2018 Winners
- Architecture
- Bath Design
- Builder Recognition
- Garden Design
- Interior Design
- Kitchen Design
- Product Design
- Small Spaces
Deane Inc.
Deane Inc.
When a kitchen easily accommodates meal preparation and large gatherings yet remains a cozy retreat for a family of four in Newtown, the design is a successful one. Among the most conspicuous details in this Deane Inc. kitchen by designer Ingrid Becker is the dark blue cabinetry that is complemented by a graphic concrete floor. Two 11-foot marble-topped islands are aligned within the room and serve not only as prep and cleanup spaces, but also as an informal dining area with an abundance of storage below.
Luca Andrisani by Lenox Readers' Choice
Luca Andrisani by Lenox Readers' Choice
Lenox presents Blue Azzurro dinnerware in collaboration with architect and designer Luca Andrisani. Geometric patterns are rimmed in microwave-safe gold. The porcelain collection, designed to mix and match, represents the colors of the sea in modern shapes for a contemporary, coastal table setting. Starting at $19, through Macy’s.
Robern, Inc.
Robern, Inc. Profiles collection
Robern, Inc.
Robern, Inc. Profiles collection
Our judges gave the Profiles collection of mirrors, cabinets and vanities by Robern their vote for the top innovative product. Displaying Art Deco styling with modern conveniences—including USB charging ports, integrated outlets and intuitive lighting controls—the modular pieces, in matte gold, black nickel and chrome finishes, allow for customization. Vanities starting at $649, through Klaffs.
Robson Leonard Design
Robson Leonard Design
An 1850s structure in Westport easily accommodated horses in its day, but not modern-day automobiles. The owners of this former guest unit, situated above the garage, envisioned it being reborn as the working studio for their firm, Robson Leonard Design—though a cleverly concealed bed that fits into a sliding drawer enables the space to still function as a residence, if need be.
The renovation process involved lifting the barn structure and adding a new support system below, which allowed Deirde O’Farrelly Architects to expand the footprint. In redesigning the interior spaces, they were able to create a working kitchen and tiled full bathroom. An interior staircase was then added, as well as a small pool house and a picturesque potting shed.
Haver & Skolnick Architects
Haver & Skolnick Architects
Clients with a 73-acre farm are avid gardeners, but wanted Haver & Skolnick Architects to solve a problem for them. Birds were consuming their many blueberry bushes. Prior attempts at netting resulted in too many birds getting trapped. A unique solution involved something the architects call a “berry bowl”—a domed 24-foot-diameter structure composed of steel tubes bent to form concentric circles that, in turn, support a steel mesh.
The challenge, though, was to fashion a mesh tight enough to ward off birds but ample enough to allow in bees to pollinate the bushes.
Hanging from the center of the dome is a large planting dish, irrigated from tubing within the steel structure.
Gara & Co.
Gara & Co.
At only 70 square feet, this redesigned, reconfigured bathroom had to serve many functions in a 1960s Westport bungalow. As part of the open-plan main living area, the bathroom needed to work as a powder room for guests while functioning also as a full bathroom for the guest bedroom. Designer Gara Morse began by reorienting the fixtures, moving the toilet to a more discreet spot around a corner and positioned the now-windowed shower behind a wall so as to maintain the powder room feel.
D2 Interieurs
D2 Interieurs
When Denise Davies of D2 Interieurs first saw this home in Westport, she recognized that much of what was already there needed to be preserved. The home is an ideal exemplar of the midcentury modern aesthetic, particularly its vigorously articulated fieldstone walls, inside and out, slate floors and large expanses of windows and skylights.
Davies introduced a neutral color scheme throughout, adding elements that were true to the home’s 1950s origins while also being true to today’s needs and aesthetics. She mixed vintage artworks, furnishings and accessories with custom pieces, relying on their colors to provide the visual pops in the rooms.
