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House & Garden Open Day Garden Following the Golden Path

Pool Houses Jewels With Many Facets

Warning: Healthy Eating Can Be Habit Forming

Home of the Month Equestrians Take Note Ridgefield

The Darien Times The Ridgefield Press The Weston Forum The Lewisboro Ledger

Bryan Haeffele

Greenwich Post New Canaan Advertiser The Wilton Bulletin The Redding Pilot

Vol. XIII, Number 7

A Hersam Acorn Special Section

HOME, a Hersam Acorn special section, Ridgefield, Conn.

July 2009

Pool houses

Jewels with many facets by Jeannette Ross

Contributed photo

Ken McGahren, an architect who specializes in high-end homes, renovations, and additions, has found himself designing quite a few pool houses lately. More than just a place to store equipment and rinse off with a shower, these structures are intricately designed to meet practical and aesthetic requirements. “I thought it would be easy but it’s not,” Ken said of the 10 or so pool houses he’s designed. “It’s a complex building that has all the elements of a house, including even a bedroom, attic and basement, in a space that’s one-fifth or one-tenth of a house. It’s like designing a small jewel.” And jewels they are, from a domed building with shades of Jefferson to a sleek and stylized contemporary. But don’t let any bits of whimsy or fanciful See Pool houses page 12

A domed pool house has classic Jeffersonian lines to reflect the home’s architecture.

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INTO I THE I GARDEN ■

Proven winners are out weeding by Donna Clark

Donna Clark

Summer has arrived and I hope all the new gardeners are holding up. This spring was so wet I kept saying I had moss growing on me. My editor came up with, well at least you’re green. One question that people have asked is, “Will this hurt the plants”? I think it actually helped the gardens – we all have had natural sprinkler systems this spring. Plants do love water, and we had some sun and heat every day or so, so the answer, is I don’t think it hurt. The girls I work with made an interesting observation. We are seeing hanging pots of dark purple petunias everywhere. Sometimes they just blend into the background, but even with a white house they aren’t really pretty. My thought is that because the economy is so gloomy, consumers pick a flower that matches their mood. I would suggest instead picking happy colors like orange, yellow, etc. I received a few samples of new Proven Winners shrubs from White Flower Farm, and I think you should hear about one of them right away. Incrediball Hydrangea is an Annabelle type with massive 12-inch blooms for full sun to part shade, four to five feet tall, and here is the really special feature – sturdy stems that do not flop. One of my clients has lined her patio with the Annabelle hydrangea and has asked for help staking them all. This is the white blooming hydrangea often shown for this purpose. It does make a good hedge, but that’s a lot of staking, and it’s hard to hide the stakes and string. I hope this new variety really has sturdy stems, and maybe some of you will benefit from this information. This shrub is not available until 2010. There is a new blog at nativeferns.blogspot.com, which was created by Julie Cencebaugh as part of her certification as a master gardener. She has installed a fern garden at the Pierrepont State Park in Ridgefield to use as an educational tool for incorporating native ferns into the home environment. There are currently 200 native ferns from nine separate species. New species will continue to be introduced

Lisianthus Double Mariachi blue will brighten your garden come August.

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as the season progresses. The blog lists the native ferns with drawings and a brief description of each. The Seventh Annual Gardening Fair sponsored by the Extension Master Gardener Program of Fairfield County will be held on Saturday, Aug. 15, from 12:30 to 5. There will be many information booths to cover a variety of topics, including composting and growing vegetables and herbs. Master gardeners will be on hand to answer your questions, and will offer free testing of soil samples. The fair is free and will be held on the grounds of the Fairfield County Extension Center at 67 Stony Hill Road in Bethel, less than a mile from Exit 8 on I-84. Call the master gardener office with questions at 203-207-3262. July is the month to start seeds for a fall crop of vegetables. Beets, kohlrabi, spinach, Swiss chard and turnips are a few. There are new vegetable gardens everywhere these days, even in the front yard. Yes, it is now fashionable to put the garden wherever you get the most sun. If you are new to gardening and have decided to plant a vegetable garden, I would suggest a trip to the book store. I know there is information on the Internet, but a gardening book, when written simply with good directions, will be the best value. You need to know what to plant in a basic garden, and how many plants will be needed. It is good to network with gardeners that have one. I find they are always willing to share knowledge. Beware of old wives tales, since gardening is full of them. Several are: plant under a full moon and bury a fish under the tomatoes. I will admit something here: everything I have learned has come from gardening books, magazines, trial and error, and networking with other gardeners. I love every bit of information I get, and my only wish is that my brain could function as well as a computer. This is also the month to do a lot of weeding, so I’ll share with you my favorite weeding tool. It’s a Cape Cod weeder, and I have been using this tool for the last

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30 years. Actually, I’m on my third one, since I lost the other two somewhere in the gardens. A good source for this tool and many others is amleo.com. That is the A.M Leonard Company at 800-543-8955. They have a good catalog of tools and supplies. An annual that I use every year is Lisianthus. The varieties are Double Mariachi blue, pink and yellow. You can find this plant at the nurseries in the spring, but it will not look like much. You need to know that when planted, it will just sit there for a month and then will sprout up and bloom in August. The flowers are double and look like roses. One reason I like it so much is that it’s a new bloom as the summer is winding down. Knockout and Easy Elegance roses are still the best roses I’ve seen. They are easy care and just the right height in the garden. Remember the rose is the most romantic plant around. Questions or comments: donnaclark@ix.netcom.com. ■

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HOME, a Hersam Acorn special section, Ridgefield, Conn.

