Showing posts with label Connecticut. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Connecticut. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 09, 2025

Architecture Wednesday: Midcentury Forest Oasis

This midcentury marvel is located in the woods of Connecticut on a hill above the Byram River. This is a big house, with loads of space and spaces; you enter the home on the lower level, which houses an enormous guest room and en suite bathroom with a wall of sliding glass doors and views of the forest.

From the foyer, you go upstairs to the main floor and enter a living room and another forest view; down a short set of stairs is the first of two, or perhaps three, sitting rooms on this floor, this one with its own wall of glass as well as a stone fireplace; there is access to a screened porch from the sitting room as well.

Up a couple of steps is the dining room with its own fireplace and more windows to the surrounding wildlands, and behind the dining room on one side is an informal dining room or another sitting area, while behind the dining room on another wall is that third sitting area between the dining room and the primary suite. The primary suite has a hallway of closets that also serves as a dressing room, opening to a massive bathroom with double sinks, tub and shower and forest views.

A quibble? Yes, I have one; for such an enormous house, a house designed for entertaining, the kitchen, a galley kitchen at that, seems small and tucked away—perhaps lose that third sitting room and make a grand chef’s kitchen? At any rate, beyond the kitchen, you’ll find two guest rooms, both ensuite, as well as a second stairway to the lower level.

Out back are gorgeous gardens with mature trees and plantings and a secluded swimming pool.

As always, click to emBIGGERate...


Wednesday, January 29, 2025

Architecture Wednesday: Charles Gwathmey’s Connecticut Barn

Now y’all know I love a good barn conversion and, for me, this one isn’t it because they’ve removed all of the old barn except for the outside structure and turned it into some sort of Seussical barn home.

No offense to architecture Charles Gwathney but it’s not for me.

The home is five bedrooms and eight bathrooms, spread overt four floors and nearly 7,000 square feet of neon walls and once trendy, now outdated fixtures.

The main floor features the Great Room with built-in wall divider that also contains a dining room table; the small, for a home this size kitchen, three bedrooms and two-and-one-half bathrooms and what I have dubbed the Homework Hallway.

The Lower Level has the Family Room, a Guest Room, Laundry, Wine Room, two-and-one-half bathrooms and access to the pool and outdoor areas.

The Not Quite Top floor features the Primary Suite, with private balcony, two full bathrooms, two walk-in closets and a Gym/Study with Fireplace. Finally, up another spiral staircase, and I cannot reiterate how much I loathe a spiral staircase, is another office.

Head all the way down the stairs again to the basement and you c an make your way to the outdoor kitchen, living and dining areas, alongside the pool and the lush grounds—clearly the best part of the property.

The current owners renovated and expanded the home to further Gwathmey's dream adding many striking elements to the multi-level residence including glass block walls, corrugated metal cladding and interior silo encircling a :::gasp::: spiral staircase.

The property was listed at $4.8M and has apparently been sold.

As always click to emBIGGERate ...

Dwell