Fairfield County

A savvy designer awakens the inherent beauty in her old Colonial Revival house with a do-over that emphasizes its classic good looks.

Katherine Hodge confesses to a penchant for falling for the least lovely house on the street. “Why buy something halfway decent if you can find something really bad and fix it up exactly the way you want?” asks the interior designer. For ten years she has worked largely in renovation design, with layout, cabinetry, kitchens and bathrooms her specialties.

The amiability and mutual respect among the design professionals and their clients is reflected beautifully in the renovation of a Westport home that puts a contemporary twist on the Arts and Crafts tradition.

Parental suggestions all too often fall by the wayside, but every once in a while a child recognizes sound advice when he hears it. Consider interior designer Parker Rogers’s story. He and his partner, Christopher William Philip, had been house hunting for years to no avail. Then, Philip’s mother stepped in to offer the perfect solution. The duo could buy her Southport, Connecticut, home. In a win-win situation, the sale would ensure that the lovely 1916 center-hall colonial would stay in the family and free her to purchase a more age-friendly nest for herself. 

The tired barn in Westport hardly seemed habitable when architect Kraig Kalashian saw it for the first time. “It looked worn down and aged,” he remembers. “It had been converted to a residence but only in a very basic sense. It was set up in a very dysfunctional way. It looked like someone had installed drywall and that was it.”

Their quest? Find the proverbial needle in a haystack. In a neighborhood of gorgeous classic homes, Tony and Anne Greenberg were searching for something different. “We wanted a contemporary house in the land of colonials,” quips Tony.

The couple’s hunt eventually circled back to the first dwelling their real estate agent had suggested: a rare 1960s design. Never mind that the structure warranted serious updating. The Fairfield County location was ideal and the backyard landscaping (pool included) was lovely.