By Meg Barone
CORRESPONDENT

The name of the road — Hulls Highway — is deceiving enough, but then so is the house at 940 Hulls Highway in the Southport section of Fairfield.

Both can fool you in the best possible way. Despite its name, Hulls Highway is a quiet, rural road that meanders passed a mélange of stately homes and properties with horses; and despite its appearance, the colonial saltbox house looks like it was built in the 18th century.

At first glance, the house appears authentic, but the custom-built reproduction saltbox was actually built in 1979 with yesterday’s details and today’s amenities. It is accurate in many of its architectural details, yet it is not museum-like. The current owners are history buffs and wanted to have the feel of living in that time period, but with the built-in comfort of the modern era. They used J. Frederick Kelly’s book “Early Connecticut Architecture” as their construction bible to create their masterpiece.

The 3,634 square-foot house was meticulously designed as a quintessential 1750 classic New England saltbox and painstakingly appointed with chestnut beams, wide planked walnut floors on the first floor, pediment, colonial wall paneling, period-looking light fixtures including brass sconces, and hand-wrought vintage hardware on exterior doors. To lend a real air of authenticity, the owners had light switches in some rooms installed in closets to hide them, since there was no electricity in the 1700s.

The colors that the owners incorporated into the décor are close to the colors that would actually have been used in colonial times. The house sits well back from the road, and the front of the nearly two-acre property along the road is lined with a fieldstone wall, which was so typical of colonial Connecticut farm land. There is a long pebble driveway that passes the open meadow of the front yard and stands of trees eventually leading to the house and the three-car attached garage, both of which are natural-colored wood clapboard with an antique blue-green trim. The two side-by-side front doors have numerous raised panels and are beautifully framed in decorative millwork.

The doors open into a small foyer with a double-door closet. To the left is the formal living room or parlor and to the right is the formal dining room. The parlor has one fully paneled wall, which houses the red brick fireplace. The rest of the walls have the paneling on the lower quarter. The homeowners said they interviewed seven masons before finding one who could build the fireplace authentically. The interior bricks are new and the outer portion comprises reclaimed bricks to provide that antique appearance. The dining room has a fieldstone fireplace, exposed beams, paneling on the lower walls, and two built-in corner cupboards.

A door separates the dining room from the family room, or keeping room, which opens into the small but well-laid-out gourmet kitchen. In fact, one of the current owners is a professional chef and culinary instructor. And if that’s not enough to convince someone of its function and efficiency, how about this? Shortly after this house construction was completed, the kitchen garnered national attention.

It was featured on the front cover of a special edition of Family Circle magazine in 1981. The keeping room is really almost like three rooms in one. It runs the length of the house from side to side and includes a sitting area, a main area with a fieldstone fireplace and hearth just outside the dining room, and a den or library section with lots of built-in bookshelves. This latter section can also be accessed through the living room. The lintel over the fireplace is a reclaimed beam found on Jennings Beach. A large barn-like door from the keeping room to a spacious barn room has 15 panes — three rows of five — of bull’s-eye glass. This room has a brick floor in a modified herringbone pattern, hand-hewn chestnut beams, a skylight, antique wet bar, rough sawn pine wood paneled walls and two bay window seating areas overlooking the stunning backyard, which is more like a small-scale botanical garden.

There are two French doors from the porch to a slate patio and into the yard. At the opposite end of the porch there is also a pass-through window into the kitchen. The kitchen has a red brick floor, also in a modified herringbone pattern, a vaulted ceiling, skylight, and a backsplash of ceramic tile with some hand-painted floral tiles. The counters are topped with butcher’s block wood. There is a deep and long stainless sink and the appliances are hidden for the most part behind cupboards that resemble those of the colonial period. Appliances include a Viking six-burner range top, two Jenn-Air wall-mounted ovens, and a Sub-Zero refrigerator.

Back in the keeping room, at the library end of it, there is an L-shaped hallway with doors to the slate patio.

This area provides access to the basement, garage and a powder room with plaster walls. These plaster walls have sheetrock underneath and are meant to continue the vintage feel.

The plaster walls continue up the stairs to the second floor. At the top of the stairs and to the left is a laundry room with under-eaves storage and access to an unfinished room over the garage, which looks out over the slate patio, rose garden and the panoramic view of the large yard with its mix of formal gardens, meadow and landscaping that includes clipped boxwood hedges, quince trees and other plantings. There is also a pergola with benches and a wood-shingled roof. This room, once finished, would make an ideal guest room or art studio.

There are three bedrooms on the second floor, including the master bedroom suite, and another two bedrooms on the third floor with a sitting area between them. The bedroom windows all have interior shutters — not plantation shutters, but full-length, attractive solid wood shutters. Above each window is decorative millwork. Each bedroom has a California closet, and pine wood floors that were installed in 2001.

For more information, or to set up a private appointment to see the house, call Melanie Smith of Prudential at 203-319-3403 or 203-521-2126.

By Meg Barone

CORRESPONDENT

Striking vermillion sunrises and sunsets over Long Island Sound await the next owner of the antique Geor gian colonial house at 80 Park Boule vard that was originally named Lord ship Manor. The house was built in 1912 as the summer residence of A.W.

Burritt, who had a lumber yard in Stratford.