Warning: healthy eating can be habit forming by Lois Alcosser Kristin O’Connor’s interest in food and cooking started when she was two. “Pots and pans were my favorite toys, and Julia Child was all I wanted to watch on TV. I was mesmerized by ingredients and chopping and slicing, and when I was quite small, I decided I wanted to have my own cooking show.” She is fast reaching that goal. Her new Web site, Nourish This, contains recipes for healthy eating that are delicious and simple to prepare, articles about food and health, and answers to all sorts of questions about nutrition. “The Web site is only a couple of months old, and it’s already reached 20 countries. The average time spent on it is seven minutes, which I’m told is remarkable,” Kristin reports. “The main reason I started it was because I feel so passionate about telling people they can eat healthy foods without ever feeling deprived. Healthy meals aren’t boring, you don’t have to sacrifice enjoying your food. In fact, changing from processed foods to fresh ingredients can not only help your body but heal your soul.” “You are what you eat” is old but true. The more you know how food can impact your body, the easier it is to eat well. Kristin is emphatic about not wanting anyone to feel guilty about liking french fries. “I don’t want to sound like I’m scolding anyone,” she says. “I tell people to take one step at a time. You don’t have to empty your

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kitchen of every single processed food. Maybe you’ll find that pretzels are a good replacement for potato chips, or grains like buckwheat and quinoa are worth a try.” Nourish This is not just another food Web site. There are recommendations for diet changes that have been proven to help eight health concerns: ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), Women’s Health, Obesity, Inflammation, Diabetes, Cardiovascular, Cancer, Gastrointestinal. For each of these conditions, there is a thorough, informative explanation and a great assortment of recipes containing beneficial ingredients and the nutritional value of each dish. They’ve all been approved by an advisory board of physicians. For example, shredded chicken bake is a delicious, nutritious comfort food that is easily digestible and recommended for gastro-intestinal problems or diabetes. There is also an entire section on Gluten-Free Bakery, which includes a gluten-free guide and recipes for pancakes, muffins and bread. Kristin delved into food research for personal reasons. At 18, she started having health problems. She knew her body wasn’t acting right, and she went to all sorts of doctors – getting many grim diagnoses – until she saw a holistic medical doctor in California, who did many tests and discovered that many of her problems were caused by food. She was allergic to wheat, soy and dairy products. Her entire diet had to undergo a big change.

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Powder Coating �� July 2009

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“I started learning about the ways our foods have changed since the introduction of processed foods. I learned that because cows are given hormones and fed foods that aren’t natural for them, they get infections and are given antibiotics. These get into the milk we drink. It’s been established that these ingredients are affecting child development. Girls are menstruating and developing much earlier, and they’re not ready for it. “I’m not saying that changing your style of eating is easy. It’s a challenge, but it’s worth it. Actually, my whole family has always been concerned about health. My great-grandfather was one of the first people to read ‘Prevention’ magazine, and my mother, who’s Italian, has always believed in fresh vegetables and lots of them. “We didn’t have soda in our house until we were teenagers, and we only had it at parties.” Kristin knows, however, that often when you tell a teenager they can’t do something, they’ll rebel. “There’s a lot of psychology behind food,” she said. “My weakness is chocolate and a certain kind of coconut ice cream. So I have a little portion and I feel satisfied.” The subject of healthy eating is confusing. People are told eggs are bad, then they’re good. Broccoli is good, but not if you eat piles of it every day. Kristin’s brother is a

Nourish This recommends diet changes proven to help eight health concerns, and supplies tasty recipes.

physician at Norwalk Hospital, and he, along with two naturopathic doctors, is on the Nourish This advisory board. They check every recipe for nutritional content. “Not everyone is going to make their own hummus out of garbanzo beans,” Kristin said. “But when they compare the amount of sodium in the store-bought kind and hummus made at home, they may change their minds. It often turns out that using fresh ingredients instead of packaged, processed foods is less expensive – there isn’t a laundry list of ingredients. A single packaged food can have 41 ingredients. We’ve all learned to look for trans fats, but do we know what all those chemical-sounding ingredients really are?” “A good example is diet beverages. Many are sugar-free but aspartame-rich. Aspartame has dubious, if not dangerous, effects. And have you noticed that the most sugary of breakfast cereals are on the easiest shelf for children to reach? My life now is consumed with the goal of teaching people that eating in a healthy way is not only delicious but the most sensible thing to do. It requires a very conscious, changed attitude, but it’s not as if you’re giving up the enjoyment of food – quite the opposite.” Kristin believes that when you follow what you really love, you’re most successful. She’s a glowing example. Visit Kristin O’Connor’s Web site at nourishthis.com. ■

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HOME, a Hersam Acorn special section, Ridgefield, Conn.

Destiny of a downsized gardener by Lois Alcosser It’s quite a change, moving from a quarter-acre flower-filled garden to an apartment balcony, five feet by nine feet, and saying good-bye to a dozen tree peonies, cosmos, coreopsis, roses, ferns (and asparagus and lettuce) to face four empty 12inch plastic planters made to look like terra cotta. But, children grown, husband gone, and no desire to roam around an oversized house, my gardening mind-set needed revision. To start, I relied on pansies and geraniums, dependable stalwarts. But the picture on the tag of a columbine plant at the nursery looked wonderful. The only time I’d ever heard of columbine was in my college Shakespeare class. Columbine turns out to be perfect for balcony gardening. It flowers all summer long and then returns the following year, blossoming from a dried-out stubble I was ready to dig up and throw away. I tried planting some branches of a baby pine tree (given as a sample on Earth Day) and, being adventurous, one tomato plant. It was about four inches high when I tucked it in, and slowly but surely, yellow blossoms and green pea-sized signs of future tomatoes appeared. By the end of August, I’d harvested a dozen slightly-bigger-than-marbles, orangey-red-with-unchewable-skins, but real, tomatoes.

From grand space to a bit of a balcony is a huge adjustment. Everything – ambition, determination, vision, fortitude – has to shrink to a workable size. The choice of what to plant becomes more crucial, since whatever it is will have to squeeze into limited space. Around early April or May, depending on weather, the bare balcony begs for color, for life, and the best choice is a matter of impulse. It’s a choice that can be fun and whimsical, but, since a balcony is a public sight, part of the decision is imagining what your neighbors would like to see. Especially the neighbor who happens to be a botanical artist who left a large home with a fertile greenhouse. He manages to do the most breathtaking things. By permanently wiring two large flower boxes to the balcony railing, he has achieved a four-season garden. Hyacinth and then iris, daisies and nasturtium, begonias, impatience, dahlias, mums, and, around December, when my planters are desolate, he has mini Christmas trees topped with snow. There’s even a wren birdhouse, attracting a new family every summer, filling the air with chirps. I often wonder how truly devout gardeners, who can be at it six or seven hours a day – planting, pruning, feeding, watering, transplanting, cutting, and clipping – might adjust to the dimensions of an average closet? I’m thinking of someone so compelled to be surrounded by nature that she has fresh flowers in her house every

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HOME, a Hersam Acorn special section, Ridgefield, Conn.

