Victoria's Secret Model Frederique van der Wal decided to buy a weekend house 15 years ago, when she was pregnant with Scyler, her daughter with the screenwriter Nicholas Klein. "I was looking for something with an authentic feel, where a child could run on the grass," she said recently as she was strolling across the lawn of her 19-acre property near Rhinebeck, N.Y. "I ended up finding an Old Dutch house and barn from 1790."
Frederique was born and raised in the Netherlands and she suspects that she was drawn to the Hudson Valley because of its Dutch heritage.
"The moment you begin driving up here, you feel like you've left the craziness of the city behind. You immediately feel like you're in nature, and that's what's allowed me to survive New York. It's kept me grounded," Van der Wal stated as quoted by The New York Times.
Frederique grows flowers and vegetables which "was derelict when I bought the property,'' she said. "I had it painted red, so it looks like clay. I love to play tennis.''
She also loves to swim and the pond was another project. "It was all overgrown when we moved in, and I had it dug out," she said. "I grew up in The Hague, so water is very important to me. And I thought it was important that my daughter wasn't scared of swimming with the fish."
The best thing about the house is that it's a place to spend time with Scyler, she said. The old house has a trap door in the floor of Scyler's room showing a walkway going to the kitchen.
According to Fox News, nineties' supermodel Frederique van der Wal is known for her work with Victoria's Secret, Cosmopolitan, Sports Illustrated, and many other covers and catalogs. After a stint on "Celebrity Mole: Hawaii'' in 2003, van der Wal transitioned to TV host, heading up to TLC show "Cover Shot'' in 2006. In 2008 she was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Dutch Model Awards, and had a lily named after her: Frederique's Choice. Today, Victoria's Secret beauty is enjoying running her various ventures.
