of the most spectacular homes in America, beginning with a very special one in West Hartford,” said Jerry Franklin, president and CEO of the Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network in the release. “And, with Holly’s extensive knowledge of design, exquisite eye for detail, and familiarity with the homes’ owners, the viewers will get a never-seen-before look at these private residences.”

“I’m so excited to share the history, splendor, and wonder of these magnificent homes,” said Holden in the release. “I invite CPTV viewers to join me as I stroll the grounds, walk the halls, and even sip champagne with the owners and experts. Yes, you are cordially invited!”

The pilot for the 30-minute series will premiere on Monday, Jan. 4, 2016, at 10 p.m., and will be rebroadcast on Sunday, Jan. 10 at 10 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 23 at 7:30 p.m.; and Saturday, Jan. 30 at 4 p.m.

You Are Cordially Invited was co-created by Holden and Dean Greenblatt, who also serves as writer and producer of the series.  Emmy Award-nominated Danielle Weiss Medina is the show’s executive producer.

For more information, visit cpbn.org.

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