July 2009

week of the year. When it’s freezing outside, she has tropical-looking red, orange and purple bouquets (even if they’re the three-for- $12 Stop & Shop variety). She wouldn’t be satisfied with a downsized garden. Big-garden gardeners read catalogs as if they’re reading Vogue or Harper’s Bazaar. Balcony gardeners find them too daunting – “haughty-cultural.” One of the benefits of a downsized landscape is there are no rules. Everything’s personal and selftaught. There’d be mighty little to look at if you followed instructions telling you to plant seeds four inches apart. And balcony plants can be temperamental. I’ve had geraniums that never reflowered. I’ve had primroses that just collapsed, until I realized all they needed was a nice thaw. I put them in bowls of warm water and they lapped it up and revived. It’s one thing to adjust to a new way of life, from house to apartment. From upstairs bedrooms and downstairs basement to confined coziness. But a balcony garden somehow makes an apartment a home. I keep wondering why so many of my neighbors have totally ignored their balconies – bare, or maybe a chair. I suppose that’s a kind of minimal chic. Better than the opposite, a certain balcony I’m thinking of that looks like strawberry shortcake every summer – ruffle after ruffle of pink and white petunias. Somewhere in between the bare and the bountiful, there’s a style called Balconia – well-designed, varied, original, enhancing the real estate, gloriously replacing the real thing. But mostly, keeping the apartment gardener’s hands in touch with soil, seeds, watering, and sometimes – imagine – even a little weeding! ■

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� HOME, a Hersam Acorn special section, Ridgefield, Conn.

Hidden treasure, forever secure Built as a hunting lodge in the 1930s, the home’s location couldn’t be more ideal, surrounded as it by woods, with a reservoir nearby.

FIVE MINUTES FROM WILTON CENTER by Lois Alcosser Approaching the house, you might be in Vermont, New Hampshire or even Switzerland. Old Huckleberry Road, off Belden Hill Road, is an extraordinary, hidden part of Wilton. Surrounded by trees is a reservoir (a protected watershed) that when seen for the first time can take your breath away. There are few homes on Old Huckleberry Road and number 170 has the setting and the spectacular space of a family manor. In the 1930s, it was built as a hunting lodge, and the living room, family room and dining room still have the aura of a palatial, privileged destination, with antique walnut and chestnut floors, restored antique beams, vaulted ceilings, and the original, oversized fieldstone fireplace. With every window revealing the forest, gardens and stone-walled patio, there’s a sense of serene security, being surrounded by 70 acres of protected property. Yet it’s seven minutes from New Canaan and a five-minute drive to Wilton Center. As well as the house, there is a three-stall barn with tack room, paddock and hayloft, and there are riding trails close by. Currently, the stalls are used for storage, but an equestrian family would be very pleased. Part of the barn contains a studio apartment with bath and kitchen – an ideal guest cottage.

HOME, a Hersam Acorn special section, Ridgefield, Conn.

The details of the house make it clear that no expense was spared in redoing and enhancing every aspect. The kitchen has historically accurate custom cabinetry, top-name equipment, a granite-topped center island with seating for four, and a large dining area that opens to a tiered terrace. There are actually four places to have breakfast, lunch or dinner – two of them outdoors on the patio and alongside the swimming pool, beautifully designed for entertaining, family or business gatherings. There are two bedrooms on the first floor, both with chestnut flooring. The master bedroom has a bath with a tumbled-marble floor, a tiled shower and a walkin closet with built-in shelving. The second bedroom has a full bath with tub and the same marble sink found in the master bath. A stairway to the second floor leads to a charming reading nook, with built-in shelves, bench and storage. There are two spacious bedrooms, each with a full bath, walk-in closets, and wall-to-wall carpeting. They are currently used as children’s rooms, with lots of space for toys, books, games, and study space. Some houses have curb appeal. This house, in addition to curb appeal, has “neat children’s closets” appeal, undoubtedly encouraged by the shelving, hooks and cubbies strategically placed in each walk-in closet. Above the three-car garage is the media room/playroom, with a built-in computer desk, a powder room, three walk-in closets, hardwood floors, and vaulted ceiling. It is a multi-use, versatile space that can accommodate a variety of activities. The lower level, adjacent to the Gunite swimming pool and spa has an exercise area, a kitchen, a slate-floor powder room, and loads of storage space for towels, July 2009

pool equipment and a dryer. A double set of French doors opens to the pergola and pool area, which has a separate speaker system. You can easily imagine coming out of the pool and lounging in this idyllic space until breakfast, lunch or dinner is served pool-side. Specimen plantings of peonies, hydrangeas, white birch, and decorative grasses enhance the area. This is a one-of-a-kind home, which has been totally updated during the past three years, and reflects the owners’ success in creating a haven of ease, elegance and efficiency. A new alarm system, hot-water heater, well pumps, and designer lighting fixtures are just a few of the many improvements. Some are as small as new nickel

From the many windows are views of the forest, gardens and stone-walled patio.

kitchen faucets, some as ambitious as the 1000-square-foot renovation above the garage or the new Generac 16 kW generator with surge suppresser and self-test verifier. A unique and splendid residence, 170 Huckleberry Road offers a lifestyle that is both warmly personal and magnificently impressive. Realtor is Susan Resch at Coldwell Banker, 203-762-8666 x203 or 203-644-5055 (cell). ■

Antique walnut and chestnut floors, restored antique beams and a fieldstone fireplace echo the past.

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Pool houses continued from page 3

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A pergola’s slats can be designed to a customer’s preference for more shade or sun.

