Destination projects begin with a call 833-BY-DEANE
Destination projects begin with a call 833-BY-DEANE
Destination projects begin with a call 833-BY-DEANE
Nantucket Martha’s Vineyard Cape Cod Hamptons
Nantucket Martha’s Vineyard Cape Cod Hamptons
Nantucket Martha’s Vineyard Cape Cod Hamptons
Naples Palm Beach Ocean Reef Jackson Hole Kiawah Island Stratton Stowe Newport Watch Hill and beyond…
Naples Palm Beach Ocean Reef Jackson Hole Kiawah Island Stratton Stowe Newport Watch Hill and beyond…
Naples Palm Beach Ocean Reef Jackson Hole Kiawah Island Stratton Stowe Newport Watch Hill and beyond…
Create Where
Welcome to a different kind of kitchen company – where the idea of value is applied to every detail – from the first measurements to the final tile. Nukitchens is a complete renovation company, offering everything from design to installation & remodeling. Our business philosophy is simple… to help you make the best decisions with your best interest at heart.
Welcome to a different kind of kitchen company – where the idea of value is applied to every detail – from the first measurements to the final tile. Nukitchens is a complete renovation company, offering everything from design to installation & remodeling. Our business philosophy is simple… to help you make the best decisions with your best interest at heart.
Redefining Value
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If you can dream it... We can build it.
MICHAEL MUNDY
FRONT ROW KITCHENS INC.
JANE
LAURA MOSS
BRINGING YOUR PLANS TO LIFE ONE HOME AT A TIME.
25 Years
Now available in the US
Little Greene is an eco-friendly, family-run business cataloguing 300 years of paint and wallpaper. Based in the UK, using only the very highest quality ingredients. ‘Intelligent’ paints allow you to prime and paint any surface from a single tin. Suitable for almost any surface in the home, these finishes do not require a separate primer.
New Little Greene Retailers
Luu Color Center in Rockville, MD | The Paint Store Online at Ron Shaffer Interiors in West Palm Beach, FL
C & T Design in Natick, MA | Blue Mist Paint & Flooring in Spartanburg, SC
Rainbow Paint & Decorating in Birmingham, AL | Hart and Hill in Wilmington, NC
Foxtrot Home in Southport, CT | Chance’s Hardware in Latham, NY
Order free colourcards on our website.
Showroom now open: 9 East Putnam Avenue, Greenwich, CT 06830. Tel: 1-888-516-6130 | getintouch@littlegreene.us
littlegreene.us
Homes
102
Comfort Zone
Soft colors and sensual furnishings bring a sense of warmth and calm to a modern house.
110 Great Decisions
Camden Grace Interiors puts a youthful spin on a modern farmhouse in record time.
118 The Charm of a Barn Classic and contemporary happily meet in this rustic-chic interpretation of modern barn style.
Cover photograph by Jane Beiles
& There
45 Rooms We Love
These primary baths are made for relaxation.
56 Things We Love
Take self-care to the next level with products that create a spa-like experience right at home.
62 Good Bones
An under-the-radar architect turns a tarnished cottage into a home perfect for art and entertaining.
70 Inspired Interiors
Southport’s twenty-ninth annual Rooms with a View fundraiser proves that six-by-eight feet can still pack a punch.
76 New England Design
Hal l of Fame
Meet the extraordinary design professionals honored in 2024.
84 Design
Dispatches
Mark your calendars for these must-attend events and read up on industry news.
86 The Scene
A look back at a host of design-related events.
Special Marketing Section
93 Gallery of Fine Architecture
In Every Issue
Editor’s Note
Welcome
Ihave a vivid childhood memory—it’s twilight, I’m sprawled in drifts of snow in my family’s backyard, and my face is turned to the sky. The syncopated whisper of thousands of flakes is a helpful recollection on nights when I can’t sleep. It conjures a special stillness and is almost instantly calming.
Around here, a snowy winter isn’t a sure thing, but when the temperature drops and the days shorten, the urge for cozy comforts is strong. When I toured Southport’s Rooms with a View show house on a brisk night last November, the vignettes that most caught my eye were layered in sumptuous fabrics and considered all sides of their six-by-eight-foot space. You can see my favorites on page 70.
Meanwhile, our annual ode to bath design, on page 45, highlights three stylistically distinct baths that offer ample winter respite including spa-like amenities and serene views. Designer Douglas Graneto shared with me that his clients’ small children find their parents’ new marble-wrapped double shower so irresistible they’ve moved right in, toys and all, despite having their own updated spaces.
We certainly had a busy and eventful close to 2024. As a creature of seasonal habit, I welcome the quiet of winter as needed time to recharge. May this first issue of 2025 find you in your own cozy space and be a pleasant start to the year ahead.
JENNA TALBOTT
@jennatalbott
Contributors
Connecticut-based Maria LaPiana is a longtime New England Home contributor. She remembers interviewing architects Charles Haver and Stewart Skolnick many years ago, so she was delighted to catch up with them for our profiles of the New England Design Hall of Fame inductees on page 76.
“They are so gifted and deserving of this honor,” she says. “It was a privilege to talk with them—and with all the winners. I really enjoyed gaining insights into what inspires them and makes them tick.”
P.S.
WINTER GAMES
For her Rooms with a View show house vignette, Ridgefieldbased interior designer Peyton Cochran imagined a lively game night among friends—right down to the custom mahjongg table (shown below). Her design sparked such interest she launched a new company, Center & Spring, and is producing a line of tables that include pullout shelves for drinks and storage for game pieces in the base. Interested gamers can choose from seven colors at centerandspring.com
We’ve been hearing a lot about fine art and lifestyle photographer Nick Mele lately. Not only did the Newport, Rhode Island, and Palm Beach-based artist partner with Brunschwig & Fils for a new collection of fabrics and wallcoverings, but we’re told his next collaboration will be with Society Social. Look for a soon-to-be-released line of game tables and gaming chairs at shopsocietysocial.com.
Bruce Rogovin likes to joke that he’s been a photographer for “2.5 million years.” For more than ten of those years, he’s created portraits for New England Home, including those of the New England Design Hall of Fame inductees on page 76. “It’s always a pleasure to work with such talented and creative people,” he says. Born in Boston, Rogovin studied photography at the Rhode Island School of Design, but what people might not know is that he’s also an accomplished oil painter and woodworker—and in his spare time, he happily raises chickens for eggs.
Jenna Talbott portrait by Jessica Delaney
nehomemag.com
Editor in Chief Jenna Talbott jtalbott@nehomemag.com
Copy Editor Lisa H. Speidel lspeidel@nehomemag.com
Senior Contributing Editor Paula M. Bodah
Contributing Editors
Karin Lidbeck Brent Nicole Polly
Contributing Writers
Fred Albert, Alyssa Bird, Maria LaPiana, Wendy Moonan, Gail Ravgiala
Contributing Photographers
Alan Barry, Jane Beiles, Jessica Delaney, Jen Holt, Jared Kuzia, Neil Landino, Tim Lee, Phil Nelson, Bruce Rogovin, Jessica Gordon Ryan, Emily Sidoti, Matt Stone, Kirt Washington
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Media partners:
CChristensen Landscape Services is a full-service landscape fim widely recognized for innovative, sustainable design and quality installations. Their expertise enhances your home with a broad complement of landscape options. Because they offer complete hardscape capabilities, including stone masonry, concrete finshing, and on-site carpentry, there is virtually no limit to what they can create in your landscape. Whether your plan calls for intricate stonework, native plantings, or a luxurious water feature, the professionals at Christensen Landscape Services take pride in providing quality and excellence.
The family-owned business has earned numerous
awards for design, installation, and maintenance. Owner David Christensen and lead designer Donna Christensen work with a team of managers, designers, carpenters, masons, and certifid landscape gardening professionals who take great pride in upholding their tradition of building and maintaining beautiful, functional, and long-lasting gardens.
