The charge was to modernize the rambling ell of a distinguished Connecticut farmhouse by providing a new kitchen and family dining area, two bedrooms, a family room, a large “summer room,” one and a half baths, a laundry and workspace, and a two-car garage. The eighth generation of the family to occupy the house, the owners wanted exterior renovations and fenestration to be reasonably true to the dwelling’s Colonial origins while also being spacious, sunny, and up-to-date.
The existing impractical ell was replaced with a more compact and better insulated version with free-standing post-and-beam interior architecture, combining traditional joinery with the modern organization of spokes. The post-and-beam structure extends beyond the ell to form the summer room and to incorporate an existing free-standing chimney. A new interior chimney and fireplace, built of cobblestones from Boston’s Haymarket Square, are the symbolic heart of the house and enclose a staircase to the second floor.
The post-and-beam structure is pulled back from the south side of the ell to allow maximum penetration of light. A black slate floor on a concrete slab collects heat during the day and radiates it at night. Fenestration is in keeping with Colonial style, recalling windows of a barn or carriage house, and skylights admit copious natural light.
Photography © Cervin Robinson