Drew Barrymore (Photo: @mrbrianrowe/ X)
Because her family’s needs shifted during the lengthy project timeline, despite finishing the renovation after nearly 2 years, Barrymore chose to list the home.
What began as a light touch-up spiraled into a “complete internal gut,” according to Barrymore. It’s a comparison that says a lot about how deep the renovation rabbit hole went. She has said the process simply took longer than expected, leaving her without the same use for a countryside retreat by the time it was finally ready. “I lived in the house in the most primitive of scenarios,” she said.
Buying an old house is one thing. Actually living inside its bones while you rebuild it is another. Drew Barrymore actually did both, and just two years later, she decided to sell it. Barrymore put her heart and soul into the interior decoration, and this story is not just about the house but about how involved she was in the renovation itself. She didn’t hand the project off and wait for the reveal. She lived through the mess, made the design calls herself, and ended up comparing the whole experience to a well-known Hollywood cautionary tale about home renovation gone sideways. The team ended up replacing the home’s heating, plumbing, and air conditioning systems entirely, so it was like completely rebuilding the house’s infrastructure from the inside out, even though the estate dates back nearly three centuries. Barrymore didn’t shy away from admitting how overwhelming the process got. And compared it to a classic movie about renovation chaos. She joked that her situation was similar to that of Anna, the character played by Shelley Long in The Money Pit, who discovers her dream home is quietly falling apart. Rather than waiting out the renovation from a hotel or another home, Barrymore actually lived on the property during its most unfinished stretch. “It’s some of my favorite times and memories. Before listing the property, she also hosted a birthday gathering there, grilling outdoors with friends bundled up in parkas despite the February cold.