Their services include full garden and estate maintenance throughout New Haven, Middlesex, and Fairfild counties. They provide custom fertilization and weed control packages, and are a NOFA Certifid Organic Landscape Supplier specializing in sustainable and organic landscape design and maintenance.
NEIL LANDINO
DONNA CHRISTENSEN
DONNA CHRISTENSEN
ROOMS WE LOVE
&Here There
DESIGN DISCOVERIES FROM AROUND CONNECTICUT
Bathing Beauties
These primary baths are made for relaxation.
By ALYSSA BIRD
For this Darien project, designer Sarah Major opened up the once cramped space and kept things light, bright, and airy; the new soaking tub is from Waterworks.
Breathe Easy
The owners of this Darien property tapped designer Sarah Major to overhaul their dark, cramped primary bath and give them something that felt fresh, bright, modern, and inviting. “Simplicity was the main mandate,” explains Major. “The original room was chopped up, there was a good deal of wasted space, and the cabinetry was a deep mahogany. We were able to open things up, raise the
RIGHT: In the shower, Thassos marble walls contrast with a mosaic floor comprised of Blue Bliss and Thassos marbles. BELOW: The cerused-oak vanities feature accent panels of faux leather from Perennials; the lighting is from Ralph Lauren Home, and the polished nickel fixtures throughout are from Waterworks.
Integrated custom medicine cabinets provide additional storage while honoring the integrity of the sleek design scheme.
ceiling, and install a large steam shower and soaking tub.” And there’s plenty of storage thanks to hidden medicine cabinets and vanities complete with compartments for various products. “The Thassos marble on the walls has a little sparkle to it, and we mixed it with Blue Bliss marble for a hint of color on the mosaic floors. The faux-leather drawer fronts and the cerused-oak cabinetry soften things up. I love a classic white bath, but this isn’t your standard, run-of-the-mill white bath.”
INTERIOR DESIGN: Sarah P. Major
Amgine
Prestige Cabinetry & Design
PHOTOGRAPHY: Emily Sidoti
Spend an hour at a Clarke Showroom and one thing is clear: your time with a Clarke Consultant is the most valuable part of your kitchen journey. While they’re not designers, these are the people designers call on when it comes to appliance recommendations. You won’t buy anything at Clarke, so there’s simply no pressure. What you can do is compare more Sub-Zero, Wolf and Cove models than anywhere in New England. Explore a living portfolio of kitchens created by the region’s top designers. You will leave inspired with new knowledge to make your appliance selections with confidence.
Born in Belgium, Uschi Samaritano speaks five languages and is also fluent in selecting just the right appliances for your lifestyle. She is an accomplished cook, passionate gardener, avid apiarist and is known by homeowners and designers alike for her valuable insights for outfitting extraordinary kitchens. Boston & Milford, MA South Norwalk, CT 800-842-5275 clarkeliving.com
New England’s Official Showroom and Test Kitchen insights for outfitting
Because this is a steam shower, the tile runs all the way to the ceiling.
Bring on the Drama
Designer Kelly Mittleman joined this Newtown project in the nick of time.
“The house had just been framed, and we realized during the walkthrough that the primary bath didn’t seem grand enough,” she explains. “Luckily, we were able to move it to a different location with more space.” Another major benefit of reworking the floor plan is the room’s view, which features an expansive countryside vista as opposed to the street. Mittleman prioritized a luxurious, spa-like feel, installing a concrete soaking tub, a steam shower, and radiant heat flooring along with bold Nero Marquina marble countertops. “The concrete feels organic and reflective of the outdoors,” says Mittleman, who notes that it took
ABOVE: Artwork by Meighan Morrison hangs above a concrete tub from Native Trails. The shower tile is from Bedrosians and the floor tile is from Porcelanosa. BELOW: The wire-brushed oak vanity is stained black and topped with Nero Marquina marble. The sink fittings are from Bender, and the mirrors and sconces are from RH.
A vintage table and a high-pile rug from Unison lend interest to the otherwise modern space.
quite a crew to maneuver the 900-pound tub into place. “We played with light and dark, bringing in some moodiness with
the black elements. I also love placing large-scale modern artwork in a bath because it’s fun and unexpected.”
ARCHITECTURE:
INTERIOR DESIGN:
Shortly after designer Kelly Mittleman joined this Newtown project, the team decided to relocate the primary bath. This allowed for a much more luxurious, larger space as well as an idyllic view of the countryside.
PHOTOGRAPHY:
Studio Bartolotta
KELLY + CO DESIGN
BUILDER: Dannick Carpentry
CABINETRY: Sterling Custom Cabinetry
Neil Landino
The custom unlacquered brass hardware from Rocky Mountain will develop a patina as it ages.
You’re So Vein
There’s no doubt that this primary bath in Greenwich is all about the marble. In fact, the homeowners had purchased seventeen slabs of Breccia Capraia three years before the renovation even began.
“The idea was to bring the marble to life and play up its green and violet veining,” says designer Douglas Graneto. “Stone
can be cold, but the oak cabinetry helps warm up the space.” Graneto reconfigured the room, adding a water closet where a small shower once was, replacing the tub with a larger shower, switching out a window seat for a floating makeup vanity, and ensuring that there’s enough storage for all the essentials.
The star of this Greenwich primary bath is the Breccia Capraia marble, which features dramatic green and violet veining. The fixtures are from Waterworks.
But it’s the small details that really take this space to another level: the integrated unlacquered brass hardware, for instance, “will patina over time and add another layer of depth,” notes Graneto. And the stone itself is carried through from the shower and countertops to the floor, wainscoting, and trim. “We used the stone in an architectural way and even continued it around the windows and doors.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: For details, see Resources.
The marble also acts as an architectural feature, appearing as wainscoting and trim around the windows.
“The idea was to bring the marble to life and play up its green and violet veining.”
—INTERIOR DESIGNER DOUGLAS GRANETO
ARCHITECTURE:
INTERIOR
Shope Reno Wharton
DESIGN: Douglas Graneto Design
BUILDER: Premier Home Builders
CABINETRY: Fairfield Wood Works
PHOTOGRAPHY: Tim Lee STYLING: Kaylei McGaw
ABOVE: Designer Douglas Graneto swapped out a window seat for this floating oak makeup vanity; a stool from Studio Van den Akker is upholstered in a Dedar fabric.
LEFT: The oak cabinetry is joined by medicine cabinets from Robern and sconces from Juniper.
MICHAEL
Pictured:
Destination Wellness
Take self-care to the next level with products that create a spa-like experience right at home.
Produced by LYNDA SIMONTON
Sinca Linen Cabinet by Robern, Bender, various Conn. locations, benderplumbing.com
Vyper Speakers by K-array, Opus, North Haven, Conn., opusavc.com
Metamorphosis Tile by Ryan Saghian for Artistic Tile, Karen Berkemeyer Home, Westport, karenberkemeyerhome.com
Deluxe Sauna Accessory Kit by ThermaSol, Torrco, various Conn. locations, torrco.com
Lindea View Indoor Sauna by ThermaSol, Torrco, various Conn. locations, torrco.com
An under-the-radar architect turns a tarnished cottage into a home perfect for art and entertaining.
Text by WENDY MOONAN |
Photography by TIM LEE
The wife asked architect Neil Hauck to accentuate the entrance of the stone cottage, so he added a new porch whose rooflines echo the house’s original gable.
Darien architect Neil Hauck may be the most successful architect you’ve never heard of.
Over the past thirty-seven years, he has designed and reno-
vated dozens of residential and commercial projects in a variety of architectural styles all over New England, yet few have been published in magazines.
but sanded the dark English pine paneling to create a better background for paintings.