The original knocker bearing his name and the date the house was built is still affixed to the front door. The house enjoys a 180-degree unobstruct ed view of the Sound and is only steps from the private Russian Beach, to which the homeowners have rights.

The property closest to the water is across the street from the house and is not owned by the homeowner. It is owned by the Lordship Improvement Association, which holds it in trust for the residents of Lordship only.

The view alone is worth the price, but then there is the attractive 3,350 square-foot house and the property to go along with it. The house was built on a corner lot, which at one-eighth of an acre is double the size of most parcels.

It gives the house a generous side yard for gardening, child’s play, pic nics and other activities. During World War II that yard served as a Victory Garden. The yard contains a child-size dollhouse that dates back to the 1930s.

The front of the house faces Park Boulevard and the driveway is on Margherita Lawn, a charming street with a wide, park-like divider. The circular, paved driveway leads to the backyard patio, large trellis, a stately sycamore tree and the detached deep garage which can actually fit six cars.

The garage, at one time, had running water and still includes the plumbing for the interior sink and commode and the exterior shower it once had.

There is also electricity and gas hook-up out there, a workbench and loft storage. The double sliding doors resemble barn doors. Bricks from the original Stratford Town Hall, which was razed to make way for the con struction of I-95, were used for the backyard patio and the walkway on the Margherita Lawn side of the house.

The house can accommodate a large family.

It has six bedrooms on the second floor and there are three more finished rooms on the third floor, which was originally a walk-up attic. They lend themselves to limitless possibilities.

For instance, renovation could com bine some of the rooms to create a large master bedroom suite. It has a wide white clapboard exterior with black shutters, which serves as a backdrop for hundreds of daffodils in the spring. There is also an enormous holly tree in the front yard.

The footprint of the original large wrap-around porch now serves as a terraced lawn with a red brick retain ing wall.

At one end is a period-looking light post, and at the other is a farm bell — not a ship’s bell as many people as sume — that was used decades ago to call kids home for dinner. The front door is flanked by sidelights and an arched window above, all of which have decorative leaded glass. It opens into the large foyer, which was the dining room in the house’s original configuration. The size of the house was increased by one-third in a 1937 1940 renovation, which added the current dining room, porch and mas ter bedroom.

The foyer has a ceiling with four exposed beams painted white, crown molding and chair railing, but not at chair level. Rather, it sits about three quar ters up on the walls.

There is also a hardwood floor, as there is in all rooms throughout the house, although some rooms have wall-to-wall carpeting over it. To the left is the formal living room or parlor and to the right is the grand formal dining room, which could accommo date a large gathering on holidays.

There are two entrances into the kitchen from the foyer: one is a pass-through that also serves as a pantry area, the other pass-through also provides access to the second floor and requires two steps up and two down into the kitchen.

The parlor has the same exposed beam ceiling of the foyer, crown molding, a fireplace with a marble surround, and access to a small back hallway where there is a half bath and a door to the Mar gherita Lawn side of the house. From the dining room there is a door into the eat-in or breakfast room portion of the long kitchen.

Along the east side of the house is a large cov ered porch that can be accessed from French doors in the dining room and from the eat-in area of the kitchen. The dining room has two built-in corner cabinets with glass front doors.

The kitchen has crown molding with scalloped wood edges below it, off-white wood cabinets, linoleum flooring, a counter with a butcher’s block top, stainless sink and a laundry area with a GE washer and dryer. Kitchen appliances include a Hotpoint dishwasher, Frigidaire professional refrigerator and Whirlpool stove. There are two doors to the backyard from the kitchen, one of which goes first into an enclosed back porch.

The second floor has six bedrooms, one of which has a sink in it. Some rooms are painted, others have wallpaper. The shared full bath in the hallway has a mosaic tile floor in various shades of pink,three- by- three-inch pink ceramic tiles on the lower half of the walls and white fixtures.

A second shared full bath has a similar décor but in pink and maroon. The master bedroom overlooks Long Island Sound and has its own full bath.

For more information, or to set up a private appoint ment to see the house, call Maggie Smith of William Raveis Real Estate at 203-339-1277.

By Meg Barone
CORRESPONDENT

Shelton has a rich agricultural history, which continues today with a number of operating farms.

A property in the White Hills section at 136 Maple Ave. is no longer a working farm, but its remnants are still visible today on a 2.04 acre lot, which holds a nine room colonial farmhouse, five barns, two carriage houses and a three-seat outhouse. All are available for purchase.

Built in 1803, the house was later renovated to add the current kitchen and convert the existing kitchen into a full bath, and the house now contains 2,352 square feet of living space.

Although historic records are hard to find, the current owner believes this property was once the site of the Wigwam Brandy and Wine Farm, and said large kegs from that alcohol operation were found in one of the barns decades ago. Rumor has it there was a still across the street during Prohibition, too.

More recent owners kept typical farm animals like cows, sheep, pigs, goats, horses, chickens, turkeys and ducks. The barns may need some work, but they are still usable and could accommodate animals. All of the outbuildings are attractive gray, weathered wood, and some of them have heat and electricity. One barn has three stories, one of which still serves as a large workshop, and it has a large number of electrical outlets. At least one of the barns or carriage houses can be used as a multicar garage.

