Tag Archive for: Architecture

Brushy Ridge Road New Canaan

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Front shot

$4,650,000. Beyond the wrought iron gates lies a world of extraordinary beauty and extraordinarily livable luxury. Drive past the wisteria laden gazebo and magnificent rose garden and enter into a home of superb craftsmanship and flawless finishes. A dramatic two story entry with a graceful butterfly staircase welcomes you into this spectacular private haven. Hosting family and friends is important to the current owner and this home offers sumptuous rooms for grand entertaining and cozy spots for lounging. There are 9 exquisite fireplaces, high ceilings and elegant architectural details throughout the house, formal living rooms and dining room with butlers pantry, a magnificent mahogany paneled private study and mahogany paneled family room with a show stopping bar, including all the accouterments. The gourmet eat-in kitchen has a large center island, fireplace and opens to the extensive flagstone patio. A marvelous dressing room, fireplace and luxurious bath are part of the generous master suite and each spacious bedroom is en-suite with walk-in closets.
The park like grounds are breathtaking. Handsome, full sized blue stone patio extends the entertaining space, includes a built in Viking grill and overlook magnificent perennial gardens, dramatic free form swimming pool with spa, expansive lawns and a half basketball court. Perfect for special family event or to just enjoy a cool drink under the dappled sunlit outdoors
This impressive and elegant home is one of New Canaan’s premiere properties in a prime location and for the connoisseur of fine living. Full Listing Details: Brushy Ridge Road, New Canaan, Connecticut

A Love Affair with a New Canaan Porch

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The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch swing with, never say a word, then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation that you ever had”.

While inspecting a house the other day I got to thinking about porches…I’m in love with porches. They were for rocking and reading a good novel, swinging, kicking your feet up on the railing and listening to the buzzing of the Katydids, sleepovers and whispering late into the night or listening to the thunder and counting the seconds until the lightening hit. You were safe on the porch; from the rain, in a game of tag or from the bully down the street. It was a refuge from the heat and a chance to relax and socialize with the neighbors over drinks.  So what inspired the porch?

In its American sense, it generally refers to “a covered area adjoining an entrance to a building and usually having a separate roof” (Webster). The American front porch evolved from foreign influences and really appeared here in the early eighteenth century. Possible derived from the houses of West Africa, the shotgun house, built by the African slave, appeared as one of the first American houses to universally exhibit a front porch.

One of the oldest shotgun houses still existing

The influence of climate on the origins of porches may be demonstrated in the fact that porches in America grew first and most quickly in the South; think of Scarlet and her beloved Tara.

Porches grew in size and shapes and were prolific in the 1800’s. They were everywhere, in Spanish and French Colonial architecture, used in Georgian, Greek Revival and Gothic design and incorporated in Italianate and Stick Style architecture.  The development of the automobile, air conditioning, television and new technology transformed the culture and by the 1960’s the porch had all but disappeared.  Gratefully, the porch has made a comeback. It is a uniquely American architectural form that still brings a smile and a sense of home. Mint Julep anyone?

Home Sweet…. Whatever

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Adding an addition to my own home sent me to the internet for ideas. Typing in the words sustainability and recycling materials sent me down a few rabbit holes….see for yourself.

It seems Francie Rehwald wanted a home with curvilinear, feminine shapes for a 55-acre property in the Malibu, Calif., hills that overlooks a mountain range, a valley, and the Pacific Ocean. In fulfilling her dream, architect David Hertz designed “Wing House” … and recycled a Boeing 747-200 to do so.

According to an article by Susan Galleymore:  “That airplane was selected from among the hundreds of retired airplanes that sit in California’s deserts. They are typically sold for the price of aluminum. This purchase — an aircraft measuring more than 230 feet long, 195 feet wide and 63 feet tall, with more than 17,000 cubic feet of cargo area — cost less than $50,000 dollars.

All of the structures on Rehwald’s property incorporate components and pieces of that aircraft. Both main wings and two stabilizers from the tail section — more than 2,500 square feet to scale — make up the roof for the master bedroom.

A fire pit and water element are constructed out of the engine cowling. A separate art studio uses a 50-foot-long section of the upper fuselage as a roof. The roof of the guesthouse incorporates the remaining front portion of the fuselage, and upper first-class cabin deck.

The lower half of the fuselage and cargo hold forms an animal barn, while a separate meditation pavilion made from the entire front of the airplane is 28 feet in diameter and 45 feet tall — the cockpit forms a skylight.”

The trend in recycling structures not traditionally considered “real estate” spans the gamut from residences to restaurants to luxury hotels and is not limited to airplanes — it also includes shipping containers, retired railroad cars and locomotives, among other creative conversions.

Even Bob Villa has gotten into the act, posting on his website an article about how to transform shipping containers into Home Sweet Container.… “Steel shipping container homes, also called storage container homes, offer a fast, green, and sustainable approach to building. These inter-modal steel building units (ISBUs) are manufactured in a factory-controlled environment so they are standardized and reliable. They can be used to build an average-sized home with almost no wood.”

You can use four 40x8x8-foot ISBUs laid side-by-side to create a three-bedroom, 1,280-square-foot home without a hint of its original corrugated-steel exterior or get creative with unconventional shapes and layouts.

Speaking of unconventional shapes: people have been thinking outside the box for years when it comes to their own abode…consider the Mushroom House in Ohio or the Bubble House in Cannes, France. All over the world there are some interesting and strange dwellings. Just remember, Falling Water by Frank Lloyd Wright was once considered bizarre. For other interesting and whimsical homes visit http://www.oddee.com/item_96556.aspx

Wonder what our Planning and Zoning Department would think about some of these….

Information contained herein is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and should be independently verified. 
Wendy Dixon Fog specializes in New Canaan real estate, a top listing and top selling agent assisting buyers and sellers throughout the area. Access the MLS, receive a free home evaluation, and subscribe to daily home listings updates . Call or text 203.979-6277, email wendy@wendyfog.com