Reese Owens Architects
Reese Owens Architects
On the spot of a former working dairy farm in Sharon—complete with silos, pastures and barns—is now a kind of reinvented farmhouse meant wholly for our day and time. The clients’ wish to incorporate a silo into the structure could easily have become a cliché. But the design cleverly introduced an otherwise windowless concrete silo into the envelope of the structure, then capped it with a dramatic glass wraparound roof from which the clients can now survey their land.
This spacious fieldstone and wood residence (set amid a 2017 IDAs Landscape Design winner by Wesley Stout Associates) designed by Reese Owens Architects serves as “the new farm’s emblem.”
The vigorously articulated stone barn portion of the structure contains the main living spaces. Avantgarden helped with the interiors.
Peyton Cochran for EPiC
Peyton Cochran for EPiC
It started off as a father–daughter project: the restoration of a 250-year-old barn in New Canaan that had been part of Peyton Cochran’s family for decades. Soon, though, the whole family was involved in what became a reinvention of the 1,000-square-foot structure. After a careful feasibility study, it was determined that the only way to save the barn was to take it down and rebuild it, but in a new way. Using the original beams, siding and doors, along with planks made from an old tree on the property, the barn has re-emerged as a home, complete with two bedrooms, a bathroom, painting studio, kitchen/pantry and a wet bar. Even the dining table and coffee table were fashioned from some of the original beams and floor panels.
American Standard Beale MeasureFill pull-down kitchen faucet
American Standard Beale MeasureFill pull-down kitchen faucet
With an easy-touch, on/off operation, the Beale MeasureFill pull-down kitchen faucet by American Standard delivers the precise amount of water necessary—a great tool for the busy chef. Eliminating the need for measuring cups, the water volume selector calibrates the desired water measurement on demand, from a half cup to five cups. Starting at $600, through Frank Webb Home.
XOKR KERRI ROSENTHAL Studio Floor pattern
XOKR KERRI ROSENTHAL Studio Floor pattern
Inspired by the beauty of the paint splatters on her drop cloth after a day of painting, artist Kerri Rosenthal created the Studio Floor pattern. Available in fabric, wallpaper and pillows, Rosenthal describes her best-selling print as unique, happy and colorful. Fabric, $145 per yard; wallpaper, $125 per roll.
Élitis Morotai wallcovering
Élitis Morotai wallcovering
Seashells are meticulously handcut and assembled to create the impressive Morotai wallcovering by Élitis. The checkerboard pattern is fashioned from naturally beautiful materials in a mosaic of brilliant colors and sold in a set of nine 12-inch squares. Price upon request, D&D, NYC.
Eldorado Stone Vintage Ranch stone panels
Eldorado Stone Vintage Ranch stone panels
The warmth and texture of wood is captured in Eldorado Stone’s Vintage Ranch stone panels. Each plank is carefully handpainted to create the patina of weatherworn boards with rustic detailing and rich colors. The easy-to-install panel format combines planks of varying heights and depths for a realistic and dimensional composition. $9 per square foot, through Connecticut Stone.
Brizo® Vettis two-handle faucet
Brizo® Vettis two-handle faucet
The Vettis two-handle faucet by Brizo features an open-flow spout, highlighting the natural sound and beauty of cascading water. Sporting a modern, low profile, the faucet is available in a variety of finishes, including chrome, nickel and matte black. Starting at $714, through Best Plumbing Tile & Stone.
Plexi-Craft Nexus table
Plexi-Craft Nexus table
Constructed from three two-inch-square cut beams supporting a 32-inch-diameter starfire tabletop, the acrylic Nexus table by PlexiCraft is sculptural in design. Its cut and clarity refracts the light for an eye-catching statement. $2,465.
GROHE GrohTherm Smart Control Shower System
GROHE GrohTherm Smart Control Shower System
Grohe’s GrohTherm Smart Control shower system allows the user to customize the water flow and temperature with easy-to-use controls. The low profile wall plate is offered in both square and round configurations, in a choice of chrome, brushed nickel or white finishes. Starting at $653, through Bender.
