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INSET: MICHAEL MCKINLEY AND ASSOCIATES, LLC
While it appears to be a 19th-century Shingle-style cottage, this Stonington Harbor gambrel was built just a few years ago. The terrace steps down to traditional English gardens created with American plant stock.
Solid as a Rock This new Connecticut gambrel uses massive stones to give it a yesterday look.
by Kathy Calnen photography Kindra Clineff 34
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t started with a handful of stones. Ed was living and working in England when a business trip brought him to Connecticut. He collected a few rocks from the edge of a Stonington beach, then returned to his temporary home in Canterbury, England, and presented them to his wife, Peg. “This is from your beach!” he exclaimed. Ed had a surprise for Peg and the couple’s two teenage sons: he’d purchased a spectacular three-acre site at the head of Stonington Harbor. Bordered by stone walls and a stand of cedar trees, the land YankeeMagazine.com
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looks out over one of Connecticut’s most scenic harbors, at the eastern end of Fishers Island Sound. And so, with two years left in England, the family embarked on a transatlantic design journey that would eventually bring them home. When the couple hired Stonington architect Michael McKinley, Peg says, they had no idea what the house would look like: “We just knew that it had to look like it was here long before us.” Their other objective was to build a house that would belong on the site. (continued) May 2005
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The center of the home is a light-filled two-story atrium with panoramic views of Stonington Harbor.
The office/library, with its curved balustrade and warm golden walls, overlooks the dining room and the harbor. 36
Michael describes the design of the wood-shingle and stone residence as “firmly anchoring the house to the land.” The master bedroom, guest room, and boys’ bedroom suites are housed within three of the home’s four gambrels; the other encompasses the main body of the house. The interplay of the gambrels also frames a variety of memorable views. Builder Joe Stanton, who has built several of Michael’s projects, calls the Stonington Harbor gambrel his favorite because “it is 4,000 square feet and doesn’t look big. It’s a heavy house ... like a structure that’s going to stay here.” The home’s extensive stone base creates YankeeMagazine.com
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Above: The bright breakfast nook overlooks the harbor. Inset: Blue-green Italian wall tile, which Peg found in England, was inspiration for the kitchen’s color scheme. a sense of permanence and of timelessness. To build the base, 90 tons of round fieldstone were handpicked from old stone walls and buildings in Rhode Island. Striving for the historic summerhouse look, Michael designed stone pillars that culminate in a massive curved stone wall. Rhode Island stonemason Tom Dotolo and others worked for nearly a year, hand chiseling almost every stone and laying the stones out in a random pattern, much like a jigsaw puzzle. “The goal was to 38
create depth and mass,” says Tom, “and this was accomplished by carefully choosing stones that accent free-flowing, irregular shapes.” The home’s interior is a departure from its traditional exterior. Peg wanted an open, airy floor plan that would accommodate the family’s entertaining needs, especially in the summer when the couple plays host to as many as 40 friends, some from as far away as England. The focal point of the first floor is the dining room, which is YankeeMagazine.com
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To Gambrel or Not to Gambrel Robert Frost may have expressed some poetic ambiguity about the merits of fences, but when it comes to gambrels, architect Michael McKinley believes there is no question: gambrels really do make good neighbors, especially in coastal locations and historically sensitive neighborhoods. “Because the gambrel acts as both a roof and the wall, it is a more efficient way to enclose space than other pitched-roof shapes,” Michael says. “The gable roof, with its walls and an appropriate pitch for a New England setting, requires 3 to 4 more feet of height than the gambrel, which can be respectful of the neighbors because it does not block their view of the water.” There’s also a more pragmatic reason to use the gambrel style in coastal locations: stringent zoning laws often limit the height of new construction. In historic neighborhoods, the gambrel is aesthetically pleasing because of its rich architectural history in New England. Michael’s research indicates that the gambrel evolved from 19th-century barn construction and that at one time it was the most popular roof design for barns because it efficiently created storage space for hay. The gambrel has been incorporated into many different building types, such as Colonial and Shingle. Another benefit of the gambrel is that its beauty can be reflected in the interior of a building. When the ceiling lines follow the shape of the gambrel roof, Michael describes the resulting space as “taking on a sculptural quality.”
open to both the family room and the kitchen. The family hosts frequent cooking parties, and guests gather around the center island with its views of the harbor. The stairs to the second floor were designed as a gallery space for the family’s collection of English architectural watercolors and pen and ink drawings. A grandfather clock that Ed and Peg bought when Ed finished graduate school stands in a niche on the intermediate landing. It, too, has lived on both sides of the Atlantic. On the second floor, the stairs open to a curved balcony and the atrium. The generous balcony was customized to include a home office and a library with a comfortable sitting area that has become the family’s favorite place to relax and read the Sunday paper. The library also connects and separates the master bedroom from the guest room and boys’ bedrooms. Peg jokes, “We needed some separation after living in England in close quarters and sharing a bathroom with our sons.” ✯ 40
Resources Architect: Michael McKinley, Michael McKinley and Associates, LLC, 860-5354532. 146 Water St., Stonington, CT. michaelmckinleyandassociates.com Builder: Joe Stanton, JMS Builders, 401-596-9631. 56 Old Hopkinton Rd., Westerly, RI. Stonemason: Tom Dotolo, Dotolo Brothers Masonry, 401-596-2896. 8 Bayview Dr., Westerly, RI. Windows: Eagle Window & Door, Inc., 800-324-5354, 563-556-2270. 2045 Kerper Blvd., Dubuque, IA. eaglewindow.com
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