Darien Tudor House
Set well back from the street, on several acres of bucolic landscape in lower Fairfield County, Connecticut, our client’s house had the look and feel of an English cottage. They loved its stone walls, slate roof, heavy timber detailing, and charming scale of the original house, but it no longer met the needs of their day-to-day life.
They needed more space for their growing family and they wanted to remove a previous addition that didn’t match the charm and elegance of the original house. The goal was to add a significant addition while maintaining the cottage-like scale and look of the house. The owners wanted the new work to meet seamlessly with the original house, and still meet the functional needs of a family of today. For inspiration and ideas we looked to some of our favorite English Arts and Crafts architects, such as Baillie Scott, C. F. A. Voysey, and Edwin Lutyens.
Our addition expanded and updated the existing kitchen, added a cozy family room where they could all gather in front of a fire, or watch TV together, and english-style conservatory where they could enjoy sunlight and garden views year-round. A three-car garage offers convenience, while a modern mudroom gives the family a place to shed umbrellas, boots, sports equipment, and backpacks as they enter the house, and a new office, adjacent to the kitchen, houses the family computer, calendar, and more.
On the second floor, we added two children’s bedrooms, several bathrooms, a laundry room, and an exercise room; we also expanded and updated the existing master bathroom.
Over the course of the renovation, all of the house’s mechanical systems were updated with energy efficiency and sustainability in mind: We installed a geothermal HVAC system, added phone, cable and internet connections, a sound system and modernized all of the wiring and electrical equipment.
Feautured in: “Period Homes” May 2012
General Contractor: Amgine, LLC
Photos: Nancy Elizabeth Hill