Live in a classic mid-century modern home on three acres of land in New Canaan for $1.5M
Connecticut’s picturesque New Canaan boasts glorious architectural juxtapositions of old and new, with super traditional center hall colonials alongside classic mid-century modern homes, all in a super posh, perfectly manicured, “country” setting. Located at 126 Chichester Road, this five-bedroom, 3,000-square-foot home asking $1,549,000 falls into the latter group. It was built by James Evans, a student of Louis Kahn’s when Kahn was president of Yale University’s architecture department.
Mixed in with that tradition are some of the best examples of mid-century modern architecture in the country. In 1949, inspired by Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House, Philip Johnson built his Glass House on a 47-acre property in New Canaan. Now a museum is open to the public, anyone and everyone in the surrounding area with an interest in architecture should visit. The beauty of the simple transparent glass box sitting amid the rolling fields of Connecticut with charming stone walls running along the landscape remains a sight to behold.
Listing agent Inger Stringfellow describes the house as sitting within, “an enclave of seven mid-century homes.” She explains: “The land was originally purchased and subdivided into six lots by John Black Lee, a mid-century modern architect. He worked so much with the ‘Harvard Five’ that he was often referred to as the ‘sixth.’”
Stringfellow says the house is beautifully sited on its lot, allowing the greatest amount of sun in the winter with the roof eaves providing shade in the summer. Additionally, she points out that in atypical modern fashion, the house has great storage and an unfinished basement which has very high ceilings, “perfect for a home theater or recreation room.”
Unfortunately, many of the updates to the home are quite out of character with the architecture, like the traditional cherry kitchen cabinetry. But, those changes aside, the bones of the house are clearly present and can guide any future restoration.
[Listing: 126 Chichester Road by Inger Stringfellow and Judy Gibbons for William Pitt at Sotheby’s International Realty]
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All images courtesy of Sotheby’s International Realty