The largest of the barns has a cupola. Some of the barns housed animals and still have stalls. The house sits on a bit of an incline and looks down onto Maple Avenue.

Just past the house, Maple becomes East Village. A long, paved driveway cuts in front of the house and continues to a large parking area, accessing three of the out buildings.

The exterior of the house is natural cedar clapboard with white trim. There is a wide, long wrap around porch in the front and one side with several white columns.

More often than not the current residents use the rear entrance into the kitchen, since that is closest to the parking.

The formal front entrance is attractive, with a wood door that is original to the home. It has two arched windows, side by side, which are frosted and contain a decorative starlike pattern. An old door bell sits just below the win dows.

Stepping through the door into the foyer seems like taking a step into Shelton’s past. There are hardwood floors throughout the house, many of them original wide planked boards, probably chestnut, considering the time period. There is a wealth of decorative details in the millwork.

The foyer provides access to the formal sitting room, or living room, to the left, the family room or den on the right, and the formal dining room straight ahead.

The front staircase is also in the foyer. A rear staircase is accessed in the kitchen.

From the foyer to the sitting room, there is a wide entrance, which has two pocket doors to separate the room and foyer. Two more pocket doors separate the sitting and dining rooms.

The sitting room has crown molding, chair rail and a decorative fireplace. It was originally func tional, but the chimney has since been bricked shut.

The fireplace has a surround of miniature subway tiles in mottled brown and aqua colors, and a decorative natural wood mantle.

The lower walls are painted off white and the upper walls are covered in an attractive paper befitting the period of the house.

Thanksgivings would be well spent in this house, not just for its agricultural heritage but for its long dining room, which could easily accommodate two long tables and a large number of people.

This room has the same wallpaper of the sitting room on the upper walls, wood paneling on the lower walls with a ledge at chair rail level. There is a built-in hutch, a coat closet, and a cabinet built into an upper wall that it shares with the kitchen.

In fact, years ago this cabinet served as a pass through between the kitchen and dining room, but now it can only be accessed from the dining room side. Also in the dining room is a regular wood paneled door that separates it from the foyer.

The den has a built-in bookshelf and cubbies that go the length of one wall.

The kitchen is large and features lights on a dimmer switch, a linoleum floor, wallpaper on the upper section and wood paneling below, a counter area with Formica counter tops, and natural wood cabinets topped with crown mold ing.

There is more than enough room to include a long dining table. Appliances include a Kitchen Aid refrigerator and dishwasher, Magic Chef microwave and Maytag range. Off the kitchen is a full bath with a long granite-topped vanity with two sinks, a linoleum floor made to resemble wood, a shower stall with two sliding glass doors, cabinets, and beige ceramic tiles on the lower two-thirds of the wall. There is also a laundry room.

Upstairs, there is a long landing from which there is access to three of the four bedrooms, an office and a full bath. The far bedroom is accessed through the office or from the rear stairs, as is the walk-up attic.

In the master bedroom there is a very long walk-in closet that goes the length of one wall, with shelves at both ends and another long shelf above the clothing rack.

The floors are wide planked hardwood. A couple of these second-floor rooms, including the master bedroom, have tulip wood floors. Some of the doorways leading into bedrooms from the landing are angled, or appear crooked from the outside, but from inside the bedroom they are straight.

And it’s not a matter of the wood settling in such a way after so many years. The doorways were deliberately made so. Apparently, in that time period, it was done to confound evil spirits and keep them from the rooms.

The full bath’s linoleum floor resembles white tile. There is a combination tub and shower, and the lower walls have 4-by-4-inch blue ceramic tile. The rest is wall paper.

Most unfinished basements are not worth mentioning, but this full basement is because it has an old section that has a wide barnlike door with original hardware and exposed beams in the ceiling from local trees. It also has two 275 gallon oil tanks. Outside, there is wide open lawn, some of which is bordered by a white picket fence in the front of the property, and some of which is enclosed by historic stone walls.

For more information, or to set up a private appointment to see the house, call Ellen Zern of Pepe Real Estate at 203-929 6775 or 203-209-5069.

By Meg Barone

CORRESPONDENT

While neighbors are yearning for warm weather to open their own backyard pools or fleeing the state for warmer climes during the winter months, the owners of the spacious ranch at 256 Dayton Road in Trumbull are happily donning swimsuits to lounge pool-side and swim laps. And the nearly maintenance free, indoor, in-ground, heated Wagner pool is only the first of several unusual and interest ing features of this house, which has a contem porary flair.

Just off the living room is a solarium, which is ideal for plant-lovers.

The master bedroom suite contains a sauna that includes a tanning bed, rain shower and stereo system. The kitchen has a large walk-in pantry. And there are two garages and drive ways. The house has 3,559 square feet of living space and its open floor plan makes it an attractive entertainment place.

The original house was considerably smaller, but a renovation project about 30 years ago added on several rooms, including the master bedroom, indoor pool or giant sun room, the two-car garage and the bedroom above it.

The house sits on a parcel of just over one acre and includes open lawn as well as land scaped areas with stately oaks, Japanese maples, dogwoods and other plantings. The first paved driveway leads to a two-car at tached, under-house garage, and has a slate path to the front entrance, passing by flower beds lined in Belgian block, an open lawn and a mix of shrubs and trees. The second drive way is on the opposite side of the property and leads to a one-car, attached, under-house garage.

