A Connecticut Waterfront Home Designed for the Next Chapter

To fit in with the neighborhood, architect William D. Earls employed traditional cottage-inspired rooflines, cedar shingles, and exposed rafter tails.

The top floor of this Norwalk cottage leads out to a rooftop terrace, complete with a firepit and outdoor furniture from Seasons Too.

Thanks to a pair of bifold doors, the kitchen, dining, and living areas spill out onto a bluestone terrace overlooking Long Island Sound. The beams, flooring, and natural cabinetry are all stained oak.

Pendants from Chloe Winston Lighting Design hang in the kitchen, which features a Calacatta Gold backsplash and countertops and a curved plaster vent hood.

Oak built-ins flank a plaster fireplace surround in the living area; the pendant is from Chloe Winston Lighting Design.

Brick flooring from Tile & Stone Techniques laid in a herringbone pattern lends warmth to the mudroom.

In the primary bath, a custom oak vanity is set into a niche sheathed with zellige tile from Artistic Tile.

he primary bath’s soaking tub and fittings are from Waterware Showrooms, and the porcelain floor tiles are from Tile & Stone Techniques.

Another set of bifold doors lend an indoor-outdoor feel to the serene primary bedroom, whose bed and bench are from Arhaus.

The street-facing facade is meant to look more traditional, with shingles, shutters, and casement windows with muntin bars.

The same Connecticut fieldstone and shingle siding appear on the water-facing facade, though it clearly enjoys a more contemporary aesthetic than the front; here, indoor-outdoor living takes priority.

An outdoor shower featuring western red cedar, stone veneer, and bluestone flooring is one of the amenities found in the ground-level “grotto” area.

A Home for Empty Nesters

The objective for this Norwalk waterfront project was simple: give a pair of empty nesters a beautiful backdrop for ushering in the next phase of their lives. “The clients were downsizing from their family house in a nearby town,” explains designer Krista Fox. “I see a chapter change as an opportunity to redefine how you want to live. In this case, they wanted indoor-outdoor living and that connection to the water.”

To help with this, the couple tapped architect William D. Earls. “This site has a charming view of an island as well as Long Island Sound, so maximizing that was top priority,” notes Earls. “The biggest challenge was that this community is located in a flood zone. This required us to elevate the habitable spaces while also obeying the zoning regulations for maximum height. It’s a delicate balance.”

The narrow lot didn’t make matters any easier, but the architect envisioned a 3,900-square-foot residence that more than satisfies the couple’s programming needs. (Not to mention the 3,200 square feet of garage, boat storage, terraces, and a grotto-like ground level housing smaller boat storage, an outdoor shower, a spa, and a sauna.)

“We wanted the home to look like it has always been there, so I took traditional cottage-inspired rooflines and punctuated them with dormers to let light in,” explains Earls, who grounded the house with Connecticut fieldstone and sheathed the rest in shingles.

Coastal Architecture Maximizes Views and Outdoor Living

The more contemporary water-facing facade features an expansive terrace off the main living area, a balcony off the primary bedroom, and a rooftop terrace, achieving the indoor-outdoor feel the couple desired. That easy-breezy feeling doesn’t come without its challenges, however.

“There are some tricky details that come along with installing a massive roof-deck and integrating the terraces into the house, so it was crucial that all the waterproofing was done properly,” notes Andrew Marr, vice president of construction at Fairfield House & Garden.

When it came to devising the floor plan, Earls placed the main living spaces—including the formal entry, kitchen, living area, den, mudroom, and a full bath—on the elevated first level, above the aforementioned “grotto.” The next floor contains the primary suite, the husband’s office, and two bedrooms connected by a bath. And finally, the top level features another bedroom and bath along with a wet bar that services the adjacent rooftop terrace.

Warm Neutral Interiors Keep the Focus on the Water

Earls and Fox collaborated on the interior finishes, landing on a classic palette of materials that’s neutral yet warm. “The clients didn’t want much color, so I mainly introduced shades of white and cream with subtleties in texture,” says Fox. “There’s oak throughout, Calacatta marble, woven cabinet panels in the kitchen, brick flooring in the mudroom, plasterwork, and black granite accents for punctuation. The result has an organic quality.”

There are a few areas, however, where Fox had the opportunity to interject some color. In the primary bath, handmade zellige tiles in varying shades of aqua are installed to highlight their imperfections. And in the mudroom, the khaki millwork is inspired by a dress the wife was wearing when she visited Fox’s office.

“The focus is really on what you see outside,” says Fox. “Nothing is too precious or fussy. It was fun discovering what would make them happy in this new space. The goal was to build an environment that feeds their soul.”

Project Team
Architecture: William D. Earls AIA Architect
Interior design: Krista Fox Interiors
Builder: Fairfield House & Garden
Landscape design: Conte & Conte