ABOVE: From the driveway, no one would guess Hauck added two wings and a garage because the additional square footage is hidden behind the original cottage. BELOW: In the living room, Hauck retained the original ceiling beams
Asked why, he says he has been too busy to promote his firm. Nonetheless, word of mouth has provided a constant stream of clients. A recent project in Darien is a perfect case in point.
One snowy winter day in 2021, a couple
who had just purchased a 1930 Cotswold-style cottage on a leafy, secluded one-and-a half-acre property came into his office, unannounced, at 4 p.m. and told Hauck, “We heard you were a good architect.” They chatted together for a half hour and hired him on the spot.
Hauck differentiated the new wings from the original stone cottage by cladding them in pale green stucco.
BELOW: Hauck moved the
so it’s now wider, larger, better lit, and leaves the generous foyer open to display the owners’ paintings.
The couple asked Hauck for a total transformation of the stone cottage, which involved gutting it and adding 700 square feet. Hauck advised keeping the structure but demolishing two unfortunate later additions and a detached garage. He replaced those buildings with an attached
garage and two new wings. The first encompasses a generous open kitchen with its own sitting room, fireplace, and breakfast nook. The second features an elegant primary suite with his-and-her bathrooms. Hauck placed the new wings perpendicular to the back of the house to create an intimate,
LEFT: The sleek new kitchen, with its cathedral ceiling, opens into a generous sitting room and breakfast nook.
stairwell,
“NEIL KNEW WHAT WE WANTED, BUT HE ALSO UNDERSTOOD THIS IS A HOUSE WITH A SOUL.”
—The Homeowner
wind-protected courtyard for outdoor dining and recreation.
Inside, the cottage was a series of small, dark rooms. Fortunately for the couple, Hauck is a master of scale and proportion.
“The floor plan was compartmentalized and difficult to navigate,” Hauck explains, so he removed interior walls and relocated the staircase to improve circulation and bring in more light. In the original living room, which boasts a massive stone fireplace, he retained the ceiling’s wood timbers, which were imported from Scotland. He then sanded down the dark English pine paneling to create a better backdrop for the couple’s collection of Joan Mitchell and
Milton Avery paintings.
The clients are thrilled with the results.
“Neil knew what we wanted, but he also understood this is a house with a soul,” the wife says.
Hauck’s status as an unknown star may be about to change; he’s just been added to the 2025 Forbes list of America’s Top 200 Residential Architects.
The new additions created a protected— and very popular— terrace for dining, relaxing, and enjoying views of the property’s secluded meadow.
ROOMIES
Southport’s
twenty-ninth annual
Rooms with a View show house fundraiser proves that six-by-eight feet can still pack a punch.
Text by JENNA TALBOTT | Phot ography by ALAN BARRY
COURTNEY BLANTON ’s vignette was inspired by the time she stumbled upon a community of Romani people in a tranquil forest glade while traveling around India. The intricately carved wagons, or vardos, enchanted the interior designer. “Each vardo told a story,” she explains, “and I wanted to evoke that magic.” Blanton set the scene with Au Bord du Lac, a linen tapestry wallpaper from Pierre Frey. “The darker colors and layers of texture echo the embrace of the trees and mystery of the Romani camp,” she says. The ceiling, painted in high-gloss Harley
White River Hardwoods crafted the custom millwork.
Green from Little Greene, reflects the soft light cast by a pair of sconces from Stratford Antique Center. Vintage and antique pieces interspersed throughout “give the sense of treasures passed down from ancestors,” Blanton explains. An oil painting the designer found years ago presides over the whole scene. It depicts a stately woman wearing a bowler hat and sitting in a pose of quiet contemplation, as if she’s reflecting on a life well-traveled. “She hung above my own fireplace for a long time—it’s a very special piece,” says Blanton.
BARSANTI DESMONE
design partners Dan Barsanti and Chris Desmone opted to pay homage to artist and textile designer Rena Levine, who just happens to be Barsanti’s wife. “We wanted to embrace the small space,” Barsanti says, “and draw you in with texture, pattern, and a monochromatic palette.” Accordingly, Levine’s watercolored Bilbao Moss and San Remo Moss fabrics cocoon the vignette on all sides, while her Cosmos wallpaper provides a vibrant foundation. The ceiling,
swathed in the wallpaper version of San Remo Moss on silver grasscloth, acts as the vignette’s exclamation point. Barsanti Desmone added additional punch by repurposing a pair of vintage slipper chairs in a peppy chartreuse fabric from Sedallo. “I wanted to invoke the idea that repurposed furniture can look reinvented and live in the present,” Barsanti explains. A simple but overscaled paper lantern embellished with splatter paint adds intimacy—and another layer of artistry—to the scene.
Rena Levine’s art is available through Swoon in Westport.
CARISSA KIM PINTELLO,
a third-year
MFA student at the New York School of Interior Design, drew her inspiration from seaside motifs. Her own coastal experience spans the globe, from California to Korea, Maine to Mexico, and Florida to Costa Rica. “There is a unifying experience of honesty, rawness, and tranquility that every seaside context has in common,” she says. “I wanted to specifically combine the design elements of Japanese fishing villages with Connecticut port towns.” Note the custom millwork on the walls and ceiling
that recalls Japanese shoji screens. Nods to Japanese Arita ware can be seen in the porcelain table lamps from Vaughan. A Jennifer Manners check rug plays up the vignette’s graphic bent, while the blue-and-white palette references traditional coastal homes found in the Northeast. This is Pintello’s second vignette for Rooms with a View; in 2023, she participated with a partner, but in 2024, she tackled the challenge solo. NYSID student participants are selected based on their grade point average, community service, and student leadership.
The vintage dresser and chairs are from Stamford Modern.
The plaster column lamps are a collaboration with Little Greene paint company.
PATRICK MELE
offered a glimpse of his own creative process with his vignette. In an ode to his workspace, an artful array of objects references his background in fashion and his flair for mixing old and new. “It’s a representation of me at work surrounded by pieces I make in collaboration with different artisans,” says the Greenwich-based interior designer. Viewers will note a pinup board with nods to Rooms with a View founder Albert Hadley and fashion designer Bill Blass, whose New Preston
home and New York apartment top Mele’s inspiration list. The ceiling features a historic wallpaper reproduced by Adelphi Paper Hangings and updated in Mele’s own colorway. Mele was the first designer invited by the Sharon Springs, New York, company to collaborate on color. “I chose five of their historic papers to recolor in fresh new colorways. This Adena Pin Ring colorway is a white and toffee combination that feels fresh and classic at the same time.” EDITOR’S NOTE: For details, see Resources.
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Paul Reidt, Nancy and Kevin Lagassé representing The Lagassé Group, Barbara Sallick, Charles Haver and Stewart Skolnick representing Haver & Skolnick Architects, and Renée Byers. This year's inductees were
The 17 th Annual New England Design Hall of Fame
Text by MARIA L A PIANA
Portraits by BRUCE ROGOVIN
The New England Design Hall of Fame honors industry professionals who’ve had a noteworthy and lasting impact on New England’s residential design community. Connecticut’s own Renée Byers, Haver & Skolnick Architects, and Barbara Sallick were among those celebrated at the 17th annual gala last fall in Boston.
Renée Byers
Renée Byers Landscape Architect
Renée Byers creates landscapes that bring her clients unbridled happiness—and that means everything to her. “Drawing people outdoors into their own private oasis is one of the greatest joys I’ll ever experience,” says the landscape architect.
With a painterly eye and technical acumen, she has been transforming suburban and estate gardens—often set in difficult terrain—through her private
practice for twenty-five years. Based in Greenwich, Connecticut, Byers grew up in Des Moines, spending summers with cousins on working farms in the country. She says her love of the outdoors and appreciation of architecture were inspired by “iconic images of white farmhouses with covered front porches.” Trained in landscape architecture at the University of Minnesota, she was also “immersed in art and architectural history” while an exchange student in the south of France.