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design fool you. Pool houses are highly scrutinized by town officials and specific codes and conditions must be met. “You have to take into account the siting, sun track, sunlight, and shade,” Ken said. “You are also working with a landscape architect who has designed the pool and landscaping. There is a lot of interaction.” So, what exactly is in these pool houses that run anywhere from 400 to 1500 square feet? The basics include a kitchen, changing room/shower, bathroom, and equipment storage. If space and budget permit, you may be able to add a bedroom. An entertainment system with a TV and music that can be piped around the pool area is important. Just because they are small, does not mean pool houses are inexpensive. Costs can run to $600 a square foot because you are putting the most expensive aspects of any house – kitchen, bathroom, heating/air conditioning systems – into a small space. Materials also tend to be expensive, with stone, glass, wood, and copper being those most commonly used. Zoning regulations vary from town to town and certain restrictions may be imposed. A new septic system and well might be needed. “Most towns have limits on the size of a pool house and using them as living quarters is basically illegal,” Ken said. Zoning and health regulations will cap the size of a pool house as will lot size and setbacks. Wetlands and deed restrictions may further muddy the waters, so to speak. Assuming a homeowner gets the municipal green light, pool-house projects often extend to a pergola for shading. Ken’s pergolas are not to be confused with the ones often touted as do-it-yourself weekend projects. Ken’s are designed to integrate with the pool and pool house. “To get the proper amount of shade, the slats are done on-site so they can be customized to the owner’s preference,” he said. That means the owners sit under the pergola in the morning, early afternoon and late afternoon

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HOME, a Hersam Acorn special section, Ridgefield, Conn.

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July 2009

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to decide how much shade or sun they prefer. Ken is also experienced in attaching the columns of a pergola to the pool deck to maximize strength while not compromising design. “To make them look whimsical and elegant is important,” Ken said. To that end, tying them into the design of the main house is often not that important. “The pool house and pergola can take on a life of its own,” Ken said. Ultimately, of course, it’s the homeowner who has the final say. “I pride myself on the fact I do whatever the owner requests, and I do it right,” Ken said. He enjoys telling one story about an addition he came up with for a classically designed house. One member of the family was a student away at college. “He came home and didn’t even notice the addition,” Ken said, proof of its assimilation into the rest of the house. With an office at 112 Main Street in New Canaan, Ken admires the modern homes in that town. In fact, he lives in a contemporary in Pound Ridge, N.Y., that he designed and partially built himself from 1969 to 1972. He has had a wide-ranging career, from designing a New Mexican-style home in Santa Fe to a fountain in Ireland. Before starting his own practice, he was a conceptual artist participating in This pool house is a dramatic home addition. the 1972 modernization of Yankee Stadium. Before that he was a color artist for a firm that worked on the Brooklyn Bridge. While researching colors to repaint the bridge, he took sandpaper and sanded down cables and found evidence of the original colors used, silver being one of them. “The bridge had been known as the Silver �� Streak to Brooklyn,” he said. ��

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All this relates to the sketching and other art-oriented courses he took while studying architecture. To maintain his skills, Ken sketches often for his own enjoyment, filling books with sketches of buildings and people he sees on his travels. “As an architect meeting new clients, you become the pencil in their hand. The preliminary drawings are the most fun,” Ken said. Translating a client’s design to paper and “seeing the glow on a client’s face is most satisfying,” he continued. A hand-drawn sketch has all the human touch a computer-generated image lacks. “A facile hand can sketch an idea right before the client,” Ken added. It takes more than a facile hand to bring an idea to successful completion. “It takes a knowledgeable client, a talented architect, and a cooperative builder,” Ken said, along with all the other specialists who eventually become involved. “Everybody learns from each other.” “I really enjoy what I do,” Ken continued. “It’s like an airline pilot. They’re going to do it no matter what. It’s in the blood.” The analogy is apt, because Ken himself is a pilot. He keeps a plane at Danbury Airport and when one of his projects is done, he said, “I fly over it and take a picture of it.” Ken can be reached at 203-966-6060 or mcgahren@sbcglobal.net. ■

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HOME I MOANER ■

Diplomats by Ben Guerrero

Ben Guerrero

In the past year, I have been to my own graduation from nursing school, my daughter’s graduation from high school, Melissa’s graduation from Wesleyan (master’s degree, thank you), and my son’s graduation from college. Think of the sheep who have given their skin just in service to my family. Maybe Mary’s little lamb would be well-advised not to follow her to school so much. Traditionally, millions of boring graduation orators have stressed the meaning of the word “commencement” at millions of graduation ceremonies, pointing out that the word does not connote the end of something, rather it implies the beginning of something.

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HOME, a Hersam Acorn special section, Ridgefield, Conn.

July 2009

This is traditionally true, of course, but nowadays, with the economy circling the drain and all, I heard more and more about how commencement really pointed the assembled mortarboards in a negative direction. When I graduated from nursing school, hospitals, home-care agencies, and any and all manner of medical facilities were climbing over each other to get us new nurses on their payrolls. This year, the graduating class of my alma mater is populated with frustrated job hunters. While the “nursing shortage” that is part of our culture still exists, the money shortage is currently overriding it. Meanwhile, over at the Wesleyan podium, apologies were the word of the day. Speakers couldn’t help but bear some responsibility for the world into which their graduates were being thrust. No hyperbole would cushion the inevitable blow that would be struck upon the hungover graduates – the soft, safe tablecloth of academia being yanked off the table in one resounding tug. The silverware of massive college loans crashing about their feet, and the resounding din of reality wrapped in an awkward metaphor. Back in the day, there was a job in daddy’s firm awaiting, or headhunters had long since recruited you into a blue chip Wall Street firm. Now daddy’s firm is on bailout, and the headhunters are looking for jobs for themselves. At the Rhode Island School of Design, where my son was recently elevated to the ranks of alumni, art-

ists prepared themselves for traditional lives in smelly garrets, painting, waiting tables and eating cold, canned spaghetti. Advantage: artists. No longer a curse, for we can no more change our artistic destiny than we can our genetic code. Many are called but virtually none are chosen. Still, art is permanent, it cannot be killed. And the atmosphere at RISD was a deep contrast to the other graduations I had attended. A jazz band, perfectly piped into the speaker system, set the tone, while conspicuous flat-screen televisions made the podium proceedings clearly visible to even the most inconvenienced parent. Sunny, jazzy, jolly – no apologies offered. There was, here, a sense of optimism, much the same as it is with all artists, since most of our future energies are directed toward a blank canvas or a lump of clay. While success is luscious, it is not as important as the drive to create. And the diploma, once a ticket to financial stability, is now a receipt for astronomical tuition bills. An artist, at least, can flip it over and use it to make a sketch. Yes, the word “commencement,” suggests beginning. Melissa, a working artist, got her master’s degree creating art. Hannah, my daughter, is studying art See Home Moaner page 23

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Equestrians Take Note LOCATION: Set in the high horse country of northern Ridgefield, this home has a spectacular 25-mile view. PROPERTY: Three level acres are adjacent to 44 acres of townowned pastureland. There are deeded equestrian trails that crisscross the fields and hills. There is a four-horse barn and two available paddocks. HOUSE: This 1935 home, totally updated and expanded in 2003, still retains the fashionable appearance of that era, and is ideal for entertaining family and friends. Offering quality craftsmanship throughout, there is a living room with fireplace and vaulted ceiling, a dining room, family room with fireplace, a gourmet kitchen, master bedroom with fireplace and full bath, three more bedrooms, two more baths, and one half-bath. GARAGE: Three-car detached. PRICE: $1,949,000. REALTY: Neumann Ridgefield. Agent: Geoff Harrington, 203-438-0455. Photography: Bryan Haeffele.

