2024 Home & Luxury FFLD

POOLS Spas, Saunas &

LBy Gretchen A. Peck

iving a healthy lifestyle is a personal endeavor, combining exercise, a conscientious diet and mindful pursuits of well-being. Adhering to these healthful tenets is made all the more likely and convenient when your home is supportive with amenities, such as a pool, spa and sauna. Let’s take a look at some of Fairfield County’s exceptional luxury homes currently for sale, which have these amenities and other compelling attributes. CONTINUE SPAS, SAUNAS & POOLS ON PAGE 8

Pictured above: 6 Pan Handle Lane Westport, is a custom-built Adirondack-style shingle-sided home with five bedrooms, nine baths, a heated pool and spa and a dual-system (thermal and infrared heating) sauna. The property is listed by the LM Homes Team at William Pitt Sotheby’s for $5.195 million. Photo contributed.

Melissa Hill Home Design is knownfor theirabilityto transformyourvisionintoa realityand theircommitment to making ahouse into ahome. They valuethe feeling onegetswhentheywalkintoa spacefeelingrelaxed and enriched andbelieve that everyroom in your home should be designed with meaningand purpose

Wallcoverings add personality, color and texture to luxury-home spaces

By Gretchen A. Peck

The 1980s was a decade known for pop music, bright neon clothing, big hair and excess In the realm of interior design, it was also a decade that saw the popular resurgence of wallpaper Florals, paisleys, stripes—and sometimes the combination of two or more patterns, separated by chair-rail moldings—were ubiquitous in American homes. It was a relatively shortlived design fad, and homes that retain wallpaper from that era today are often seen as dated and dour

In the two decades that followed, many homeowners and designers steered clear of wallpapers in favor of clean, monochromatic painted walls, but in the past five to 10 years—and especially among luxury homes—wallpaper has made a comeback. Why now? We asked two interior design experts about their thoughts on wallcoverings and how they draw inspiration from patterns and textures

Kellie Burke grew up in a family that lived and breathed residential architecture and design. Her father was a contractor and her parents were “serial house flippers. She learned organically to see the potential in homes and to understand their value She went on to study art and to become a fine art painter and sculptor before settling into a successful career as a sought-after interior designer basing her business, Kellie Burke Interiors, in West Hartford.

Burke often works with clients in Hartford and Fairfield counties, in Boston and Rhode Island. She recently expanded her business to luxury communities in Florida, as well.

She describes her design aesthetic as dramatic—taking Old World classicism or contemporary preppy, for example, and giving it a dramatic twist.

When she designs a room, she thinks about how the room will be used and the floor plan’s flow She ensures that every element has a purpose—every table, chair, pillow, light fixture, and so on. Wallpaper is often a critical component, and she sees it as more than a renewed fad.

“If you don’t have wallpaper, you’re not in style or on trend. You have to have wallpaper, she suggested. Wallpapers may be making a comeback in response to an era when white-on-white or neutral color palettes reigned. “White rooms looked beautiful on Instagram, but when you carry that through your whole house, it doesn’t feel right to live in,” she said. “I think people started to say, ‘Wait! Where’s my personality here?’ And wallpaper adds dimension. It adds texture. It sets your house apart. And I find that clients like the luxury of showing that they’re different, and that they’ve invested in a livable space that shows off their personality.”

Today’s wallcoverings offer so much more variety in terms of substrate, texture and design patterns. Boutique brands can help create a true one-of-a-kind experience. Burke remarked on her own kitchen, where she incorporated some striking black, crocodile-print embossed wallpaper for a dramatic accent

CONTINUE WALLCOVERINGS ON PAGE 7

“Every person who walks through the house says ‘I love how bold it is! It’s amazing!’ And the memory sticks with them,” she added with pun.

For her clients, she’s incorporated wallcoverings in nearly every type of room, leveraging products from a big bullpen of wallpaper designers, like Schumacher, Thibaut, Cole & Son, Osborne & Little, and direct-from-Paris papers from Zuber or murals by IKSEL.

“I’m a huge fan of wallpaper on the ceiling,” she said.

In the luxury home space, clients may be a little averse to wallpaper, thinking that it makes it more difficult to change the design of a room if they want to freshen the space, but Burke noted that it’s quite easy to remove today’s wallpapers, especially if the walls have been properly prepped.

Though she doesn t recommend peel-and-stick wallcoverings for most applications, in some cases, it makes sense

“Kids rooms, for example because they grow and change quickly You may have a daughter who wants something darling and pink one year and the next year she’s into the Pottery Barn catalog look. So peel-andstick is what you want,” she suggested.