The exterior of the house, which was built in 1954, is cedar installed vertically and diago nally. The front door is wood with recessed panels and a decorative oval of clear beveled and leaded glass. This opens into a small area, which has brown ceramic tile and a large picture window on the left looking into the solarium, and three wooden stairs to the living room.

There is an oak floor in the living room, chair rail, pic ture- frame paneling, crown molding, and a gas fireplace surrounded by unpolished marble, a wood mantle with dentil molding and a slightly raised hearth topped in slate.

Two French doors open to the solarium, which requires several steps down. It has a gravel floor, shelving for plants, four large picture windows and four skylights on its slanted roof.

From the living room there is a hallway that leads to the dining room and kitchen, as well as to a first-floor bed room, full bath, two-car garage and stairs to the bedroom above it. This area of the house, except for the kitchen, has hardwood flooring.

The dining room has chair rail, crown molding and one enormous picture window, about eight-feet long by five feet tall, overlooking the spacious, enclosed sunroom that includes the pool. There is another large picture window, not quite the same dimensions, in the kitchen that also looks into the pool room. In the kitchen, there is a good-size eat-in section, linoleum flooring that resem bles off-white ceramic tiles, honey-colored oak cabinets with vertical planks of wood, an off-white ceramic tile backsplash, large skylight and a Formica-topped counter that separates the preparation area from the eat-in section.

There are three stainless sinks, including a vegetable sink, and the appliances include a Kenmore side-by side refrigerator and freezer, compactor and garbage disposal, Whirlpool range and GE dishwasher. On the opposite end of the kitchen is a butler’s pantry with numer ous cabinets, a counter area, and the same brown tile floor of the front entrance way.

This pantry provides access to the master bedroom, a sepa rate entrance to the master bath and also to the sun room, which houses the indoor pool, a laundry room with a sink, pool changing room and pool utility room. There is a second entrance into this sun room from the eat-in kitchen, where there is a sliding door and atrium “window” and then stairs to the pool.

The master bedroom is quite large and has a vaulted ceiling, and the exposed brick of the living room fireplace.

One wall contains an excep tionally long closet, which has four sets of double doors to access various portions of it.

At the top of the vaulted ceiling there are three hori zontal windows. This room also features two sets of two crank-out windows, bringing lots of natural light into the room. The sauna is on the interior wall, which it shares with the master bath. There is a large closet in the bath that can access the back of the sauna in case it needed work.

In front of the sauna there is a break in the bedroom’s wall to- wall carpeting, where there is instead an area of stone-like tile.

Beige porcelain tiles arranged in a pattern deco rate the floor in the master bath. Similarly colored tiles serve as the backsplash in the combo jetted tub and shower with sliding glass doors. One wall of the tub/shower has glass cubes.

The sun room has Spanish cedar wood planks on the walls, four skylights and six sets of double atrium sliding doors providing access to the wood deck, quarried stone deck, fenced-in backyard, which includes a large en closed area for pets, a stone retaining wall and stone steps to an upper level.

Next to the pool is a relaxing stone waterfall.

There is an area for a pool side entertainment system, which would allow for televi sion viewing from in the pool.

Those concerned about a chlorine smell permeating the house need not worry because there is virtually no chlorine smell in the pool room itself.

The only maintenance it requires is checking the chlorinator once a month.

The pool is on a timer to self clean and it is heated with gas. It also has a humidity control system. As an added bonus, the fact that the pool is inside means there are no leaves to remove.

The room above the two car garage is currently used as an office, but could be a third bedroom, if necessary. It has a separate heating and air conditioning unit from the rest of the house, lots of windows and a vaulted ceiling.

On the basement level, there is a large, carpeted family room that has a gas fireplace with a large red brick surround and a slate hearth, and a good-size bar with a sink. The upper walls are wood paneling and the lower walls are red brick with a ledge and numerous electri cal outlets just above the ledge throughout the room. On this level there is also a lot of storage and utility space, and access to the second garage.

For more information, or to set up a private appointment to see the house, call Darcy Hall of William Pitt Sotheby’s Inter national Realty at 203-261-7488, ext. 329.

Meg Barone

On a quiet cul-de-sac in the heart of the Hunt Club section of Westport is an attractive contemporary house that would be ideal for a gardener because of the lot size, landscaping and its greenhouse. The taupe colored cedar house at 5 Sprucewood Lane is almost like a private botanical paradise on a 1.23-acre parcel. The house is set well back from the road. Its paved driveway goes through a gate and up a slight incline to the two-car attached, under-house garage, passing along the way some beautiful shrubs and trees arranged in such a way that they provide a serene setting.

There is a beautiful view from almost every direction on the property and from inside the home looking out onto the grounds and surrounding neighborhood. This 4,153-square-foot house was built in 1945 and features four bedrooms, including a large first floor master bedroom suite with his and hers closets and baths. From the driveway there is a wide slate path lined in the field stone of the retaining wall that leads to the front entrance, which includes an attractive wood door with decorative carvings.

The door is flanked by tall single-pane sidelights that are more like atrium windows. Above them is a long horizontal window on the second floor level. To the left of the front entrance, as you face the house, is the greenhouse.

