Empty Nesters Upsize in Greenwich

A folding glass door assembly in the first-floor great room of this Greenwich farmhouse opens onto the exterior living space. The white-oak beams, says architect Michael Benjamin, add to the home’s country-haven feeling.

ight from second-floor wall-to-wall windows floods the stairwell and foyer; the artwork is by Mariusz Stokowiec.

In lieu of upper cabinetry, interior designer Nicole Kovensky included hidden niches in the plaster range hood to store olive oil and cooking essentials.

The cabinetry in the butler’s pantry was built by Crown Point Cabinetry and is topped with slabs of walnut that tie into the wood on the nearby kitchen island.

The desk in the wife’s office is actually a repurposed dining table. The rug is from Depot 62 in Vermont, and the artwork is by Torrey Baron.

A see-through fireplace, with a frame TV—displaying artwork by René Magritte in this photo—hanging above, separates the primary suite seating area and bedroom.

The chevron pattern in the foyer flooring appears again in the primary bath and echoes the shiplap on the peaked cathedral ceiling.

The U-shaped home hugs the backyard and swimming pool. Brooks & Falotico designed the landscape, incorporating fieldstone planters that Fabio Albino of Palmeiras Landscape Designing filled with hydrangeas that change colors throughout the season. The gray vertical board-and-batten volume to the left houses the primary suite.

The family’s goldendoodles, Monti and Winnie, frolic outside the car barn.

The husband exhibits his collection of cars in the barn, which features cabinets painted, naturally, Ferrari red, says Louise Brooks, founding principal of Brooks & Falotico.

The porte cochere on the front facade’s far left divides his-and-her garages that are accessed around the side of the home. A guest suite is located above.

Designing a Custom Farmhouse

The homeowners loved their house in Armonk, New York. After all, it was where they raised their three boys. The wife’s parents were just down the road. All of their friends were nearby. But with their youngest son off to college, the empty nesters began daydreaming about a pool…and a mudroom…and a gym…and home offices…and wouldn’t it be nice if, when the boys came home for the holidays—perhaps with significant others in tow—they weren’t all sharing one bathroom?

“So many people downsize at this point in their lives, but we were ready for the next chapter, one filled with family and friends coming together,” says the wife. “There’s nothing more important to us than that.

” Four acres in Greenwich provided the foundation. Tucked into the backcountry—and only about five minutes from their old neighborhood—with views that extend to Long Island Sound (if you crane your neck just so), the property would accommodate a home that ticked all the boxes. Finding the right architecture firm was even easier. “Almost every time we’d pick up a magazine and fall in love with a house, it had been designed by Brooks & Falotico,” explains the wife.

Founding partner Louise Brooks and partner Michael Benjamin worked with the couple to design a timeless farmhouse and rear covered porch that form a U-shape around a backyard oasis complete with pool, spa, and patio. The great room, modeled after the great room in the family’s Vermont retreat, offers direct access to the exterior for seamless summer entertaining.

“They wanted the pool close to the house for ease of use, but we lowered the elevation of the pool and immediate pool patio five steps so it wouldn’t dominate the view from the house,” says Benjamin. “You look out and over it to the hills beyond.”

A Floor Plan Designed for Family and Entertaining

When it came to the floor plan, the couple wasn’t only thinking about their sons, who now all have their own en suite bedrooms on the second floor, but also their own needs as they age. Enter the first-floor primary suite. Personalized touches like the see-through woodburning fireplace, which can be enjoyed from the sitting area and from the bedroom, and the shiplap-clad peaked ceiling in the bath are subtle but significant.

The wife’s office connects to the suite and boasts views of the surrounding land and her husband’s office on the other side of the pool. “They can see each other during the day and wave,” says Brooks. But a glimpse of his wife isn’t the only thing the husband gets to enjoy during working hours: his office is attached to an immaculate barn where he houses his collection of classic and performance cars.

Interior Design Details That Bring Warmth and Character

Interior designer Nicole Kovensky painted most of the interior walls Benjamin Moore Calm, a creamy white that complements the white-oak flooring and trim. Crown Point Cabinetry crafted the storage in the butler’s pantry; it wears the New Hampshire company’s proprietary shade of navy. The furnishings are a mix of vintage and showroom finds. Kovensky is especially partial to the dramatic wooden Secto Design pendants that illuminate the kitchen island.

It appears this Armonk-turned-Greenwich family found a way to have their cake and eat it, too. Just a short jaunt from the lifestyle they hold so dear, a new chapter in a dream home has started to unfold.

Project Team
Architecture and landscape design: Brooks & Falotico
Interior design: NK Home Interior Design
Builder: PBH Construction