A Fairfield Home for a Growing Family
October 25, 2021
A Fairfield home serves a growing family while paying tribute to the friend who inspired it all.
Text by Tovah Martin    Photography by Tim Lenz
As soon as she received the news that she was expecting a second child, interior designer Dana Ferraro went looking for a larger home. The five bedrooms tucked into a Fairfield house ticked many boxes, but the homeâs sunroom clinched the sale. Ferraro walked into the room, with its greenhouse roof and stone floor, felt the sunbeams on her face, and knew she was home. With just a little tweaking, she determined the house would fit her family like a glove.
Ferraro found the space in December 2018, when she was still mourning the loss of Molly Patton, her best friend and partner at Molly Patton Design. From the moment Patton hired Ferraro to work at a New York City magazine, the two bonded. In fact, Ferraro and her husband followed the Pattons from the city to Fairfield where Ferraro ultimately joined her friendâs interior design firm.
When Patton passed away in 2015, Ferraro dove into growing the business in Pattonâs memory. The skills she acquired in the process would be utilized as she perfected her familyâs new home.
From the street, you would never guess that what appears to be a one-story ranch packs 4,000 square feet of spaciousness; due to the propertyâs sloping grade, the homeâs true two-floor colonial character isnât revealed until viewed from the back. The front entrance opens to the upper bedroom level with a staircase that descends to the family spaces. Part of Ferraroâs challenge was to make the entrance flow gracefully, so visitors are naturally drawn down to the kitchen, sunroom, and family room. She achieved her goal by wrapping both the entry and stairway with Kravetâs Pear Tree wallpaper. Ferraro also kept furniture in the area to a minimum to encourage movement down into the living spaces.
Originally, the lower level also included a formal dining room, but the kitchen needed an update to meet the demands of a growing family, and the dining area felt redundant. Thatâs where Ferraroâs father came in.
Builder Ken DiStefano didnât think twice before accepting his daughterâs project. âWe think alike,â he admits. He agreed with Ferraroâs plan to bump out the space by a foot, installing a wall of windows in the kitchen that allows panoramic views of the backyardâs pool and play area. âThe cabinets were the toughest issue,â DiStefano notes. The windows meant forfeiting upper cupboard space, but a thirteen-and-a-half-foot-long quartzite island and a butlerâs pantry both provide storage.
Meanwhile, Ferraro went to work furnishing the house. She focused on creamy hues on the walls to create continuity in the lower living areas, introducing patterns with cheerful upholstery, rugs, and pillows, while rattan, bamboo, and wicker add texture and a sense of informality. Upstairs, the designer grew adventurous with a primary bedroom clad in Katie Ridder wallpaper and an adjacent dressing room painted aubergine. The childrenâs rooms are equally vivid, especially four-year-old Leoâs space, which accents his collection of stuffed lions. âI have the zoo room,â he proclaims.
âLeo is already attuned to color and pattern,â Ferraro proudly notes. Clearly her son inherited that penchant from his mom. Or maybe he soaked it up from his surroundingsâFerraro, after all, values intentionality. Thatâs why round Federal-style mirrors repeat throughout the house: they remind her of a purchase she made with Patton. In fact, every Ferraro project has some Molly Patton sprinkled in. âWe shared so much,â she says.
Project TeamÂ
Interior design:Â Dana Ferraro, Molly Patton Design
Kitchen builder: Ken DiStefano, DiStefano Builders
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