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f the Month â&#x20AC;˘ July 2009

CREATE A NICHE OF TRANQUILITY by Samantha Knapp

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Create a hideaway where you can retreat from everyday cares for a mini vacation.

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Economic conditions have put the brakes on thousands of vacations nationwide, including my own. With the car parked in the driveway, it is the right time to embark on a tour round your home. There is a reason we want to go away, and by identifying those little pleasures, you can begin to create the same feeling at home. Is it serenity and tranquility that a new location brings? Is it an inviting bedroom with luxurious linens that hug you long past daybreak? Or is it experiencing cultures and traditions of someplace new? Choose a staycation date and focus on a few areas to transform into an oasis. The bedroom and a corner getaway are easy upgrades. In my bedroom, I purchased new bed linens and worked with the creative staff at Tigerlilys in Greenwich to create two Euro shams in indigo Java fabric (batik-style) by Manuel Canovas. The soft linen fabric adds a hint of Parisian art and the blue sea. Candles, New York Times bestsellers and a water pitcher on my bed stand take me away. In a cluttered office space, den or enclosed patio, carve out a getaway niche — splurge on a cleaning service to help (Merry Maids offers a range of services and prices). Surround yourself with a collection of books or magazines, an entertainment system to watch new releases and a small fridge for refreshing treats. Now that’s a vacation. Even if it’s just a few steps away! Samantha Knapp is creative director at La Maisonnette in Cos Cob, 239 East Putnam Avenue; 203-629-6512; fax 203-629-3271; e-mail samanthaknapp@yahoo. com; Web lamaisonnettestore.com. ■

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A WINNER IN WILTON

‘Best of 50+ Housing’ by Lois Alcosser Assisted living for a parent, husband or wife is a constantly growing need as more and more families realize that living alone or providing home care is not the best or most economical solution for a loved one’s health and happiness or for the family’s peace of mind. While there are a variety of assisted-living choices in Connecticut, one specific accommodation has been missing. How does a married couple stay together when one needs nursing supervision and the other can live independently? All too often, the self-sufficient spouse becomes caregiver, nurse, driver, secretary, cook ... exhausted enabler. Not a good way of life. Considerations of this sort inspired assisted-living experts at Wilton Retirement Housing to create The Residence at The Greens at Cannondale. It is a unique addition to the lifestyle of a relatively new population, many of whom are under 65 and need some assistance, but are uncomfortable in an environment for the frail and elderly. With the addition of The Residence, the developers, TransCon Builders, who specialize in retirement and assisted-living communities across the country, have created a three-part Campus of Care. It serves every stage of 50+ adult housing

with The Greens at Cannondale Assisted Living, Wilton Meadows Health Care and Rehabilitation Center and now, The Residence. On 15 acres of trees and meadowland off Danbury Road in Wilton, the setting is private, rural and welcoming. Larry Apple, vice-president of TransCon Builders, announced in April that The Residence had been awarded a silver trophy by the National Association of Home Builders for the “Best of 50+ Housing.” The 13,501-square-foot, two-and-a-half-story Residence is designed to look and feel like a comfortably elegant country home. It has spacious, private apartments with beautiful views, each bedroom with its own bathroom. The architect, Ronald Kluchin of Cleveland, has created a large, traditional New England home, not a McMansion with turrets and towers, but one with pitched shingle roofs, clapboard siding, colonial-style windows, gables, dormers and shutters – a sister-match to the adjacent Greens at Cannondale. “The design creates intimacy and refinement, dedicated to the ease of the people who will live there, with garden access, walkways and balconies in a totally secure place,” Mr. Kluchin explains. “All the elements – crown molding, solid-core cherry-wood doors, wainscot, wood floors, beamed ceilings, carpeting, granite countertops, stairways and elevator,

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HOME, a Hersam Acorn special section, Ridgefield, Conn.

July 2009

lobby, dining room – are meant to give residents the feeling that they are coming home to their own home. Each floor has a different, distinctive look, the opposite of a commercial or institutional building. Though not obvious, every detail supplies the special needs of its residents, conforming to the requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act.” Doorways can accommodate wheelchairs if necessary, countertops are a comfortable height, and bathrooms have easily accessible showers with safety features. The builder, A. Pappajohn Company of Norwalk, is known for its meticulous construction, utilizing top-quality materials. Most important, The Residence changes the lifestyle of its occupants from burdensome responsibility to fulfilling pleasure. All programs at The Greens are right next door – the movie theater, putting green, beauty salon. The 24-hour, sevenday-a-week staff provides housekeeping, meals and any needed assistance with the activities of daily living. The total assurance of assisted-living benefits are joined with prize-winning recreational activities. (The Greens at Cannondale has won prestigious awards for its unusual, innovative programs.) The Residence at The Greens at Cannondale represents a major achievement in the world of assisted living, and recognition of this has been immediate. To schedule a tour and for more information, call Barbara Newland, marketing and community relations coordinator, 761-1191. ■

The Residence changes the lifestyle of its occupants from burdensome responsibility to fulfilling pleasure.

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HOME Vol.XIII, Number 7 is a special section to: Greenwich Post, The Darien Times, New Canaan Advertiser, The Ridgefield Press, The Wilton Bulletin, The Redding Pilot and The Weston Forum in Connecticut, and The Lewisboro Ledger in New York • 47,000 copies published monthly • Jackie Perry, editor Jessica Perlinski, designer • Thomas B. Nash, publisher • For advertising information, call 203-438-6544 • For information on editorial submissions, call 203-894-3380 E-mail: home@acorn-online.com • Copyright 2009, Hersam Acorn Newspapers, LLC

Box 1019, Ridgefield, Conn 06877 203-438-6544

July 2009

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INTERIOR I INSIGHTS ■

Downsizing – sometimes professional help is a must by Terri Reilly

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HOME, a Hersam Acorn special section, Ridgefield, Conn.

