Amy Aidinis Hirsch Revives a Fairfield Home with Timeless Style

A formal living room—also called the reading room—gets a glamorous boost with a ceiling covered in Carlisle & Co.’s Alchemy Dove, a wood veneer hand-applied to a metallic foil underlay.

Designer Amy Aidinis Hirsch kept the front door’s original leaded glass windows but added a modern marble console to bring the design into the present.

The design team added the hand-hewn reclaimed beams to the ceiling in the open kitchen and family room. Plenty of seating and an oversized coffee table mean family and friends can gather for TV watching or conversation. Contrasting piping lends a touch of extra personality to the roomy lounge chairs.

New built-in shelves and a library ladder show why the homeowners call this the reading room. Plush furniture invites lingering with a good book.

The kitchen sports a mix of cabinetry—rift-sawn oak for the island, slate-blue lower cabinets, pale taupe for the uppers—all standing as a quiet backdrop for the dramatic blue-gray marble countertops and backsplash. Tala’s playful Voronoi brass pendants illuminate the island.

Unique lighting was a priority for the designer and her clients. In the family room, the customizable I Quadri trellis-like modular system from Aldo Bernardi is both rustic and refined, while the breakfast area is dressed up with a LowLand Studio light with white porcelain shades that hang from a leather-covered drop.

Textured Phillip Jeffries wallpaper and a bright-blue concrete sink bring the fun factor to a powder room.

A rift-sawn oak vanity in the primary bath nods to the use of wood on the home’s first floor.

The primary bedroom is all about serenity and comfort with its neutral palette and thick, tufted rug.

A rudimentary breezeway became a life-changing mudroom, thanks to Hirsch’s vision.

Fairfield, Connecticut, Family Finds the Perfect Setting for their Home

An irresistible setting lured the homeowners to this Fairfield property. Five acres of land with lush gardens, a pool, and a pool house offered the perfect backdrop for family life. The land may have been love at first sight, but the house? A bit of a blind date gone wrong. Built in 2001, it was solidly constructed but stylistically stalled.

“It had become antiquated,” recalls interior designer Amy Aidinis Hirsch. “The kitchen had aged, the bathrooms had steps that made them a bit dangerous, and the overall rhythm of windows and doors wasn’t really working. It simply didn’t reflect the family’s personality.”

The new owners turned to Hirsch and Pam Brennan of Segerson Builders for a renovation that would transform rather than merely update. “We had built the original house almost twenty-five years earlier for a different owner,” Brennan says. This time, the goal was nothing short of a new life for a new generation.

Modern Renovation with Reclaimed Details

On paper, the changes to footprint and floor plan were minimal. But inspiration often comes in the margins, and Hirsch found hers in the breezeway, where she saw a gold mine of possibility in little more than a drafty pass-through.

“I pushed for enclosing it,” she explains. “By creating a generous mudroom with a reclaimed barnwood ceiling and durable tumbled-stone floors, and moving the laundry upstairs, we completely changed how the family lives. It made their lives a million times better.”

That mix of character and function became the project’s hallmark. The kitchen pairs rift-cut oak and painted cabinetry with blue-gray marble countertops and backsplash. Brass icebox-style pulls wink at tradition, while a plaster hood and crisp modern pendants keep the space firmly in the present. In the adjoining breakfast area, a reclaimed-wood ceiling hovers above a custom banquette set on a reclaimed-wood base. Double-hung windows topped with transoms swing open to invite in the breezes.

The family room embraces the outdoors more boldly, with black-trimmed floor-to-ceiling windows replacing the original traditional versions. Overhead, a trellis-like light fixture strikes a balance of rustic and refined, setting the tone for both lazy lounging and lively gatherings.

Hirsch also carved out a pantry from existing space and brightened once-heavy oak floors with wide-plank character-grade white oak. In the formal living room—now fittingly dubbed the reading room, thanks to built-in bookshelves for this family of avid readers—smoky walls and a glimmering metallic ceiling wrap the space in sophistication.

Timeless Style for a Family-Friendly Future

Texture and contrast elevate the home’s timeless palette of black and white, with woven-leather-backed breakfast chairs, a plush rug in the family room, and a bright-blue concrete sink that adds a jolt of color in the powder room.

Upstairs, the primary suite leans into serenity with shiplap ceilings, a cushy Moroccan rug, and a spa-like bath outfitted with an oak double vanity to echo the wood downstairs. Porcelain tile and a steam shower complete the calming retreat.

For Hirsch, durability was as important as detail. “They’re adventurous, outdoorsy people,” she says. “We wanted the house to feel organic and simple yet layered with quality and longevity. It needed to stand up to kids, dogs, and a very active lifestyle.”

The final result is a home that feels both newly minted and timeless, its reclaimed beams, salvaged ceiling wood, and hand-hewn finishes grounding it in age-old character. “The house feels lovingly aged,” Hirsch says, “but it’s not. It’s fresh, it’s theirs, and it’s ready for the future.”

Project Team
Architectural and interior design: Amy Aidinis Hirsch Interior Design
Architectural design and builder: Segerson Builders