Description

This mid-country Greenwich residential architecture project reimagines a 1920s English-Georgian-Colonial hybrid in the coveted Deer Park neighborhood. Designed for a young family relocating from New York City, the home required a sensitive balance between historic home renovation, elevated craftsmanship, and a lively spirit befitting its new owners. What emerged is a richly layered, luxury home restoration that honors the estate’s architectural lineage while introducing a youthful energy, global influences, and a fresh connection to its woodland setting.

Set on land once part of a Rockefeller homestead, the property exemplifies the quiet, winding character of central Greenwich. The original structure, rambling, intimate, and full of compelling quirks, embodied a charm worth preserving. Yet years of layered alterations, deferred maintenance, and a fragmented plan challenged the home’s clarity. Our task was to restore architectural coherence while designing a warm, contemporary environment for a modern family of four.

Maintaining authenticity was central to the project. Nowhere was this more apparent than in the slate roof restoration, where we sourced replacement tiles that matched the original’s rare size and striation. These meticulous undertakings, though subtle, ensure the estate remains visually seamless, one of the hallmarks of our approach to traditional architecture.

Much of the architectural re-thinking centered on the heavily trafficked family wing, once a dim, low-ceilinged series of rooms within a converted garage. Opening the plan, raising ceilings, and refining circulation allowed us to create bright, generous spaces that support daily rhythms. New French doors in the family room echo an original set, establishing symmetry while enhancing garden views. Meanwhile, a new bay window in the breakfast area frames the sweeping drive and brings morning light deep into the interior, an essential move in enhancing landscape integration.

In the sunroom, we removed heavy pilasters to reveal the elegance of the arched ceiling. The bar was entirely rebuilt with a thick Calacatta marble top, unlacquered brass fixtures, and tailored cabinetry—details that bridge the home’s origins with present-day entertaining. A striped ceiling animates the room, evoking the airy luxury of a tented garden pavilion and further blurring the line between indoor living and the verdant landscape beyond.

The home’s formal rooms required restraint rather than reinvention. Here, we focused on subtle enhancements: supplementing original trim profiles, integrating architectural lighting, and repairing age-worn details. These thoughtful gestures created the architectural “canvas” for interior designer Miles Redd’s dynamic palette, bold decorative flourishes, and cosmopolitan references.

One of the home’s most striking features is the sweeping stair hall, where an immersive mural wraps the curved walls in atmospheric woodland scenes. The interplay of classical detailing, natural light, and the lyrical mural establishes a sense of timelessness, simultaneously rooted in the past and delightfully unbound by it.

The most visible exterior intervention, and among the project’s defining moments, is the new classical pergola. It replaces a visually heavy striped canopy and galvanized poles with a refined architectural structure built from milled timbers. Spaced to welcome abundant daylight into the adjacent dining room, the pergola creates a gracious outdoor room for seasonal living. Concealed LED fixtures introduce a constellation-like glow at night, marrying old-world craftsmanship with contemporary technology, a core principle of this historic home renovation.

From custom millwork profiles to brickwork repairs, each intervention was carefully considered to read as though it had always belonged. This nuanced approach—where additions whisper rather than announce themselves, defines our philosophy for family-friendly luxury home design within historic contexts. The result is a home that feels both elegantly matured and invigoratingly youthful.

What began as a 1920s estate with tremendous potential has become a richly layered family retreat, timeless, expressive, and deeply connected to its site. The project exemplifies the delicate art of blending preservation with innovation, showing how English country house renovation can support contemporary living without compromising historical integrity.

For more examples of how we thoughtfully restore and reimagine legacy homes, explore our Renovations at https://www.hiltonarchitects.com/renovations.

- PROJECT TEAM -

Redd Kaihoi | Home Construction