Recently my crew and I headed up to Sudbury, Mass., just outside Boston, to help a retired couple transition from a 6,000-square-foot home to a “cottage” in an active-adult community. Caryn and Dick were overwhelmed with the thought of packing up their whole world – many years’ accumulation – and moving to new quarters. The task became so daunting that they were “stuck” and did not know how to proceed. TR Design came to the rescue. We met with them in their beautiful home on a cold, rainy day, warmed not only by the fire but by the many wonderful stories they shared. This gave us an opportunity to absorb who they are and what they love, information to help us design their new house to reflect their taste. They talked about pieces that have sentimental value and discussed what style they would like in their new home. At that point, Dick realized he would have to part with some of his Irish memorabilia and nude Asian art. We began staging the home to sell, which, as mentioned, can be a daunting task. TR Design rearranged every room, moving some furniture out and replacing it with pieces that best suited the space. We wanted to be sure a room looked and felt as inviting as possible, so when potential buyers came through, they could easily envision themselves or their children occupying the space. Staging Plan Declutter Rooms: pack collectibles, clear counters, remove excess furniture, create focal point

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Clean Rugs Paint Walls: inexpensive transformation of space Add Fresh Flowers Maximize Floor Plan: so buyers can walk around easily Optimimize Space: created another bedroom by relocating home office to hallway alcove Use Accessories Sparingly: buyers must envision themselves in the space Maximize Lighting Make Exterior, Interior Repairs: unresolved repairs eat equity Now we were on to the next part of our adventure with Caryn and Dick – designing their new home. They are a fun couple with a passion for writing and reading, so the priority was to create space to develop these talents. Off the new master suite is a light-filled sun room, which will be home to a wonderful desk where Caryn can write her biography. Dick will have his “cave” in a lower level, where he can e-mail his golfing buddies, read his vast collection of books and watch TV. Also needed are spaces where they can enjoy each other’s company and their extended families. Design Plan Review Blueprints: create floor plan Select Furniture, Accessories: items for new home may need reupholstering, refinishing, repairs Reinvent Cherished Pieces: Asian screen from Caryn’s mother becomes a headboard in Zen-like master bedroom. Colors are sensational and will determine what fabrics, accessories, furniture will fill this wonderful room. New Items: to blend with old and complement new lifestyle, found on shopping trip with Caryn Finishing Touches: window treatments, paint, wallpaper, rugs – to make this house a home. TR Design (Terri Reilly, ASID, Annie Hill, ASP allied member, Lori Bova, ASID allied member), 82 Wilton Road West, Ridgefield; 203-994-4366; fax, 203-438-5316; terri@trdesignasid.com; Web site, trdesignasid.com. ■

Home Moaner continued from page 15 at Cooper Union. Alexander, my son, is hanging his diploma on the wall and hanging out his shingle as an artist. In an atmosphere where everything is upside-down, where Wall Street, once the hub of enormous paydays, is now the center of insolvent sadness, and reliable juggernaut industries like American Chromium automobiles and hugely endowed banks are starving. A word traditionally reserved for artists. Maybe it’s finally an even playing field. Maybe now artists can have the same opportunity as everyone else, especially since everyone else has no opportunity. And maybe we can get some of that bailout money, allowing us to quit our menial day jobs to create the art we are destined to create. This would make jobs available to the brokers and bankers and automobile company executives who have found themselves in need of honest work. I only regret that I didn’t stick it out myself. For I am an artist. There, I said it. And I have suppressed the drive to create, and yet, I just typed 744 words. And when I am done, I will draw a picture. I just can’t help it. You want fries with that? ben.guerrero@sbcglobal.net. ■

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The tale of the Dumpster and the POD by Polly Tafrate The world routinely finds us divided into groups – males and females, Republicans and Democrats, vegetarians and carnivores, those who love vacations by the sea and those who prefer mountain lakes, computer-savvy people and technologically challenged ones, exercise addicts and couch potatoes – the list goes on forever. Two well-known groups have problems living in the same house, particularly if they’re married. They’re known as the tossers and the savers. Their not so desirable traits crescendo at predictable times, like spring cleaning, renovating their house or moving. For those in the saver group, clutter is their middle name. They can’t seem to dispose of anything, choosing to tuck away a “treasure” that they just know will be needed in the future. That is, if they can find it. Sometimes they claim to be saving it for their yet-to-be-born grandchildren or great grandchildren, and are amazed when the time comes and these kids don’t want the rusty bicycle, mildewed catcher’s mitt, out-dated tennis racquet, or stack of 33-1/3 LP records. Some think their treasures will be worth money some day, and they very well might. The snag is, they won’t be alive to see it. On the flip side, there are the tossers. Give them a few large black-plastic garbage bags and they’re in Glory Land. You can hear them humming as they begin to pitch

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anything they believe to be outdated – from food with an upcoming expiration date, puzzles with one piece missing (which the saver has tucked away in a drawer), last month’s magazines, yesterday’s newspapers, and pencils with broken points. The following is the tale of two such people – Bob the tosser and his wife, Joan, the saver. They were moving from their home of 35 years to a house in Florida, which they’d purchased a few years ago and furnished in a seashell-and-palm-tree motif. Now their northern home had been sold, and they needed to vacate it, down to the last paper clip. They’d agreed that their well-worn furniture and rugs should be donated to Goodwill, but it was the plethora of other “stuff ” that caused them angst. So they did the logical thing – they had a weekend tag sale, filling all the rooms in their house with what they weren’t taking. Certainly, someone would want Joan’s mother’s china, even with the chips, the 60s beer mugs, the silver-plated candlesticks, and the pile of blue-and-white Corning Ware casseroles. Their neighbors told them about Portable on Demand Storage (PODS). They could rent a unit to sit in their driveway and fill it at their leisure with the odd items they’d agreed to take to Florida. It would be hauled intact to their new home when they were ready. Joan ordered the largest one.