Byers says she loved the challenges of her early landscape work for corporate projects but found her true calling in residential design. And she lives for
photographed in the Holly Hunt showroom at the Boston Design Center.
New England Design Hall of Fame
collaboration: “I not only enjoy it but thrive on it,” she says—from the initial client meeting, to working with allied architecture and engineering professionals, to building a project from the ground up with contractors and artisans. “It’s unbelievably rewarding, and my education continues every single day,” she says.
Landscape architecture never gets old for her, either. “I have a terrifically talented, young studio and adore sharing
my passion for the designed landscape with them,” she says. “Every project, every site brings new challenges and unique opportunities, and we can’t wait to see what’s next.” X
Haver & Skolnick Architects
Charles Haver, Stewart Skolnick
Being partners in business and life is working out beautifully for Charles Haver and Stewart Skolnick. They’re the principals (and sole proprietors) of Haver & Skolnick Architects, founded in 1996 and based in Roxbury, Connecticut. For them, “life and work become one and the same,” says Skolnick. “Logistically, it’s great working together because we’re always on the same schedule.” The same page, too.
Haver received his architectural education from the University of Virginia; Skolnick studied at the University of Arizona and Cornell University. They met while working in New York City,
where they held positions as design directors at major firms. “We were both doing very contemporary office and retail interiors—lots of steel and glass,” says Skolnick. They spent weekends in Litchfield County, gradually falling in love with the place, the people, and the pace of life. In 1994 they found and restored a 1796 center-hall colonial, which became their home and “biggest calling card.”
“We’re inspired by the simple clean lines and strong forms of the surrounding historic homes and barns,” says Skolnick. “Although we’re trained as modernists, we apply this background to a vocabulary inspired by rural vernacular architecture. Our projects may look traditional, but we
Photography by (left) George Byers and (right) Robert Benson
Stewart Skolnick and Charles Haver
Renée Byers
Photography by Emily O’Brien
New England Design Hall of Fame
are truly modernists in that we try to do the most with the least.”
Haver and Skolnick’s work—from new homes to historic restorations and additions—has been honored with more than fifty regional, national, and international awards. And yet they remain a two-person firm, involved in every project from inception to move-in. “The goal is to create a cohesive whole, reflecting our clients’ vision,” says Haver. “When a client calls, they get one of us, and that’s the guy they see all the way through the project. They get a very intimate experience.” X
Paul Reidt
Kochman Reidt + Haigh Cabinetmakers
Aseries of happy accidents altered the trajectory of Paul Reidt’s career from premed to philosophy to custom cabinetry. President of Kochman Reidt + Haigh Cabinetmakers in Stoughton, Massachusetts, Reidt says his parents inspired him: “My mother was a painter who taught me to see the world in unconventional ways. My father, a doctor, showed me how to break down the complexities of the world, the ways we think about it.”
Reidt grew up in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, where he pored over Popular Mechanics magazines. As a teenager, he spent summers learning carpentry
fundamentals by rebuilding his family’s lakeside cottage in the Adirondacks. He came by his most transformative early experience “by extraordinary accident.” His high school girlfriend’s dad needed a carpenter to work on his new home—the Parcells Residence, a modernist masterpiece designed by renowned architect Paul Rudolph.
Reidt studied English and biology at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, was accepted into med school but decided against it. Instead, he studied philosophy at Boston University before moving on to the Boston Architectural College while working as a cabinetmaker to pay the bills. Woodworking became his full-time vocation in 1982, and over the years, as his company has grown, he says the “process of inquiry, discovery, and invention continues to bring pleasure.” Reidt’s passion for learning inspired him to launch the B/A/D Talks, professional networking events that invite builders, architects, and designers to engage and exchange ideas in Boston.
When a longtime client commissioned KR+H to work on a magnificent ranch home in Wyoming three years ago, he leapt at the opportunity. “We spent a year designing, a year building, and just finished the installation,” he says. “We’d never worked in such an environment, such a different aesthetic. It was breathtaking and vast—and it was wonderful having to learn it.” X
Barbara Sallick Waterworks
Barbara Sallick has never seen any reason why the everyday shouldn’t be arrestingly beautiful. After a short stint as a teacher in Connecticut, Sallick worked in the American Decorative Arts department at the Yale University Art Gallery, where she discovered “the key to learning about art, architecture, beautiful rooms, and objects is looking, looking, and more looking.”
She never forgot it.
In 1978, she and her husband, Robert, had a vision for, of all things, the utilitarian American bathroom. “We wanted Americans to think of their bathrooms like the ones we experienced on our travels in England and France,” she says.
They saw an opportunity to trans-
Photography
Paul Reidt
Barbara Sallick
form the American bath, so they made multiple trips to Europe to visit plumbing showrooms. They sought out vintage Edwardian fixtures in salvage yards there and in New England, found manufacturers who could replicate them, and launched Waterworks that same year.
Headquartered in Danbury, Connecticut, the company started by offering a few vintage English and French styles for the American market. After their son, Peter Sallick, joined in the early 1990s, the brand has grown to include a portfolio of proprietary luxury products, including custom cabinetry, tubs, showers, sinks, hardware, lighting, and even bath towels and rugs, and tile and stone. There are Waterworks showrooms in twelve cities in the U.S. and one in London as well as a team in Paris.
Sallick has always seen functionality in a different light—and followed her North Star. “I always come back to the classical principles of design: balance, proportion, and scale. And to the principles of classicism: harmony and restraint.”
Over the years, Sallick’s role has evolved, both at the company and within the industry. She is sought-after as a speaker and panelist and has written several design books, served as a board member and chair of arts and education organizations, and has been honored as an innovator and visionary—all the while mentoring the next generation of designers, artisans, and design enthusiasts. X
The Lagassé Group
Nancy and Kevin Lagassé
Building is an exceptionally complex business; when done well, a completed project is far greater than the sum of its parts. This dynamic isn’t lost on the principals of The Lagassé Group of Natick, Massachusetts. “We are a team that is very comfortable with complexity,” says Kevin Lagassé. “Every project has unique challenges, and even with our extensive experience, we approach these projects with fresh eyes.”
Founders and spouses Nancy (president) and Kevin (executive vice president) Lagassé have run the family business like, well, a family, for the last fifteen years. They had the street cred—
New England Design Hall of Fame
he has a background in civil engineering and hers is in labor and employment law—so when they decided to partner in business back in 2010, it made perfect sense. They jumped in with abandon: “Our journey began with an elaborate renovation of a 14,000-square-foot suburban home in Wellesley,” says Kevin.
Today, they’ve grown to a team of thirty-five, working throughout eastern Massachusetts, Cape Cod, and Martha’s Vineyard. The firm’s diverse portfolio includes an array of residential projects of every style and scale—from urban high-rises to suburban homes. And they don’t play favorites. “It may sound cliché, but our favorite project is always
the ‘next one’,” says Kevin. “We look forward to challenges that are new, to designs we’ve never built before.”
What’s next for the team? “We always view where we are and what we build as a snapshot in time,” says Kevin. Nancy adds, “We have the privilege of building extraordinary homes for extraordinary clients with extraordinary collaborators. But we try never to be satisfied or complacent. Instead, we look to improve each day.” X
Photography courtesy
Nancy and Kevin Lagassé
H& T DESIGN DISPATCHES
Edited by LYNDA SIMONTON
Style Scene
›› First Impressions: 33rd Annual Associate Artist Show
JANUARY 10–FEBRUARY 20
This annual juried exhibition includes paintings, sculptures, and works in other media by Lyme Art Association members.
