by David Varnish, Principal and Founding Partner
Residential architecture is in our DNA and working on “getaway from the city” weekend and vacation country retreats is truly a fun sector to be involved with. With a much less constraining approval process than we have to navigate in NYC, our clients are free to consider many different design ideas offering them comfort, relaxation and fun while they are away from their primary residences.
Lately as a result of Covid-19, many of these homes have been getaway havens from the city and serving as home working environments. While in many cases, the country home is destined to become a more full-time retirement residence, we are now seeing this timetable reduced dramatically as many are looking to transition their lives to their country escape permanently.
Presently, many employees are being offered the opportunity to work from home indefinitely, but only time will tell of course if schools are able to open this fall which will be a big factor in deciding to return to the city or not.
For “Washington House” the client and the lead designer was my wife, Electa, who found the place and immediately had a desire to own it and a subsequent passion to restore and renovate it to allow it to recapture some lost lustre while sitting vacant for an extended period.
We had been retreating from NYC to Litchfield County, CT for 23 years when this gem caught her eye. Being content with our current abode one town over, I knew this house needed more than simply TLC! It required real investment to bring it back to its former glory – when previously featuring on the cover of Elle Decor in 2010.
Electa handled the total curation from the color scheme of flooring and walls to furniture purchasing and placement and lighting specifications. She also selected the countertop materials and designed the bathroom vanities along with selecting the fixtures and accessories. My job was to coordinate with our Contractor, Kuehn Building & Remodeling (a long-time trusted resource).
The house had been renovated and added on to over the years by its previous owners who were true artisans, craftsmen, designers and did much if not all of the work themselves. Custom wood paneling was left intact along with leather covered wall panels in the living room and leather flooring in the family room.
Sitting empty though for a year or so, much work needed to be done including a new kitchen island, cabinet and pantry restoration, new banquette, new lighting, refinished floors, total bathroom renovations, hardware both on doors and windows and mechanical maintenance and upgrades.
From a safety standpoint, the existing chimneys were rebuilt from the roofline up, the existing lightning protection system was reworked and upgraded as was the home security system. WiFi was also enhanced and multiple access points allow for consistent service not only throughout the two connected structures but around most of the extensive property outside. The guesthouse received new windows, new kitchenette, a clean white interior and a fully renovated bathroom.
A full garage renovation is in progress including a new custom designed door and service entry, new lighting, siding, structural framing and a standing seam metal roof.
A stone building next to the pool will be a future project. Presently in need of a roof, door, windows, floor and amenities to become a “pool furniture storage” building along with working with the future and adjacent vegetable and flower gardens.
The remains of a solar hot-water system for the pool that was decommissioned when the pool equipment was replaced, will be converted to use new Photo Voltaic panels and tie back to the house to offset electricity use and hopefully balance the fuel (propane) cost of heating the pool.
Located on 28+ acres, there’s no shortage of landscaping projects including managing the mature trees that give the home so much privacy and the site it’s character.
We have been sheltering in place here since March 19th, working and learning from home, and it has worked great for our family (including our dog and cat). We feel very fortunate.
This escape will also become a more permanent residence for us in the near future with plenty of projects still to do – so stay tuned for an update and more photos!