Wallpaper can be a clever way to add cohesion to an otherwise architecturally “busy” wall. Think of a living room wall that has quite a few windows and a fireplace in its center Painting the walls one shade and accenting the woodwork with white, perhaps, makes each of those elements stand out visually “A great wallpaper can camouflage them, so that the wall is less choppy, and the pattern can even accentuate the natural landscaping and trees outside,” she observed.

“One other really good selling point for wallpaper, especially in a space like a mudroom, is that it’s phenomenally durable. You can wash a vinyl from Thibaut, for example, but you can’t really wash a painted wall in an eggshell finish, Burke said.

Color is an essential theme that runs throughout Kate Smith’s work.

A HOME SHOULD REFLECT PERSONALITY

It’s not your grandmother’s wallpaper,” Kate Smith reflected on today’s quality and variety of wallcoverings.

Smith is an interior designer and principal at Kate Smith Interiors LLC. Her aesthetic is “classic, colorful homes that are meant to be lived in.” Working with clients in Connecticut, New York and all across the country, she balances design decadence with lifestyle and practicality.

“I’ll speak with my clients about their intention for how they plan to use the space, because obviously we want to make a room gorgeous, but at the same time, it needs to be really functional for their lifestyle,” she explained.

“My designs tend to be more colorful and sometimes print heavy, so [wallcoverings] are a great way to incorporate pattern, detail and texture into a space,” Smith said.

“Some spaces really lend themselves to wallpaper more than others, she explained. For example grand spaces, like double-height entry foyers may not be the most amenable to wallcoverings with bold prints; however, those types of textiles could be very well suited to smaller spaces, like “jewel box” powder rooms.

Depending on the design project, Smith taps into a selective list of wallcovering vendors, from big brands to small, boutique suppliers.

“It’s really nice to have an up-andcoming wallpaper designer because it does give a unique experience and a sort of a one-of-a-kind feel, a bespoke nature to the client’s home,” she said.

For a well-designed space, careful thought must be given to a wallcovering choice.

“There are a lot of different options, even for clients who are a little bit more risk averse or who plan to make changes to a space. There are beautiful texture papers out there

that lend a lot of detail to a space without overwhelming it with print and pattern or making you feel like you’re married to a specific design ethos, she noted. Something like grass cloth or a silk fabric could be a beautiful paper application and gives you the opportunity to reevaluate as time goes on,” Smith said.

There is a theory in real estate that, if you’re planning to sell your home, having interior rooms that are neutral in color and texture are ideal. It provides prospective buyers with a blank canvas to envision their own style and furnishings in the space And there is some wisdom in that advice. However, in a digital world, where most buyers begin their home search online, even the most remarkable homes with neutral palettes can run together Instead, homes with memorable design—with patterns and color that are tasteful but unique—can make a luxury home stand out above others

“It depends on the spaces and on the market but I think, overall, sometimes it’s nice when clients see homes that have a bit more personality, Smith said. “I think it’s best to try and personalize a space, to create a space that you love versus thinking about mass-market appeal, or you’ll end up with sort of a neutral box space that thrills no one At the end of the day, I think it’s worth taking those risks sometimes. n

DeLuca, Publisher Ashley Sanderson, Special Sections Designer

“This is an incredible house for entertaining, inside and out.”

William Pitt Sotheby’s Realtor Cyd Hamer

Listing agents Mersene Norborn and Lainie Floyd—the LM Homes Team at William Pitt Sotheby’s—describe 6 Pan Handle Lane in Westport as a custom-built “Adirondack Estate.”

The five-bedroom, 7,435-square-foot luxury home was built on 2.51 acres in 2007. It is currently offered to the market for $5.195 million

In the backyard, nestled among rose bushes and surrounded by towering Norwegian spruce trees is the pool and spa.

The main deck off the house overlooks the pool and forms the roof for a dining area and wood-fired pizza oven, the Realtors pointed out. There’s also interior access to a changing area, a home gym and a dual-system sauna, with both thermal and infrared heating.

In addition to the pool, spa, gym and sauna, the property affords a number of other amenities, as well, including an 1,800-bottle wine cellar; a rec room that can accommodate a billiards table, ping pong, shuffleboard, darts and other games; and an adjacent movie room.

Also in Westport, waterfront in the Compo Beach community is the six-bedroom shake-sided colonial at 24 Owenoke Park, Westport—listed for $10.8 million by William Pitt Sotheby’s Realtor Cyd Hamer

“The main floor lounge features a wet bar with two dishwashers, wine storage beverage drawers, a keg system, ice maker plus a custom pool table and electronic dart board, Hamer remarked. “The house is great for families and espe-

cially multigenerational gatherings. It has a private main suite area, a guest area and a kids or guest wing.