Tidelli Outdoor Living Pendulo outdoor swing
Tidelli Outdoor Living Pendulo outdoor swing
Swing into summer with the Pendulo outdoor swing by Tidelli Outdoor Living. Designed by Brazilian Ruy Ohtake, the chair rotates for a full 360-degree view. The powder-coated aluminum frame is handwrapped in nautical roping and offered in 60-plus colors. $3,300, through Walters, D&D, NYC.
Denemede
Denemede
Many features of an Essex property appealed to a young family as a locale for a second home, but it was a hilltop apartment, situated over a detached garage, that sealed the deal. The owners imagined the renovated space as a retreat for their weekend guests, in-laws or nanny. In creating the diminutive, but evocative space—complete with a bedroom, full bath, and living and dining areas—interior designers from Denemede, along with J.P. Franzen Associates Architects and Buttendorf Building & Remodeling, made use of reclaimed barn wood that had traces of its original red paint. Poured concrete kitchen countertops, a porcelain farm sink and handsome subway tiles complement the rustic warmth of the vaulted ceiling. Sliding barn doors and wire-brushed wood floors reinforce the prevailing sophisticated rustic aesthetic.
Reese Owens Architects
with
Jenny Fischbach Design LLC
Reese Owens Architects
with
Jenny Fischbach Design LLC
What was once a dark, working barn on a farm in Washington, CT, is now a bright contemporary living and play space for an active young family. Reese Owens Architects undertook a gut renovation that involved everything from underpinning the old rubble foundation and installing new windows and doors to building a staircase and bridge to a loft space overlooking the great room, even adding a half-court basketball court and a one-story el that houses a lodge-style club room, exercise space and spa bath.
Interior designer Jenny Fischbach introduced color and comfort throughout the spaces that include stylish Gio Ponti chairs and geometric area rugs positioned in intimate seating and dining areas. Wood wallboards from Hudson Company establish a handsome contrast to the steel while referencing and honoring the barn’s vernacular past.
David Preusch Architect
David Preusch Architect
It’s not as if the ghost of the original structure, a 1940s-era lodge, is still present on this site in Weston, but architect David Preusch was intent on honoring the spirit of the prior structure when designing this new home. The key dynamic was to create a weekend house that was wholly new and contemporary in feel while incorporating select elements that referenced the original lodge. Stone, cedar and copper are used to conspicuous effect, while a new geometrically vibrant pergola takes the place of what were once enclosed porches.
Preusch configured an open floor plan to take full advantage of the site’s pond views and swimming pool.
Gara & Co.
Gara & Co.
The recipe for a completely redesigned kitchen in a bungalow in Westport’s Compo Beach area included many ingredients that might seem difficult to combine. But designer Gara Morse expertly created a kitchen that is not only spacious and organic in feel but that also makes a strong visual statement. The main entrance to the house opens into the kitchen, so the space needed to be especially welcoming.
Cabinetry sports a natural hue that references the gradated shades of bark on the trees outside. Existing rustic beams were incorporated into the modern overall scheme. Pale countertops and a slabbed backsplash work to reflect light back into the room. Morse was also careful to minimize the low ceiling heights by not having an overhead hood. Horn and brass drawer handles punctuate the otherwise neutral space.
Studio Bartolotta LLC
Studio Bartolotta LLC
Many Colonial-style residences in New Canaan feature a kitchen that references that distinguished, though predictable, architectural type. But this active family wanted their kitchen to open to the other rooms and be a space where they could cook, dine and entertain together.
Andrew Bartolotta answered their wishes by combining a separate family room and kitchen into a unified space. Counter windows ingeniously slide open to create a bar surface on both the inside and outside deck for pool parties. The handsome kitchen cabinetry, whose Shaker-style panels are a stylistic nod to the house’s Colonial roots, was created by Nukitchens. One end of the island, accented by Circa Lighting pendants, features a wood-grain chopping block, while the other end features a casual dining area that opens into the family room.