Old Lyme lymeartassociation.org
Paper, Color, Line
JANUARY 16–APRIL 27
Don’t miss the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art’s exhibition that showcases 500 years of European drawings. Hartford thewadsworth.org
›› Ceramic Multi-Bowls with Leah Corbett
JANUARY 17, FEBRUARY 6
Create your own centerpiece in this hands-on workshop at MoCA CT. You will learn techniques to craft unique clay creations. Westport mocact.org
›› “Getting” Contemporary Art
JANUARY 21, JANUARY 28, FEBRUARY 4
This course at The Aldrich guides participants on analyzing and interpreting contemporary art. Ridgefield thealdrich.org
›› Color Me…
FEBRUARY 15–MARCH 13
Silvermine Arts Center’s introspective exhibition uses color and diverse media to convey emotion.
New Canaan silvermineart.org
‹‹ Blanche Lazzell: Becoming an American Modernist
FEBRUARY 6–APRIL 27
This landmark exhibition at The Bruce showcases more than sixty works that trace the artist’s creative journey. Greenwich brucemuseum.org
Bartlett Horticultural Club
JANUARY 14
Every month, the club gathers at the Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens for lectures and handson activities.
Stamford bartlettarboretum.org
Rogues’ Gallery
FEBRUARY 3
Join Philip Hook of Sotheby’s London via Zoom as he reveals the fascinating untold stories of art dealing that are detailed in his book, Rogues’ Gallery greenwichdecorativearts.org
Connecticut Flower & Garden Show
FEBRUARY 20–23
Get ready for spring with educational seminars, demonstrations, and garden inspiration at the Connecticut Convention Center.
Hartford ctflowershow.com
Notebook
Welcome, 2025! But before we charge into the New Year, let’s reflect on 2024’s end-of-year awards season and other industry news.
Jenni Kayne and Litchfield-based Dumais Made have joined forces to create a ceramic lighting and decor collection blending Dumais Made’s artisanal expertise with Jenni Kayne’s contemporary California-inspired aesthetic. The series was conceived for the Jenni Kayne Farmhouse, a wellness-centric retreat in New York’s Hudson Valley. If you can’t head upstate, visit Jenni Kayne in Greenwich. Also in Greenwich, Ernesta, a home design brand specializing in custom-sized designer-quality rugs, has opened its third brick-and-mortar destination at 24 West Putnam Avenue. The showroom offers personalized guidance on rug selection and design along with a workspace where trade professionals can meet with clients.
Spirits were high at the annual Home Building Industry Awards, aka the HOBI Awards, sponsored by the Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Connecticut.
Congratulations to all the winners, including HSL Building Company for Outstanding Modern Custom Home; Christopher Pagliaro Architects and Long Neck Custom Homes for Outstanding Custom Home, 6,0007,000 square feet; and Uccello Fine Homes for Outstanding Custom Home, 3,000-4,000 square feet.
The American Institute of Architects, Connecticut, also celebrated industry achievements at its annual gala in December. A special shout-out to Bruce R. Becker, honored with the President’s Award for his noteworthy contributions to the organization, Elizabeth Hedde, who received the Women in Architecture Award, and VanderHorn Architects, who was awarded the Alice Washburn Award for Excellence in New Construction.
Do you have news to share with New England Home? Email Lynda Simonton at lsimonton@nehomemag.com
Edited by CAMILLA TAZZI
Fall
Networking Event with Fletcher Wakefield
Fletcher Wakefield hosted a Westernthemed networking event at its newly expanded Stamford showroom to celebrate New England Home Connecticut’s 2024 fall issue. Design professionals enjoyed signature cocktails, food-truck fare, and a live DJ while mingling around a firepit and exploring the showroom’s latest collections.
by
Photography
Phil Nelson
Antonio Vergara and George Snead of Fletcher Wakefield flank Tina Anastasia of Anastasia Interior Design and New England Home’s Marcia Noble
William Lyon of William Lyon Designs, Nicole Perez and Florina Prelvukaj of Amy Andrews Interior Design, and Naïka Andre of NJA Interiors
Mariette Hedeshian of Designer’s Touch, Rosalia Sanni of Rosalia Sanni Design, New England Home ’s Jenna Talbott, Eliz abeth Hendrick son of Werner Hendrickson Landscape Architecture, and New England Home ’s Kathy Bush-Dutton
New England Home’s Kathy Bush-Dutton (far left) with a group of partygoers
Merrin Jones of Merrin Jones Interiors, Mylene Del Nero of Ornare, and Mindy Gerhardt of Cornerstone Contracting
Cheryl Russ of Glengate Company and Robin Carroll of Karp Associates
Heather McWilliam of McWilliam Autore Interiors, Ava Hunter of Chloe Winston Lighting Design, and Krystal Day of Krystal Stone Designs
New England Home’s Jenna Talbott and Nicole Polly
Elizabeth Hendrickson of Werner Hendrickson Landscape Architecture and Rosalia Sanni of Rosalia Sanni Design
Matt Giardina of Front Row Kitchens
Robert Padula of Everest Marble and Karen Bow of Karen Bow Interiors
Havilande Whitcomb of Havilande Whitcomb Design and Ryan Fletcher of Fletcher Development and Fletcher Wakefield
New England Design Hall of Fame
New England Home’s signature event, the New England Design Hall of Fame, now in its seventeenth year, recognizes distinguished leaders with exceptional careers in our region’s residential design industry. More than 600 guests attended a glamorous gala in Boston to honor the latest class of inductees— Renée Byers, Haver & Skolnick Architects, The Lagassé Group, Paul Reidt, and Barbara Sallick. Three of the 2024 inductees hail from Connecticut.
by
Photography
Matt Stone
Colin Flavin of Flavin Architects with Stewart Skolnick and Charles Haver of Haver & Skolnick Architects
New England Home’s Kathy Bush-Dutton welcomes attendees
New England Home’s Jenna Talbott announces the 2024 panel of judges
Renée Byers of Renée Byers Landscape Architect and Greg Lombardi of Gregory Lombardi Design
Staci Foley, Joeiny Muttini, Kathleen Gabriel, Jennifer Currid, and Ryan McAllister of California Closets
The gala was held at Boston’s iconic SoWa Power Station
The 2024 inductees: Paul Reidt, Stewart Skolnick and Charles Haver representing Haver & Skolnick Architects, Renée Byers, Kevin and Nancy Lagassé representing The Lagassé Group, and Barbara Sallick
Interior designer Gary McBournie and Barbara Sallick of Waterworks
Kevin Costello and Christopher Wojick of Renée Byers Landscape Architect
A Weather Watcher’s Dream.
Whatever the season, there’s always a lot to watch with the weather. Maximum’s line of fine weather instruments allows you to precisely measure wind speed, pressure, temperature, humidity, tide behavior and much more at a glance. Each piece is hand crafted in Massachusetts for quality to endure for generations. Available in a variety of styles & finishes to complement any décor.
Photography: Jane Beiles
Maestro Wind speed & direction
Criterion Temperature ComfortMinder Exterior Temperature Indoor Humidity
Montauk Windspeed, Pressure, Temperature
HBRA Awards Dinner & Casino Night
The Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Fairfield County brought together leaders in the home-building community for a night of celebration and fun. Attendees enjoyed casino table games, a silent auction, a buffet dinner, and drinks, all in support of Circle of Care, a nonprofit that assists families with children battling cancer. New England Home Connecticut proudly sponsored the evening’s libations.