Inside, there is a sizable foyer with a forest-green ceramic tile floor, providing access to various sections of the house. Straight ahead is the spacious living room. To the left is the wing of the house which has an office and the master bedroom suite. To the right is the wing with the dining room and kitchen.

Also in the foyer is the second-floor staircase. The living room has a soaring vaulted ceiling, a hardwood floor, and a fireplace and a large rounded bay area including eight tall, single pane windows atop an arched ledge that creates display shelving for artifacts or plants. The fireplace has a brick interior and green ceramic tile hearth. In keep ing with the contemporary design of the house, there is no mantle. More of the tall single-pane windows on another wall and a skylight help to bring lots of natural light into the room.

The living room leads into the family room, which features a slate floor, numer ous wood built-ins and a fireplace with a brick interior and exterior surround. There is a raised brick hearth topped in slate and a mantle.

The wood paneled wall, brick around the fireplace and the hearth are painted green.

Accessed from the family room are the garage and a large three-season porch, which has a white ceramic tile floor, about a dozen tall, single-pane windows, and a large bay area almost identi cal to the one in the living room.

Compared to the other rooms, the kitchen is on the smaller side, and yet it is just the right size for daily food preparation and entertaining. It has the same green ceramic tile floor of the foyer, white cabinets, two counter areas with deep pink Formica counter tops, and wallpaper in a contemporary swirl of pink, purple, blue, green and white. Appliances include a Sub-Zero refrigerator, Bosch dishwasher, Thermador double wall-mounted ovens, and a Thermador range top on the counter.

The dining room has a hardwood floor, purple walls, two corner cabinets with two upper glass-front doors, and chair railing. There are four tall windows on the wall that overlooks the front yard of the property and above those windows is a semicircle cut into the ceiling to reveal a large window over them.

At the opposite end of the house, on the other side of the foyer, is a long hallway with green ceramic tile flooring. The office is accessed from this hallway. It has built-in bookshelves and an entrance into the green house.

At the end of the hall there is a full bath with a blue ceramic tile floor, natural wood vanity, papered walls, and a walk-in shower with various sizes of blue ceramic tile on the floor and walls.

This is the “his” bath that goes with the master bed room suite. It sits just outside the suite itself. In the suite there is a large bedroom with a hardwood floor, a six-door tall storage closet area, his and hers closets and the “hers” full bath, which features a purple ceramic tile floor, papered walls in a lavender, purple and off-white art nouveau pattern, and a white commode and separate bidet. The sink is white with an attractive hand-painted floral pattern encased in the purple Formica counter top.

This bath also features a large, circular jetted tub on a ceramic tile base with a decorative tile border. Up stairs, the landing is open, providing an “aerial” view into the living room. There are three bedrooms on this level, two of which have wall to- wall carpeting and one with hardwood floor. All three have built-in book shelves. The full bath on this level is unique. It is separated into two side-by-side rooms; one is like a large water closet with a blue ceramic tile floor, and one has a combination tub and shower, as well as a vanity and sink.

For more information, or to set up a private appointment to see the house, call Judy Michaelis of Coldwell Banker Real Estate at 203-247-5000 or e-mail her at judym@optonline.net.

Meg Barone

On a quiet cul-de-sac in the heart of the Hunt Club section of Westport is an attractive contemporary house that would be ideal for a gardener because of the lot size, landscaping and its greenhouse. The taupe colored cedar house at 5 Sprucewood Lane is almost like a private botanical paradise on a 1.23-acre parcel. The house is set well back from the road. Its paved driveway goes through a gate and up a slight incline to the two-car attached, under-house garage, passing along the way some beautiful shrubs and trees arranged in such a way that they provide a serene setting.

There is a beautiful view from almost every direction on the property and from inside the home looking out onto the grounds and surrounding neighborhood. This 4,153-square-foot house was built in 1945 and features four bedrooms, including a large first floor master bedroom suite with his and hers closets and baths. From the driveway there is a wide slate path lined in the field stone of the retaining wall that leads to the front entrance, which includes an attractive wood door with decorative carvings.

The door is flanked by tall single-pane sidelights that are more like atrium windows. Above them is a long horizontal window on the second floor level. To the left of the front entrance, as you face the house, is the greenhouse.

Inside, there is a sizable foyer with a forest-green ceramic tile floor, providing access to various sections of the house. Straight ahead is the spacious living room. To the left is the wing of the house which has an office and the master bedroom suite. To the right is the wing with the dining room and kitchen.

Also in the foyer is the second-floor staircase. The living room has a soaring vaulted ceiling, a hardwood floor, and a fireplace and a large rounded bay area including eight tall, single pane windows atop an arched ledge that creates display shelving for artifacts or plants. The fireplace has a brick interior and green ceramic tile hearth. In keep ing with the contemporary design of the house, there is no mantle. More of the tall single-pane windows on another wall and a skylight help to bring lots of natural light into the room.

The living room leads into the family room, which features a slate floor, numer ous wood built-ins and a fireplace with a brick interior and exterior surround. There is a raised brick hearth topped in slate and a mantle.

The wood paneled wall, brick around the fireplace and the hearth are painted green.

