Sunday Morning explores design at Philadelphia’s historic Ardrossan Estate

Jane Pauley will anchor CBS News Sunday Morning’s annual “By Design” edition from Ardrossan Estate, the 750-acre Georgian-style property on Philadelphia’s Main Line, pairing a sweep of American design with one of the region’s most storied backdrops. The program airs Sunday, May 17, at 9:00 a.m. ET on CBS and streams beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET on the CBS News app, with the special also available on Paramount+.

The choice of Ardrossan is more than a picturesque setting. CBS describes the estate as a Gilded Age-inspired time capsule, and earlier reporting places the Villanova property at 50 rooms and as much as 38,000 square feet, designed by Horace Trumbauer and built between 1911 and 1913. It also inspired The Philadelphia Story, a reminder that American design has long shaped not only houses, but the stories people tell about status, taste, and region. Joan Mackie, one of the current owners and a niece of Hope Scott, said she was thrilled the property was chosen for the design episode.

That broader point is where the hour lands most clearly. CBS says the episode will look at accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, which are helping address housing shortages while giving homeowners new options. In a country where the cost of living and the scarcity of attainable housing remain central economic pressures, ADUs have become a practical design response, turning backyard space and underused lots into part of the housing supply. The segment places architecture in the realm of policy as much as aesthetics.

The broadcast will also widen the lens to consumer design and entertainment, with an interview with filmmaker Jon Favreau about The Mandalorian and Grogu and a look at the appeal of Louis Vuitton. Those pieces underscore how design drives value across industries, from fashion to film production to the objects Americans buy and display. CBS says the special comes as the nation approaches its 250th anniversary, a milestone that invites a fresh look at the built environment and the objects that define it.

Pauley will also visit the nearby Chanticleer Garden, extending the episode beyond one estate to the landscape design that helps define the Main Line itself. In one hour, CBS is tying together housing, public space, luxury branding, and historic preservation, showing how design continues to shape everyday American life far beyond a single television special.