Joseph Hall, Zach Book, and Nicole Charney of Advanced Home Audio
Andrea Crowley of Torrco and Heather Rogers Meister of Gatehouse Partners
Festivities were held at the Fairfield Theatre Company
Jennifer Vangele of Cardello Architects, Tina Anastasia of Anastasia Interior Design, and Mindy Gerhardt of Cornerstone Contracting
Robin Carroll of Karp Associates, Lora Mazurak of Torrco, Lina Galvão of Curated Nest, and Michelle Hogue of Hogue Interior Design
Patrons of the HBRA of Fairfield County
Dawn Corbo of Torrco accepts the title of 2024 HBRA of Fairfield County Woman of the Year
George Pusser of Cornerstone Contracting and New England Home’s Marcia Noble
Jennifer and Robert Howard of JWH Design & Cabinetry
Merrin Jones and Kate Libby of Merrin Jones Interiors
Chris Shea of Domus Constructors and Ryley Hartt
Kerry Brunn of HBRA of Fairfield County addresses the crowd
Rooms with a View Preview Party at Eleish Van Breems Home
Eleish Van Breems Home hosted a designer reveal preview party for the twenty-ninth Rooms with a View. Guests enjoyed hors d’oeuvres and mingled as they got an exclusive first look at artful illustrations of the 2024 Rooms with a View vignettes.
Rooms with a View: A Night at The Hadley
Each year, Rooms with a View transforms the historic Southport Congregational Church into an immersive showcase of creativity and design. Founded by renowned interior designer Albert Hadley, Rooms with a View features vignettes crafted by twelve invited designers. New England Home Connecticut was proud to sponsor A Night at The Hadley, an evening celebrating the design community, and the event’s pop-up Tartan Shop.
Yvonne Claveloux of Yvonne Claveloux Art, Lora Mazurak of Torrco, Zac Mathias of The Classic Chic, and Guy Claveloux
Chris Desmone of Barsanti Desmone, Antonio Pippo of Antonio Pippo Interiors, Parker Rogers of Parker & Company Designs, and Robert Oronzio of Little Greene
Photography by Jessica Gordon Ryan
Daniel Barsanti of Barsanti Desmone and Beth Dempsey of Images & Details
William Lyon of William Lyon Designs poses with a copy of New England Home Connecticut ’s fall issue, which features a dining room Lyon designed on the cover
Daniel Barsanti with Laura Casale of Laura Casale Architect
Chris Cholano, Erick Solano of Stamford Modern, William Lyon of William Lyon Designs, and Nicky James of Nicky James Interior Design
Photography by Jessica Gordon Ryan
Reverend Laura Whitmore of Southport Congregational Church poses with a bottle from sponsor Fifth State Distillery
Yvonne Claveloux of Yvonne Claveloux Art, Jessica Gordon Ryan of Gimlet Marketing, and Zac Mathias of The Classic Chic
Jo Tonkovich of TONK and Rooms with a View Scholarship winner Carissa Kim Pintello
New England Home’s Marcia Noble, Nicole Polly, and Jenna Talbott flank Michelle Morgan Harrison of Morgan Harrison Home (third from left)
Special Marketing Section
Gallery of Fine Architecture
Christopher Pagliaro Architects
Christopher Pagliaro Architects was founded as a design-oriented studio that believes architecture is a performing art that leads to client satisfaction. The firm has developed a reputation as the creator of exceptional architecture throughout North America. Its guiding principle is that all projects should enhance the complete context within the environment. Each home is exceptionally functional, applying key concepts of place, space, light, scale, and material.
The hallmark is the marriage of building and site. A well-organized spatial flow provides the primary contribution to our design and maintains the sensibility with
which one space relates to the next, creating an elegant and functional plan. Projects are designed to maximize the daylight, enticing you into the space and conveying a sense of optimism and possibility.
There is an experience to architecture. It is not simply the location of a window, but the manipulation of the building’s envelope so that space becomes a part of the view. It is not singular, but multiple, experienced from different angles and through multiple spaces simultaneously. A Christopher Pagliaro design is not just a building, but a place at peace with itself
CHRISTOPHER PAGLIARO
InnerSpace Electronics, Inc.
Discover elegant home electronics design that includes lighting, shading, and personal wellness that leverages all of today’s modern technology. Let InnerSpace Electronics show you how Lutron’s natural lighting can be combined with shading to put a spotlight on what matters most: your home aesthetics and family life.
Our exclusive services include science-based lighting design with beautiful controls, and an unlimited selection of the finest designer lighting fixtures and motorized shades to enhance your overall décor. As specialists
in the innovative Ketra lighting, we bring you natural illumination throughout the day that’s in perfect harmony with your body for enhanced energy and sleep.
When lighting and window treatments are combined with controls, the result is elevated convenience and beauty. One touch on a stunning keypad, and all lights, shades, and more are set to your mood. Even control them while you’re away.
At InnerSpace, we provide technology excellence with an emphasis on your home décor and aesthetics— so you can enjoy your best life.
Careful and complete design, collaboration, installation, and elegant one-touch controls go into every InnerSpace lighting project.
The leading local technology and smarthome provider, InnerSpace can also deliver motorized window treatments, entertainment systems, home theaters, networking systems, security, and more.
Bring natural light indoors with Lutron’s Ketra, the highest quality and healthiest indoor light that enhances your décor, art, mood, and overall wellness.
BARRY AND ANDREA REINER
Michael Smith Architects
Founded in 1999 by principal Michael Smith, the firm’s underlying design philosophy centers on the idea that carefully applying the design principles of simplicity, consistency, and authenticity will yield a timeless work of architecture, regardless of the style or type of building.
Michael and his team have designed a wide range of high-quality projects, including large single-family custom residences, residential renovations, boutique commercial projects, educational facilities, and multi-family residential
projects. Michael Smith Architects (MSA) and its current staff have more than seventeen years of experience in a diverse range of projects, focusing primarily on highly customized residential architecture in Fairfield County and the New York City metropolitan area.
“At MSA we believe that every project deserves a unique solution that represents a combination of thoughtful design with an understanding of the client’s priorities. We work to create custom solutions that respond to the client’s wishes, the environment, and the historical context of the project,” Smith says. Further, MSA takes a holistic approach to the
design process by considering not just the exterior architecture, but also the design of the interior trim, finishes, and cabinetry to create a consistent overall aesthetic that will stand the test of time.
Through its membership in the United States Green Building Council, MSA strives to incorporate many sustainable or green features into its projects wherever possible, and takes great care to integrate these new technologies into each design in a seamless and harmonious way.
203-563-0553
michaelsmitharchitects.com
MICHAEL SMITH
As we recharge after the holidays, the last thing anyone wants to think about is cleaning. The breakfast table in this Simsbury home is surrounded by a banquette fitted with a faux ostrich leather cushion for easy maintenance. See the story on page 110.
Photograph by Jared Kuzia
Comfort Zone
Architect Tanner White designed the entry staircase as a piece of functional modern art; the custom light fixture is a chimerical foil to its sturdy composition. The upholstered bench is one of many sensuous accents interior designer Michelle Morgan Harrison placed throughout the house. FACING PAGE: In the family room, three large pendant lights, each a different size, ground the light-filled space.
Soft colors and sensual furnishings bring a sense of warmth and calm to a modern house.
Text by GAIL RAVGIALA
Photography by JANE BEILES
CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: Black framing around the entry and windows brings modern references to the exterior. In the living room, strips of oak add warmth and interest to the fireplace, which is set between two banks of steel-framed windows; the curves of the club chairs and coffee table play against the straight lines of the wood slats and window mullions. The catwalk above the entry was designed to create an “old library” look in a distinctly modern space.
What the architect, interior designer, and homeowner achieved in this distinctive house in Greenwich is a study of yin and yang, of straight lines balanced with curves, of contrasts leading to harmony.
The intersection of old and new attitudes begins with the exterior. Tanner White, whose firm Tanner White Architects designed the 8,000-square-foot residence, calls it “updated traditional.” Shingled peaks familiar to the New England architectural landscape are dispersed on flat, modern datum lines to create the
A curved sofa and oval ottoman bring softness in form, texture, and color to the living room. Vincent, a portrait by Frederick J. Brown, is a favorite piece of art from the owners’ collection. FACING PAGE: The dining room seats twelve to fourteen guests comfortably. The tabletop and base are irregular in shape with rounded corners, while the chairs are upholstered in a soft green velvet. The buffet is painted with Benjamin Moore Tarrytown Green in a high-gloss finish.