Accessed from the family room are the garage and a large three-season porch, which has a white ceramic tile floor, about a dozen tall, single-pane windows, and a large bay area almost identi cal to the one in the living room.

Compared to the other rooms, the kitchen is on the smaller side, and yet it is just the right size for daily food preparation and entertaining. It has the same green ceramic tile floor of the foyer, white cabinets, two counter areas with deep pink Formica counter tops, and wallpaper in a contemporary swirl of pink, purple, blue, green and white. Appliances include a Sub-Zero refrigerator, Bosch dishwasher, Thermador double wall-mounted ovens, and a Thermador range top on the counter.

The dining room has a hardwood floor, purple walls, two corner cabinets with two upper glass-front doors, and chair railing. There are four tall windows on the wall that overlooks the front yard of the property and above those windows is a semicircle cut into the ceiling to reveal a large window over them.

At the opposite end of the house, on the other side of the foyer, is a long hallway with green ceramic tile flooring. The office is accessed from this hallway. It has built-in bookshelves and an entrance into the green house.

At the end of the hall there is a full bath with a blue ceramic tile floor, natural wood vanity, papered walls, and a walk-in shower with various sizes of blue ceramic tile on the floor and walls.

This is the “his” bath that goes with the master bed room suite. It sits just outside the suite itself. In the suite there is a large bedroom with a hardwood floor, a six-door tall storage closet area, his and hers closets and the “hers” full bath, which features a purple ceramic tile floor, papered walls in a lavender, purple and off-white art nouveau pattern, and a white commode and separate bidet. The sink is white with an attractive hand-painted floral pattern encased in the purple Formica counter top.

This bath also features a large, circular jetted tub on a ceramic tile base with a decorative tile border. Up stairs, the landing is open, providing an “aerial” view into the living room. There are three bedrooms on this level, two of which have wall to- wall carpeting and one with hardwood floor. All three have built-in book shelves. The full bath on this level is unique. It is separated into two side-by-side rooms; one is like a large water closet with a blue ceramic tile floor, and one has a combination tub and shower, as well as a vanity and sink.

For more information, or to set up a private appointment to see the house, call Judy Mi chaelis of Coldwell Banker Real Estate at 203-247-5000 or e-mail her at judym@optonline.net.

By Meg Barone

Correspondent
A stately piece of equine history was transformed into an even more stately home at 280 Judd Road in Easton.

Although the date of the original structure’s construction seems un­known, there is no question that the house is a converted barn that has been renovated and modernized to satisfy even the most discerning family.

The barn originally contained the stables for the nearby Sunshine Estate.

Some printed material suggests the barn was built in 1955, but the current owner said there is a photograph at Easton Town Hall of the barn, dating back about 100 years.

Disputed dates aside, this is one magnificent house inside and out, with layers of interest and architectural detail. The barn was gutted down to the studs in 1999 and the existing house was rebuilt by Renaissance Millwork using the barn’s original footprint.

Its exterior hints at a combination of styles, including the agricultural barn, colonial, Cape and cottage. It may have a hint of a cottage in some of its architecture, but there is nothing cottage-like about this house, other than its homey appeal.

The house has 4,300 square feet of living space and sits on a three-acre parcel that is largely open meadow. It has a gray cedar shingle exterior with white trim and it is topped with several Along the front of the property is a traditional New England fieldstone wall with a gate near the formal front entrance of the house, and a stand of evergreens. Two stone columns mark the entrance of the long paved driveway, which is lined in Belgian block in the area near the oversized and heated two­car attached under-house garage. There is ample parking for several vehicles and a slate path installed in a pattern to the front door.

The custom-made front door is solid mahogany and has rustic-looking hardware that replicates an earlier time period. Above the door is an eight-by-five-foot picture window. The soaring foyer has the first of the towers, and it has the same reclaimed, re­milled oak barn boards and exposed barn beams as most of the rest of the house. The boards and beams were all hand-picked for use in the construction of the house.

They are not original to the barn.

There is a living room just off the foyer that has a real sliding barn door. This room is being used by the current family as an exercise space be­cause they spend most of their time in the great room at the opposite end of the house.

They call it the “jaw-drop room,” and that is a fairly accurate description. Spacious doesn’t begin to describe this 24-by-38-foot room, in which there were country dances and game dinners in decades past, held by the roaring fire. “There’s lots of history here. Every­body has a story to tell about this property,” one of the current owners said.

The oversized fireplace, original to the barn, is an unusual and attractive patchwork of fieldstone and red brick. It has a huge raised hearth of unpolished granite and a natural wood mantle. It has vents on the side which help to heat the room. To one side of the fireplace is a feature that, at first glance, looks like a window seat. It is actually a large wood box with an exterior door to load it from outside.

Lots of natural light floods into this room from the four sets of two double-hung windows along the back wall, four crank-out windows along the front wall, a French door to the long, thin covered porch with six columns, patio and backyard, and from the windows in the large tower in the center of the ceiling.

The double-hung windows are interesting and different, with six panes in the upper window and one solid pane below. This room also has crown molding, exposed beams, a cathedral ceiling and a large TV cabinet.

The gourmet kitchen is in the center of the house and is open to the great room. The two rooms are separated only by a generously sized center island — 74-by-52-inches, which has a black, honed granite counter top, numer­ous storage drawers and cabinets, and a breakfast bar that seats three.