The waterfront setting allowed for a private dock, where the next owners and their guests can launch kayaks or paddle boards. And the house has both a heated saltwater pool and an infrared sauna.

“The package of amenities is complete Usually at Compo Beach, you sacrifice land—this is huge and private—or can only get a two-car garage or can’t get a pool; however, this house literally has everything,” Hamer said.

Built in 2002, the seven-bedroom 10,847-square-foot luxury home at 15 Beachside Common, Westport, is also on the market, with an asking price of $4.5 million. It was built in 2002 on 2.20 acres, steps away from Burying Hill Beach Annie Ford, a Realtor with the Leslie Clarke Team at Compass Connecticut, is the listing agent.

Among the amenities are a pool, spa and sauna

“The pool is perfectly placed on the property,” according to Ford “It is bordered by marsh grasses that serve as both a reminder of the inlets and Long Island Sound just beyond, and also keep the space feeling private. It’s also visible from the abundance of water-facing windows and from the covered porch and entertaining deck that spans the back of the home.”

“The massive lower level of this home is a haven for a healthy lifestyle: a newly renovated home gym, a heated pool for swimming and exercise a spa to relax the muscles after

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a workout, and it’s topped off by a gorgeous custom sauna,” she added. “On the flip side, it’s also an entertainer’s paradise The lower level also offers a large recreation room for lounging and game play, plus a fun media room for movie nights all with easy access to the pool deck!”

Views of the tidal salt marsh and of Sherwood Island in the distance make for a captivating setting.

“The property extends from the beautifully manicured lawns surrounding the home all the way to Long Island Sound frontage, with nothing but wide-open sea grass in between. The rear of the home faces south and enjoys water views from the several balconies, decks, porches and oversized windows giving truth to the name Beachside Common, Ford concluded.

Finally we travel to Redding, Connecticut, to 241 Black Rock Turnpike, to a truly distinctive and majestic European-inspired mansion built in 2004 The listing agent, Jodi Gutierrez, a broker with Alliance Real Estate Consultants, offered some perspective on this special property.

“This enchanting Normandy chateau estate and the amenities offered at this very special property were designed to provide its owners and visitors with a sense they are in fact at a luxury resort,” Gutierrez suggested.

“The custom-built pool, with crystal-blue waters, a waterfall and diving rock, is perfectly situated off the expansive stone patio which is located at the back of the home, she continued. “One can envision large gatherings on the terrace, with guests meandering down to the beautiful pool area which is professionally landscaped with specimen plantings The large, stone pool deck is recessed from the main patio and can serve as a separate entertainment space. To enhance the rest and relaxation experience, one can enjoy the spa located poolside Both are heated by a sophisticated system, assuring a comfortable water temperature for both swimmers and those looking to relax in the spa.”

Gutierrez noted how the main terrace and pool area are visually connected by a series of three koi ponds, and that there’s a convenient changing room and shower with both an exterior entrance and a door that opens to the interiors of the main house

“Another special feature is the Finlandia sauna located in the large recreation center,” she added.

Each of these amenities enables a certain lifestyle—luxurious and healthy—for the owners residents and guests to the property.

“For those seeking a healthy lifestyle, this bucolic property has much to offer,” the listing agent explained. “Aside from breathing in the fresh air on 19 scenic acres and taking in the views of the stunning architecture and pond, one can create their own healthy regimen with the amenities here. Swim laps in the pool, then relax in the spa with a built-in table for beverages to rehydrate, and then sit in the sauna to help elevate heart and mental health. The sauna is located in a large full bath in the recreation area of the home, for ease of showering off Walk the property or enjoy doing yoga outdoors amongst a beautiful setting—all good for the body and soul Looking for space to set up fitness equipment? There are many options here.”

In addition to the pool, spa and sauna, there are other features of this property that contribute to a healthy lifestyle

“There is certainly plenty of acreage for one to plant vegetable, fruit and herb gardens and live a farm-to-table lifestyle,” Gutierrez said “Build a chicken coup and gather fresh eggs. A beautiful landscape offers serenity and this property delivers in spades from its many ornamental plantings to the scenic naturally spring-fed pond with a dock, providing access to yet another physical activity. Row your canoe or bring out the kayak. Zoned to be an equestrian property, so bring your horses and ride here or on nearby trails. The property at 241 Black Rock Turnpike in Redding provides a world of opportunity to create a healthy lifestyle while enjoying the very best that life has to offer.” n