“THIS IS A FANTASTIC MODERN HOUSE, BUT IT WAS COLD AND MASCULINE. MY JOB WAS TO WARM IT UP.” —INTERIOR DESIGNER MICHELLE MORGAN HARRISON
illusion of a floating roofline. The cladding is a combination of shingle siding and accents of horizontal shiplap boards given a modern edge with black framing around the impressive double-height entry and ten-foot-tall tilt-and-turn steel-frame windows.
To a passerby, the house had a substantial, even stately presence. Inside, however, there was a new-construction starkness. “This is a fantastic modern house,” says interior designer Michelle Morgan Harrison of Morgan Harrison Home, “but it
was cold and masculine. My job was to warm it up.”
“This is my dream home,” says the owner, who with her husband had raised three now-adult children in a charming 1928 Tudor and a 1904 vintage house with low ceilings and dark rooms. At three acres, the lot gave White space to create a footprint with rooms laid out in a long, linear pattern, one after the other, so that each has glazing on two or three walls. All those windows filled the interior with much appreciated natural light.
“I WANTED A SANCTUARY, BUT I WANTED IT WARM AND INVITING, NOT IMPOSING OR FANCY. I LIKE THAT EVERYTHING IS SIMPLE.” —THE HOMEOWNER
“I wanted a sanctuary,” says the owner, “but I wanted it warm and inviting, not imposing or fancy.” She and Morgan Harrison accomplished that with soft colors, textured textiles and rugs, curvaceous furniture, and spectacular lighting fixtures.
“I like that everything is simple,” says the owner. Simple, yet sophisticated as in the two-story entry foyer where the sculptural oak, steel, and glass staircase is itself a piece of art. It is beautifully complemented by a custom Random chandelier by Bocci. Its twenty pendant lights in three shades of smoky gray and blue green hover in suspended animation like little crystal spaceships. The foyer is grounded by a catwalk on the upper level designed by White to bring an “old library” look to the
RIGHT: Curves and soft textures continue in a guest room that features a low headboard upholstered in white linen. Ripples, the swirl-pattern wallpaper, is from Phillip Jeffries. BELOW: White marble, a curb-less walk-in shower, and a soaking tub with a view make for a spa-like primary bathroom. FACING PAGE: Like the kitchen wall, the table base has a cerused-wood finish. Rather than a sink in front of the window as is typical, White placed the cooktop and hood there to allow the cook to take in the view.
distinctly modern space.
Throughout, the palette is a mix of subtle greens and soft mushroom tones. In the kitchen, cabinets painted Benjamin Moore Titanium, a pale gray with blue-green undertones, are set against the cerusedwood finish on the walls.
The kitchen opens to the family room, a lightfilled space with windows on three walls and lovely views of the grounds and patio. A lush Moroccanstyle rug adds texture, pattern, and warmth. “I never feel closed in in that room,” says the homeowner. “It is very Zen. I could stay there all day long.”
As for furnishings, “we had fun playing with shapes,” says Morgan Harrison, noting the many asymmetrical pieces in the living spaces. “This project let us create. The homeowner drove that. She has a very good eye.”
Although the house is open and airy, it has the cozy charm and inviting nooks reminiscent of the older homes this family has occupied. Yet, says the owner, “I sometimes feel like I am living outdoors.” That balance, she adds, “is pretty perfect for us.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: For details, see Resources.
ARCHITECTURE: Tanner White Architects
INTERIOR DESIGN: Morgan Harrison Home
BUILDER: SBP Homes
LANDSCAPE DESIGN: Jennifer Anderson Design & Development
A rustic Hooker Furniture console table provides a drop zone for keys and mail in the entry hall, whose wall battens echo the muntins in an opposing window. FACING PAGE: A playful console table from Noir and a photograph by Sandi Fellman nestle next to the living room fireplace.
Decisions Great
Camden Grace Interiors puts a youthful spin on a modern farmhouse in record time.
Text by FRED ALBERT | Phot ography by JARED KUZIA | Styling b y MATTHEW GLEASON
When Jeanne Barber was asked to decorate a house that was under construction in Simsbury, she looked her clients square in the eyes and said, “Can you make decisions?”
With move-in just six months away, the owner of Camden Grace Interiors figured she had just ninety days to order every fabric, wallcovering, furnishing, and accessory in the 6,100-square-foot house. And since owners Ron and Stacey Mairano didn’t want to use any of their existing furniture, a lot of decisions needed to be made—and fast.
ABOVE: In the living room, contemporary furnishings in neutral colors contrast with the traditional architecture without conflicting with it. A pictureframe TV hangs from the dolomitic limestone fireplace, which soars twenty feet and had to be supported by an I-beam underneath. LEFT: An Arteriors chandelier illuminates an Old Biscayne Designs table in the dining area. The space is open to the kitchen but distinguished by subtle grasscloth wallpaper.
“We wanted to make a fresh start,” Ron says of the couple’s choice to trade their colonial on the outskirts of Simsbury for a new modern farmhouse near downtown. “We wanted a larger home and a more open floor plan,” he adds, “but we wanted it to feel very homey.”
With three teenage wrestlers in residence, “there was a lot of testosterone in the house,” Barber
concedes with a laugh. “We didn’t want the interior to be too precious.” At the same time, she acknowledges, “I did not want it to look like every other farmhouse. How could we make this feel special and kind of youthful?”
To add some character, she introduced lots of custom cabinetry and millwork to the home, which was designed by Schadler Selnau Associates.
FROM ABOVE: Guests can bypass the kitchen and help themselves to beverages in the neighboring scullery, which is equipped with a sink, dishwasher, wine storage, and a coffeemaker. Hinkley pendants illuminate a quartz composite countertop in the kitchen, which features custom cabinets by Zel Woodworking and a custom nickel vent hood accented with brass. The butler’s pantry is concealed behind nine-foot steel-and-glass doors and has a checkerboard marble floor and ample storage.
“I did not want it to look like every other farmhouse. How could we make this feel special and kind of youthful?”
—Interior designer Jeanne Barber
CLOCKWISE
“We used shiplap ceilings in the kitchen and family room, and we did board-and-batten in the entry hall and second-floor hallway,” notes builder Peter Sirois of Zel. Gridded-steel doors punctuate the interior, introducing a fresh, industrial counterpoint to the nostalgic architecture and warm white-oak floors.
Eyeing the living room’s dolomitic limestone fireplace, Sirois and Barber decided to extend the stone veneer an extra fourteen feet to the ceiling’s peak, giving the room a dramatic focal point around which everything else orbits. Furnishing the space proved
particularly challenging since all four sides double as passageways to other areas. “Creating a floor plan that felt intimate enough for conversation, but also allowed passage, was actually quite tricky,” Barber says. She pulled all the furniture away from the walls, providing circulation around the room’s perimeter, then anchored the seating area with a massive coffee table that puts distance between the seating pieces, while keeping everything close and cohesive.
Set within a bump-out adjoining the kitchen, the dining area experiences a lot of traffic, too, so Barber
opted for a generous round table instead of a rectangular one (fewer bruised hips as people pass) and paired it with curvaceous cane-backed chairs. “I like to do rounded backs when I have rounded tables,” the designer explains. Overhead, frosted-glass shades cascade from an Arteriors chandelier sized to stand up to the table below.
Stacey wanted a white kitchen, but the surrounding walls were already white, so Barber introduced some contrast with an oak island, brass accents, glossy subway tile, and reeded-glass doors. Commercial-grade appliances meet the demands of the three wrestlers and their older sister, as do the double set of washers and dryers in the charming brick-floored laundry room.