Sean Jancski Landscape Architects
Sean Jancski Landscape Architects
One of the magical, natural qualities of this part of New Canaan is its rolling hills. But the undulating terrain can make the siting of a new pool difficult. Such was the challenge for landscape architect Sean Jancski. In order to preserve the shapeliness of the two-acre property, Jancski placed the pool on one of the hills closest to the edge of the site. An elegant allée of trees at one end of the pool leads the eye into the distance and frames the fire pit in between the trees.
A fieldstone retaining wall cuts through the landscape, serving to level the area of the pool and patio, tying it to a new outdoor dining terrace.
Gregory Lombardi Design Incorporated
Gregory Lombardi Design Incorporated
For this Greenwich home in Field Point Circle, the designers from Gregory Lombardi Design Incorporated were intent on marrying the landscape with the Arts & Crafts character of the house. In keeping with that aesthetic, the landscape is decidedly more formal and mannered close to the house, but becomes more natural the farther out one goes toward the property’s borders.
Local materials and grades of wood are combined with traditional details to create a series of outdoor rooms, of sorts. A moment of drama occurs at the entry as a sudden turn in the driveway results in a grand view of the main façade. Visitors are greeted there by Belgian block, drifts of purple blooms, boxwoods and a symmetry of canopy trees.
Michael McKinley and Associates
Michael McKinley and Associates
When the homeowners bought this waterfront site in Stonington some 30 years ago, they were content to drive to the undeveloped land and admire Long Island Sound views to Fishers Island and beyond. Eventually, they bought and renovated a cottage on an adjacent lot, thinking it would serve their needs. But upon recognizing that they wanted a home they could use year round, they commissioned architect Michael McKinley to devise something novel. He designed a residence composed of a pair of one-room-wide shingled volumes anchored by a single-story stone building.
Austin Patterson Disston Architects
Austin Patterson Disston Architects
Despite its size, there is much to look at in this 106-square-foot master bathroom by architect McKee Patterson—expansive views of Long Island Sound from the glass-walled shower, the handsome finishes and textures, and even, perhaps, the television, which is concealed in the mirrors over the vanity. In addition to wanting the bathroom to connect intimately with the colors and patterns outside, the client wanted a room that is in peaceful harmony with its setting. Honed limestone countertops, walls and floors establish a serene palette that echoes the hues in the salt flats seen outside at low tide. An electronic obscure glass allows for instantaneous privacy at night.
Yvonne Ferris Interiors
Yvonne Ferris Interiors
Pure, white, clean, geometric, bright are among the ready adjectives to describe this new master bathroom. When a couple with young daughters and a baby on the way purchased the house on Wilson Point in Norwalk, they had the bathrooms gutted and reconfigured, with a directive to designer Yvonne Ferris to introduce as much light as possible. Large expanses of windows certainly accomplish that, along with the right use of materials and patterns, including a light-hued stone for the floating vanity top, frameless mirrors and a marble floor tile configured in an engaging herringbone pattern. The discreet lighting fixtures by Michael Anastassiades produce light to maximum effect. A large white Agape tub is positioned to take in water views.
Calla.Studio
Calla.Studio
Everything about the Old Greenwich site on which their family’s Colonial-inspired home sat appealed to these homeowners, but they couldn’t get past the home’s traditional styling and details. They commissioned designer Calla McNamara to transform the interiors into a modern living space that could accommodate and highlight the wife’s own art (she is a painter) and an ever-growing collection of works by other artists. McNamara opened up walls, replaced moldings, changed kitchen cabinetry and removed a wall separating the kitchen from the family room. She then configured seating such that guests could sit and face the kitchen or enjoy the re-faced fireplace. A quartz island gives family and friends a centralized place to convene. The most dramatic moment of décor, however, is a removable swing that hangs from an I-beam.
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