The kitchen has a U­shaped counter topped in the same granite as the island, wainscoting on some walls, and off-white cabinets – some with glass-front doors, and recessed paneling on the end cabinets. Two cabinet doors have a chicken-wire grill over the glass, enhancing the rustic feel. The cabinets are topped in crown molding. The drawers have dovetail con­struction and one-inch fronts. The GE Monogram refrigera­tor and dishwasher are encased in the same wood of the cabinets.

On the wall behind the Viking range is a tumbled marble backsplash with a marble border and mosaic tile inserts. Above the range is a mantle-like shelf with decora­tive flourishes. The light fixtures are of wrought iron, bronzed, and with seeded or bubble glass. There is a long, deep stainless sink.

Off the kitchen there is a powder room with a barrel ceiling, crown molding, wainscoting on the lower walls, a tall four-door linen closet and medicine cabinet.

At the back end of the kitchen there is a sunroom that was part of the barn’s water tower. It has a rough-hewn cedar ceiling, exposed beams, wall­to- wall carpeting and nine double-hung windows and transoms above each of three panes each. The current family uses this as a projec­tion room and it does have a large, retractable screen.

In the kitchen, near the sunroom, there is a French door to the porch, patio and yard. The kitchen, great room and outdoor patio are wired for sound.

Between the kitchen and the entrance foyer is a long hallway off of which there are two rooms and access to another hallway at the back of the house with access to the garage and a French door to the backyard. The two rooms have wall-to-wall carpeting, crown molding and built-in bookshelves. The room at the back of the house has a door into a full bath, which can also be accessed from the back hall.

The bath has a tumbled marble floor, walk-in shower with tumbled marble floor and walls in a variety of tile sizes, wainscoting on the lower walls, crown molding, and a second area separated by a door featuring a vanity with marble counter and porcelain sink and a detailed mosaic on the floor of several fish.

The back hall itself is worth mentioning. It has detailed millwork, built-in cabinets, and a large two-door coat closet with organizers.

There is another two-door coat closet in the foyer.

At the top of the second­floor stairs there is a real working telephone booth with a heater, light and fan that came from the former Beverly Theater in Bridgeport. The master bedroom suite is separate from the rest of the upper level, allowing for privacy. It is enormous and has several rooms inside the suite including a laundry room, with a Maytag washer and Whirlpool dryer, dressing room, storage area, bedroom and bath.

The bedroom is built in the upper portion of the barn’s old water tower. It has the six­over- one double-hung win­dows with transoms, hard­wood floor, two French doors to a Romeo and Juliet balcony, three barn-like windows above the bed, a built-in bookshelf, and a cupola The master bath has a hardwood floor, a polished granite counter with two porcelain sinks, a soaking tub, two built­in medicine cabinets with beveled mirrors, an over-sized walk-in shower with subway tiles on the walls and ceiling, tumbled Carrera marble tile on the floor and a frameless glass door.

There are three other bedrooms, all with dormers.

One has a vaulted ceiling and exposed barn beams. Another has a cupola. In the hallway there is a giant toy closet for the kids, a linen closet and a full bath with a tumbled marble floor, long vanity with a marble counter and two sinks.

Outside, there are perenni­al gardens, rock gardens, and a saltbox-shaped shed in the backyard made of wood from the interior of the original barn. The yard has ample room for an in-ground pool and tennis courts or to restore it to its origins as a horse property with a barn and corals.

 For more information, or to set up a private appointment to see the house, call Jonathan Deak of Prudential Real Estate at 203-­257-4374 or e-mail him at jdeak@prudentialct.com.

By Meg Barone,
Correspondent 

Once one of the most recognizable homes in the Huntington section of Shelton, the stunning beige colonial at 51 Ripton Road now bears little resemblance to its original architecture, inside or out.

The dramatic transformation, which began in 2005, may now change it from one of the most recognizable to one of the most sought-after houses in Shelton, especially by those who have an eye for detail and an appreciation for craftsmanship.

It would make an ideal entertainment home or, with some minor rearrangement of furniture on the first floor, it could also make an ideal home for a large family. It has 3,800 square feet of living space and a full, unfinished walk-out basement with lots of potential.

Built in 1960, the house sits on a 1.33-acre level lot at the corner of Ripton Road and Brookfield Drive.

Both the front and back yards are open, spacious and can accommodate any number of ideas for usage, from gardens, to recreational activities to an in-ground pool.

The entrance to the long paved driveway, which is lined on both sides with Belgian block, is on Brookfield. It leads to the two-car attached, under-house garage with attractive carriage-like doors and black hardware reminiscent of an earlier period. From the garage there are stone paths, also lined in Belgian block, to the formal front entrance, the long covered front porch, and to the backyard and large deck.

During the extensive renovation project, the current owner covered the exterior of the house with a special pre-painted cedar shake siding that has a 15-year warrantee, and the ivory Azek trim never needs to be painted. The exterior portion of the first-floor windows is topped with crown molding. The base of the house has natural stone veneer and other architectural flourishes.

Several landscaped areas in front of the house are lined in Belgian block. The long, slate front porch that goes the length of the garage has four decorative columns and dentil molding. The base of the covered front porch of the formal entrance is also topped in slate.