With a swimming pool, golf simulator, sauna, and pool table, the Mairanos’ house has become a magnet for their children’s friends. “It’s just a fun place to be around,” says Ron. Building it turned out to be a very good decision, indeed.
LEFT: “We wanted this room to be very serene,” says interior designer Jeanne Barber of the primary bedroom. BELOW: Given the home’s open floor plan, playful touches were confined to enclosed spaces like Stacey’s closet, where a banana-leaf pendant illuminates a ceiling covered in exuberant Sanderson wallpaper. FACING PAGE: “I wanted a spot I could call my little cave,” jokes husband Ron, whose expansive home office includes a poker table, bar, and TV viewing area.
The exterior of the Fairfield County house combines classic barn style, such as the red cedar siding, with modern elements like the oversize metal-framed windows. FACING PAGE: A sleek glass elevator extends from the basement to the third floor.
Designer Stephanie Rapp chose the pendant lights as an unobtrusive but glamorous addition to the space.
BARN
The CHARM of a
happily meet in this rustic-chic interpretation of modern barn style.
contemporary
and
Classic
Text by PAULA M. BODAH
|
Phot ography by JANE BEILES
If“barn style” doesn’t immediately conjure images of elegant, chic living, take a look at this Fairfield County house. Designed by Weston architect Jim Jamieson, the three-story, three-bedroom house nods to New England barn vernacular but with a contemporary twist. Classic elements such as a peaked roof and Western red cedar vertical siding speak to tradition, while sleek metal window and door frames sound a more modern note.
Inside, designer Stephanie Rapp worked with the homeowners and builder Jerry Effren of Greyrock Homes to flesh out Jamieson’s design. “When I came on board, plans were drawn but were really bare bones,” Rapp says. “There wasn’t trim work or finishes or fireplaces.”
That gave the designer the opportunity to lend the space the sophisticated look and feel her emptynester clients wanted. “The projects I create are cool, comfortable, and chic, and I would say that
CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: The sitting area uses a blend of natural elements and textures to achieve the cozy but sophisticated look the homeowners wanted. The front entrance is embellished with a window in the shape of a peace sign. The main floor’s powder room is all about drama with its Platinum Wave marble and deep blue-gray walls.
sums up this home,” Rapp explains.
Taking her cue from the exterior, Rapp sprinkled modern barn elements throughout the interior. A sliding barn door closes off the pantry and mudroom area. Character-grade white-oak floors further the rustic feel, as does the stair railing of white oak and black steel.
Then there are the elements that are anything but barnlike. Chief among them is the glass and steel tube holding an elevator that extends from the basement to the third floor. “This was the first time I did one of these tubes, and it was a challenge,” says Effren. “We had to line up the four levels within a half-inch clearance,” he explains. “The elevator goes in when the house is basically 100 percent complete, so if there’s a problem, it’s a big problem.”
Luckily, he adds, “It went in without a flaw.”
To achieve a stylish look while making sure the home would also feel warm and welcoming, Rapp employed natural elements and plenty of texture, all within a tranquil palette of whites, grays, and silvery tones. In the living room area—part of the open floorplan the designer and her clients call the “commons room”—a dramatic chandelier of
“The projects I create ARE COOL , comfortable, and CHIC , and I would say that SUMS UP this home.”
—INTERIOR DESIGNER STEPHANIE RAPP
LEFT: A second-floor den is made extra cozy with a ceiling painted Benjamin Moore Ocean Floor; built-ins flanking the woodburning fireplace hold a winter’s worth of firewood. BELOW: The cabinetry in the living area's wet bar matches the kitchen island, while the metallic backsplash ramps up the glam factor. FACING PAGE: The kitchen, designed by Karen Berkemeyer, is a blend of modern and classic with its distressed-wood island paired with contemporary leather chairs; a zinc hood and metal pendants lend a dramatic touch.
Taking her CUE FROM the exterior, Stephanie Rapp sprinkled
MODERN BARN elements throughout
the INTERIOR
.
FROM TOP LEFT: The primary bath, also designed by Berkemeyer, has cabinets of natural oak that echo the character-grade oak used on the floor of the main living area. A soak in the primary bath’s tub comes with bucolic views. Innovations’ Yosemite wallpaper on the bed wall adds interest to the serene primary bedroom with its palette of oatmeal and light gray.
smoky-black slate illuminates a seating arrangement that includes a pale-gray L-shaped sofa and a sculptural double coffee table with wooden bases and cast concrete tops. “The coffee table epitomizes the balance of modern and organic elements throughout the home,” the designer says.
The kitchen, by kitchen and bath designer Karen Berkemeyer, serves up the same mix of rugged and sophisticated. An island of charcoal-hued distressed wood is topped with smooth white quartz. Hanging above, a pair of oversize Earthshine steel pendants
CLOCKWISE
from Currey & Company make a statement that’s rivaled only by the handcrafted zinc hood above the stove.
Rapp couldn’t resist indulging the wife’s love of the occasional glamourous touch. A powder room is outfitted in striking Platinum Wave marble from Norwalk’s Everest Marble and a deco-inspired chandelier of glass disks, while the commons room’s wet bar sports a sparkly metallic backsplash.
One of Rapp’s favorite features is the “peace sign” window to the left of the front door, an
element chosen by the homeowner. “When you have a client with cool taste, you end up with a cool house,” she says.
EDITOR’S NOTE: For details, see Resources.
ARCHITECTURE: Jamieson Architects
INTERIOR DESIGN: Stephanie Rapp Interiors
BUILDER: Greyrock Homes
LANDSCAPE DESIGN: Andy Stewart Property Management
Resources
BATHING BEAUTIES
PAGES 45–52
Breathe Easy Pages 45–46
Interior design: Sarah Peterson Major, Sarah P. Major, Stamford, 860-575-3666, sarahpmajor.com
Builder: Jason Borner, Amgine, New Canaan, 203-210-5047
Interior design: Courtney Blanton Interiors & Home Restyle, New Rochelle, N.Y., 917-853-0568, courtneyblanton.com
Interior design: Dan Barsanti, Chris Desmone, Barsanti Desmone, New York, N.Y., Fairfield County, 917-821-7191, barsantidesmone.com
Interior design: Carissa Kim Pintello, Student, Asian American Pacific Islander Design Alliance, The Hospitality Industry Network, New York School of Interior Design, New York, N.Y. Interior design: Patrick Mele, New York, N.Y., Greenwich, 203-550-2264, patrickmele.com
COMFORT ZONE
PAGES 102–109
Architecture: Tanner White, Tanner White Architects, Westport, 203-283-4749, tannerwhitearchitects.com
Interior design: Michelle Morgan Harrison, Morgan Harrison Home, New Canaan, 203-594-7875, morganharrisonhome.com
Chatham Bars Inn | Chatham, MA luxuryhomedesignsummit.com
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Now entering its sixth year, the Luxury Home Design Summit is a conference and networking event for individuals who lead, manage, or are involved in firms serving the luxury home design industry.
“Thank you for hosting one of the best professional conferences I’ve been to. The speakers were insightful, knowledgeable, and very inspiring. I look forward to next year. Oh, and the spot was pretty amazing as well.”
—Attendee, Jeff Kaufman, JMKA | architects
A Little Extra Oomph
After eight years on West Putnam Avenue in Greenwich’s Design District, furniture and accessories brand Oomph recently relocated to a bigger, brighter showroom right across the street from its original space. The new location allows for intriguing vignettes that better display the brand’s brightly colored lacquered furniture—like the Tini III Table and Newport Chest seen here— as well as its upholstered pieces, lighting, hurricanes, Lucite trays, and rotating selection of original art. You’ll even find some jewelry in the mix. Stop by often: we’ve heard the selection is constantly changing. oomphhome.com