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In anticipation of their tag sale, Bob knew they’d need a Dumpster for items that didn’t sell. He ordered the largest one. So there, just like Jack Spratt and his wife, sat these two rectangular behemoths – the POD next to the Dumpster. For weeks before the sale, Bob and Joan would sort. And each night, Joan would lie awake agonizing on what they were getting rid of. Who knows, she thought, she might need all those spools of thread someday, that pile of Gourmet magazines she hadn’t had time to peruse, and wasn’t it reasonable that they might have a dining room table again that was the right size for the damask tablecloths that were sitting on a tag-sale table? Bob started in the cellar, pricing wrenches, hoses and rakes. Joan started in the kitchen, filling box after box with her must-haves. Instead of going through the garage, she’d carry them out the front door, around the house and into the POD. Bob complimented her on her efficiency, and assumed that the growing stack of boxes in the POD were filled with only the things they’d agreed to take to Florida. He was a bit flummoxed when the first POD was full, and they had to rent a smaller one for the overflow, but he figured he’d simply miscalculated.

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The weekend of their tag sale, the weather was glorious, the crowds massive and the sales brisk, but as always happens, that American dream of selling everything just didn’t happen. On Sunday night, Bob laced up his sneakers and relived his basketball days by doing jump shots and lay-ups as he shot those willow-woven baskets, juice glasses and scented candles into the Dumpster. Joan was busy inside, tsk-tsking to herself at what remained. How could those buyers have missed so many treasures? There was nothing to do, she reasoned to herself, but to add a few more boxes to the collection in the POD. On Monday, the Dumpster left their driveway. Bob could be overheard telling his neighbor that he was surprised it wasn’t full. On Tuesday, he and Joan watched the PODS begin their journey south. The end of this tale, happy or otherwise, will depend on whether you’re a saver or a tosser, but the last I heard, Joan and Bob were planning another tag sale at their new home. ■

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Fooling the eye PRIME TIME FOR FAUX FINISHES by Janis Gibson “Creating faux finishes used to be more an ‘eye of the newt’ type thing, creating your own materials and sometimes tools,” said noted decorative artist Victor DeMasi, who has been producing decorative surfaces in homes and businesses since the mid-1980s. In recent years, he said, “There has been a revolution in paint materials – much more is available. Now it is more about product lines and how to apply them.” Victor, owner of Monarch Painting, a decorative-painting firm in Redding that specializes in faux finishes and trompe l’oeil, recently published Designer Faux Finishes for Rockport Publications. A prolific writer in the industry – he has

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authored more than 100 articles – Victor describes the book as “a gold mine of the latest ‘paint jobs’ from around the world that includes more than 125 gallery photos of completed projects, from the modest to the extravagant, from 54 contributing artists.” Subtitled “Ideas and Inspirations for Sophisticated Surfaces,” the book also includes 14 how-to sections, illustrating selected projects in sequence and displaying projects Victor has completed for clients. Finishes shown include trompe l’oeil, plasters and stencil work. He also includes time-saving methods on color mixing and job management.

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Faux finish trends today include a more modern look, he says. “There is a revival of the cleaner looks of the 1920s and 30s. I am using a lot of metallic paints. And while stencils are still popular, they are of more modern motifs.” Venetian plaster, which looks like marble, is very popular, as is antiquing on trim. With good wood being so expensive, he is also creating a lot of quality wood finishes for a more sophisticated look. “People are into decorating with paint,” he adds, “and the ideas for faux finishes continue to change. They have become more complicated ... today many clients want their walls to look like they are covered with grass cloth or bamboo.”

The book was instrumental in landing his most recent major commercial job at Richard Gere’s The Bedford Post Inn and two restaurants – The Barn and The Farmhouse – on Route 121 in Bedford. Developer Russell Hernandez of Pound Ridge is Gere’s business partner in the project – a 14-acre site with an 18thCentury house and barn, which have been renovated, plus a new construction. The Farmhouse, an equestrian-themed, high-end restaurant – there are accommodations for those who want to arrive on horseback – opened last December. The See Fooling the eye page 28

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Fooling the eye continued from page 27 Barn, which features more casual dining and serves breakfast and lunch, opened in February 2008. Victor spent several months working on the project, and notes that Gere and his wife Carey Lowell were totally involved with the creation and decoration of the restaurant, which includes a blue transparent painted floor (“Richard loves blue”), painted floors being one of Victor’s specialties. The oak in the bar was limed and finished with wax, giving it “the look of an old English pub,” said Victor. In The Beginning

Victor joined the Peace Corps in 1975, serving in Ethiopia as a rural science teacher. While there, he also added to his collection of insects and butterflies, which was donated to the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History last year. Currently a wetland conservation officer of Redding and a research affiliate at the Peabody, Victor enjoys preserving open space in town and preserving butterflies in the museum. His fieldwork with butterflies contributed almost a thousand citations to the recently published Connecticut Butterfly Atlas.

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This self-portrait was on display at the International Salon of Decorative Artists in Denmark, April 2007.

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Returning from Ethiopia, he came home to a slow economy, so he began painting and renovating his mother’s house on Long Island, which resulted in more jobs from which he built a business painting homes, which at one point employed 13 people. Victor also has an interest in historic houses, and it was during a visit to a historic home in Savannah, Ga., in the early 1980s that he discovered marbleizing, and decided he wanted to learn more about faux finishes. He attended a fauxfinishing school conducted by Ina Brosseau Marx on Long Island in 1984. “I was her first student,” Victor says proudly. From her, he learned marbleizing, wood graining, gold leafing and other techniques that worked their way into his painting business, which he named Monarch Painting after his favorite butterfly. The company slogan is “Metamorphosis is our business.” In the late 80s, “faux finishing became big, and while others were learning how to do it, I was already doing it.” He shifted the focus of his business to faux finishes and reduced his staff size to two. “I have been doing faux finishes and murals

exclusively for almost 25 years now,” he said. His murals often feature natural history subjects, such as native wildflowers and butterflies, and a monarch butterfly can usually be found somewhere within. Victor is on the referral list maintained by the Connecticut Historical Trust, and he has been contracted for historical painting-restoration projects for Yale University, the National Park Service and the State of Washington. In 2002, he was honored with a by-invitation-only membership in the International Salon of Decorative Artists, known as SALI, and has participated and exhibited at SALI gatherings in the United States, Belgium, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Italy. He conducts workshops at his own studio, and teaches regularly at the Brookfield Craft Center. Designer Faux Finishes is available online or at major bookstores and home design centers. For information, monarchpainting.net, victormonarch@yahoo.com or 203448-0106. ■

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Jeannette Ross photos

Following the Golden Path by Jeannette Ross Ten acres of garden vignettes make this an Open Day garden not to be missed. A Chinese pavilion awaits you at the end of the “spirit walk.”