This front entrance is framed in fluted, flat architectural detailing and crown and dentil molding. The front door and the sidelights have decorative leaded and beveled glass.

Above the front door is a large arched window, similar to a Palladian window, but the arch is not quite as rounded.

The door opens to a two-story foyer, which has a hardwood floor, as does almost the entire house.

Included in the foyer is a good-size powder room, which has a pocket door, Carrera marble floor, decorative white fixtures and deep crown molding.

To the left is a long hallway that leads to the long porch. Although it is only a hallway, it has deep and attractive crown molding, which is generally not seen in most hallways. It also has a coat closet with two bifold doors.

To the right is the dining room, which features a red distressed brick fireplace, the first of five fireplaces throughout the house.

The wood mantle is decorated with medallions and columns. As with the hallway and powder room, there is also deep crown molding in the dining room.

While the location of the dining room in this house might be disconcerting to some purists, who prefer or expect it to be next to the kitchen, the current owner arranged the rooms in such a way as to maximize its entertainment value. Before the renovation, this room was probably the living room and what was the dining room has been converted to a bar room. Anyone who purchases the house could easily rearrange the rooms. As it exists now, the bar room is on the back side of the dining room and opens to the spacious gourmet kitchen.

There are two sets of double French doors, one from the bar room and another from the dining room, that lead into the cavernous family room.

This room has a floor-to-ceiling flat stone fireplace that has an unusual and attractive finishing detail. The entire fireplace is framed in wood, painted white, and topped with its own crown molding. The fireplace has a yellow brick interior, a slate hearth and white wood mantle.

On either side of the fireplace are French doors that lead to a large wood deck on the side of the house. This room also has a cathedral ceiling, and numerous double-hung and crank-out windows.

The bar room has a floor-to-ceiling flat stone fireplace, although the ceiling is a standard height, as opposed to the soaring height of the family room. This fireplace also has the white wood framing, crown molding, slate hearth and white wood mantle. The deep crown molding is not just above the fireplace, but continues throughout the entire room. Bullet lights in the ceiling near the fireplace can be adjusted to illuminate artwork or other decorative flourishes.

Flanking the bar room fireplace are two large closets, one of which can be used as a walk-in pantry. The other is currently used to house the home’s entertainment system. Two French doors separate the bar room from the large all-season sunroom, which currently doubles as a game room.

This sunroom can also be accessed from the kitchen.

Anyone who enjoys cooking or baking or entertaining should enter the kitchen at their own peril, because chances are they will never want to leave. You know how everyone seems to congregate in the kitchen during a party, no matter how large the rest of the house is? Well, this kitchen is large enough to entertain many guests, while not sacrificing work space, and yet it is not so large that it seems institutional.

It is warm, inviting and attractive.

Perhaps its most unusual feature is a large flat fieldstone fireplace with a yellow brick interior, raised stone hearth and white wood mantle. The kitchen also features crown molding, a hardwood floor, an L-shaped counter topped in granite, and a tumbled marble backsplash. The white custommade cabinets are glazed and finished with decorative details.

One section of the counter creates a peninsula in which there are storage cabinets and drawers, including a pot and pan pantry. There is a deep and long stainless sink with four crank-out windows above it overlooking the backyard. Above the Fisher & Paykel range is a compass rose design in black and white mosaic tile. The Viking refrigerator and Bosch dishwasher are both covered in paneling that make them blend into the cabinets.

Off the kitchen is a laundry room that also provides access to the garage.

There is a utility closet and stacked Maytag Neptune washer and dryer in this area, which could also serve as a mudroom.

On the opposite side of the kitchen, along the wall closest to the bar room, is another granite-topped counter, and above it are more cabinets, these with glass front doors. From this area one can easily access the sunroom, which has an 18-by-18-inch ceramic tile floor, resembling stone, installed on a diagonal.

The sunroom has a cathedral ceiling, four skylights, 12 tall windows, a ceiling fan and two French doors to a deck in the back yard.

Access to the second floor is via the staircase in the foyer. Up here there are four bedrooms, all of which have hardwood floors. The hallway on this level has crown molding. The shared bath in this hallway has a 12-by-12-inch white ceramic tile floor, a decorative furniture-like vanity topped in marble and a combination tub and shower.

One of the bedrooms is being used as an office. It has a two-door closet. Another bedroom has access to the large walk-up attic that is ideal for storage.

There are three skylights in the attic.

The large master bedroom has a sitting area, two alcoves created by the dog house dormers, and a long window seat overlooking the backyard. There are his and her walk-in closets, both of which have skylights. In the master bath there are a number of luxurious features, including a long granitetopped counter with two sinks and a ceramic tile-surrounded Jacuzzi tub.

There is also a 12-by-12-inch ceramic tile floor and a walk-in shower with ceramic tiles on the floor, walls and ceiling.

The basement access is in the kitchen. It is a full, unfinished, walk-out basement with lots of potential. One large area has a fireplace with an interior of red brick and an exterior of stone.

For more information, or to set up a private appointment to see the house, call Chris Carey at 203-231-3416 or Steve Guarrera at 203-610-4295, both of Carey and Guarrera Real Estate.