Tour a Connecticut Lake House

Ivy climbs native stone at the arched entry, where natural cedar clapboards and green-painted trim allow the home to recede into its Lake Waramaug setting.

A garden path leads toward the lake, where layered plantings soften views from the nearby town beach and frame the water beyond.

Custom pendants from Avram Rusu Studio float above the stair, illuminating artwork by Connecticut artists Liz Dexheimer and Heather Sandifer, mixed with children’s pieces and collected treasures.

In the living room, antiques from the couple’s former home mingle with recently upholstered pieces, creating a room that feels layered rather than newly furnished. The drapery is Mokum’s Tunisia fabric, and the landscape above the fireplace is by Connecticut artist Stephanie Goos Johnson.

A built-in banquette looks out to the lake, while trim painted Benjamin Moore’s Steam provides a soft through line throughout the main level.

The dining room is anchored by a Michael Fogg fixture; chair upholstery from St. Frank adds pattern beneath a painting the homeowners acquired in San Miguel de Allende.

Nebel Grey quartzite forms both countertop and backsplash in the kitchen, where island pendants from KingsHaven complement cabinetry painted Sherwin-Williams Grassland.

Arched openings maintain sight lines from the primary suite toward the lake, reinforcing the home’s architectural rhythm.

The primary bath’s freestanding tub is positioned to capture filtered lake views.

Walls in Benjamin Moore’s Blue Heather wrap the bunk room in a soft tone suited to visiting grandchildren and friends.

Daisy wallpaper by Rachel Dein for Area Environments brings botanical movement to the powder room, paired with a sculptural black vanity and polished metal fixtures.

Viewed from the dock, the cedar-clad facade blends into the shoreline landscape.

Landscape architect Ben Young structured the planting as a series of outdoor rooms, balancing openness to the water with layered privacy from neighboring properties and the town beach.

A stone terrace and pool create a private lakeside retreat, with a pergola sheltering an outdoor kitchen and bar.

Designing a Lake Waramaug Home Rooted in Its Setting

Perched along the gently curving shoreline of Lake Waramaug, where views stretch in both directions, this new home feels as though it has always belonged. Ivy climbing native stone, cedar clapboards, and shingled gables catching shifting light suggest a house rooted to its site. Until recently, however, a ramshackle cottage stood here instead.

“We bought the house in 1999, a little red cottage that was barely a house,” the homeowner recalls. Four children, many pets, and decades of summer memories made it
hard to let go. But as the family grew, and weddings and future grandchildren entered the conversation, the couple chose to build something more substantial while staying true to the lake’s relaxed character.

Architect Daniel Conlon elevated the structure to meet floodplain requirements and sited it to capture the lake’s sweep. Nearly every room looks to water. “The visual connections—from the front door through the great room and right out to the dock—those are the things that matter,” he says. Arches and curved doorways reinforce that sense of flow.

From the front entry through the great room to the broad covered porch with motorized screens and a fireplace, the plan unfolds as a series of connected spaces. Reclaimed beams span the kitchen and great room, where a green-gray quartzite island anchors gatherings. Ten-foot ceilings and wide-plank engineered floors ground the main level. Four bedroom suites occupy the second floor, and a third-floor bunk room anticipates the next generation.

Creating a Layered Design

Interior designer Havilande Whitcomb, who has known the family for three decades, carried the home’s quiet exterior sensibility indoors. “We wanted it to feel enveloping,” she says. “Layered, but not busy.”

Drawing from the surrounding landscape, she built the interiors around tonal greens—lichen, sage, and celadon—warmed by terra-cotta and amethyst in textiles and lighting. Antiques from the couple’s former Southport home mingle with pieces gathered during travels, creating rooms that feel assembled over time. “We were blending two houses and a lifetime of collecting,” Whitcomb says. “It had to feel cohesive, not newly installed.”

In the kitchen, wood details soften the stone island, and the banquette quietly repeats its hue. The dining room, inspired by a painting purchased in San Miguel de Allende, introduces richer color in patterned textiles and lime-washed plaster walls. A sculptural stair fixture of five amethyst glass drops with gold accents anchors the entry like a piece of jewelry.

Outdoor Living on the Lake

Outside, landscape architect Ben Young created a series of outdoor rooms that balance expansive lake views with privacy. Ornamental grasses,
native azaleas, and reclaimed granite walls buffer the shoreline, weaving around preserved mature trees that root the house to its setting. “Aesthetics can marry well with ecology,” Young notes. Installation was executed by Nicholas Stauder of North Stone Landscaping, whose craftsmanship grounded the vision in stone and soil.

Today, the back porch hums with life, sometimes just the couple, sometimes forty guests spilling toward the dock. A son’s wedding was celebrated here, and the husband’s milestone birthday toasted beside the pool. The beloved cottage is gone, but its spirit lingers in the way the house gathers and releases its people.

Built to endure and shaped by memory, this new chapter on Lake Waramaug feels less like a replacement than a home settling into its future.

Project Team
Architecture: Daniel Conlon Architects
Interior design: Havilande Whitcomb Design
Builder: Olson Development
Landscape design: BYLA Landscape Architects