Garden lovers who visited Clapboard Ridge Garden in Greenwich, when it was part of the Open Days program in 2004, will want to go back to see the many changes that have taken place over the past five years. Those who have never been, should go. This is one garden not to be missed. The Open Days program, run by The Garden Conservancy, includes all kinds of gardens: the large, the small, the specialized, the free-ranging, the inspirational, the practical, the one-gardener shop, and those tended by a staff. Rambling over 10 acres, Clapboard Ridge is one of the big, inspirational gardens that most of us do not have the property or energy for, but it is a treat to visit. While most of us don’t have room for the sculpture, the buildings, the parterres, this garden still offers plenty of ideas for smaller and challenging spaces. Clapboard Ridge Garden, 146 Clapboard Ridge Road, Greenwich, will be open to visitors Sunday, July 12, from 10 to 4. The $5 admission is a contribution to The Garden Conservancy in Cold Spring, N.Y., which is dedicated to promoting gardening and preserving exceptional American gardens for public education and enjoyment. For directions or information, visit gardenconservancy.org or call 845-265-5384. Clapboard Ridge is owned by Frederick Landman, who designed it as a relaxing retreat from the outside world. “To me, when I’m home ... I don’t play golf, I don’t play tennis, but I walk around the garden and there’s always something to see.” It all started with the house, a graceful 1930s brick Georgian, which Fred bought in 1994. After some initial renovations – there have been subsequent additions – Fred turned his attention to the surrounding landscape. As he wrote in a self-published book – Day to Day, Season to Season, A Garden – he set about “to make a garden the house could be proud of.” He has done just that. Although the property is large, there were no sweeping lawns. Much of it was an overgrown woodland. An avid traveler, Fred began visiting other gardens, “seeing a grotto here, an elevated walkway there,” and brought home ideas. A trip to China was a big influence.

HOME, a Hersam Acorn special section, Ridgefield, Conn.

Since the house is formal, the grounds near it are also formal. There is a rectangular pool and a pool house that echo the architecture of the main house. The pool garden features white-flowered hydrangea in beds bordered by low-cut boxwood. Beyond the pool house is an outdoor kitchen, much used by Fred’s wife, Seen Lippert, a professional chef. “There isn’t anything she can’t cook there,” he said. The main terrace at the back of the house features a boxwood parterre based on an old French design. The terrace is surrounded by formally clipped boxwoods and leads to a lush lawn with a small brick pavilion at the end of the broad expanse. Added in 2006, the Celestial Pavilion, as it is called, is topped by a pineapple, symbol of hospitality. On the floor inside is an astronomically correct engraving based on a Dutch celestial map. From here things start to change as you pick up a broad path that was once a narrow deer trail. Fred calls it the Golden Path, and I asked if it were the Golden Path to Enlightenment. “That’s up to you,” he said. Philosophical considerations aside, the path serves a specific purpose. “Walking through a garden should be an adventure,” Fred said. “There should be paths off the main areas with something to see.” There’s plenty to see since Fred cleared out and replanted the entire woodland. A stone wall along one side offers some structure, but it is eclipsed by the variety of plantings, including huge, dimply hostas, geraniums, buckeye, azalea, Chinese elms, white birch, scented viburnum, masses of irises, Dawn redwood, hydrangea, and European hornbeam that keeps its leaves in the winter, adding a rustling sound to the experience. Throughout the property, sweet woodruff acts as a cheerful groundcover with its pointy leaves and sprightly white flowers. Although they won’t be in bloom, the woodland walk is also planted with over 350,000 bulbs. The Golden Path leads to a stone grotto, the source of a recirculating stream that goes under the path to a large pond. Stick with the path and you will find yourself traversing a boardwalk that zigzags over a riot of irises. Inspired by Asian garden design, it is called the spirit walk, based on the belief that evil spirits can only follow you when the way is straight. (So much for stayJuly 2009

“One thing has to relate to the other,” Fred said of his garden. “The walk takes you through the elements dictated by sun, water and terrain. It all kind of makes sense.” Like many other gardeners, Fred is participating in the Open Days program to share what he has created. “You can’t garden just for yourself,” he said. “It is like a meal you want to share with someone.” It is likely Fred will be sharing part of his garden, literally, with visitors. He is thinking seriously about selling his vegetables on the side of the road. Sooner or later, he said, “I may just have that vegetable stand out there.” ■

Jeannette Ross photos

ing on the straight and narrow.) Still on the path, you will pass through a wisteria arbor with red arches and wind up at a small fruit orchard. Fred likes arbors. “I’m always thinking, where does this go?” he said. “It’s like walking down a hallway to get from one room to another.” The room at the end of this hallway is another ooh-aah moment: a red Chinese pavilion. Here East meets West. The pavilion sits on a man-made island in the middle of a pool filled with colorful koi and fed by a small waterfall. The pavilion was designed by landscape architect Charles Stick, who advised Fred on many aspects of the garden. The pavilion, representing the East, sits at one end of a grassy axis with a huge limestone statue of Atlas, representing the West, at the other. Leading back to the upper grounds is an impressive stone stairway Fred calls his Stairmaster. You don’t have to climb, though; there is an easier way back to the house. There will be maps to guide visitors, and there are many other things to see. Along the way is some wonderful sculpture, particularly a bronze of Mercury and some lovely urns. Two years ago, Fred and Seen purchased the house and property next door, and Fred is turning the garage into a greenhouse and the patch of land next to it into a geometrically inspired vegetable garden. Both can be seen from the main garden above. There is also a pebble mosaic, cutting garden, a hillside of azalea and hydrangea, and another parterre affectionately called the cat maze. Keep in mind, the entire property is managed organically.

Walking through a garden should be an adventure, with focal points along the way.

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The grotto is a source of water for a large pond.

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