For Thomas McNeill, the architect who designed this family compound in Greenwich, Connecticut, inspiration came—literally—from the stone ledge located deep beneath the ground.
“Instead of shipping off the stone and building the house out of wood, we excavated every bit of it, and we chose to do it in a way where not every piece is perfectly cut and fit together, which gives the home an old aesthetic,” explains McNeill, a partner at Boston-based Hutker Architects.
There’s something grand about the entire property and you can sense that grandeur from the moment you drive through an orchard of trees, pull into the driveway, and behold the multiple structures that make up this family’s home.
“The house doesn’t blend in with the other houses in Greenwich,” he says. “It’s a discovery process when we design a home with the owner and it’s always our goal to create something unique.”
Cultural Touchpoints
After meeting with the homeowners, McNeill set out to create a blueprint that would reflect his clients’ desire for a home that reflects their Argentinian roots.
“We found great Argentinian courtyard houses as inspiration,” he says of the home build, which took approximately two years to complete.
In this style of home, McNeill discovered, a key feature is an Asado or Argentinian grill. In this case, the Asado (plus an outdoor kitchen with a requisite pizza oven) was placed off to the side of the family quarters near the pool for easy al fresco meals.
And, since the ease of indoor/outdoor living was just as important to this tightknit family of six, an expansive courtyard was a key element in the design.
“The front courtyard has a sitting area that opens up through the living room,” he says. “We placed a fireplace in the courtyard wall as well.”
The goal was to create a home that reflected the homeowners’ Argentinian roots.
Interestingly, the fireplace serves as a porchlight of sorts.
“When it’s turned on, you know there’s lots of activity going on,” McNeill says. “That was something the family wanted—this indication that ‘we’re having a party.’”
Designed for Togetherness
In keeping with this family’s lifestyle, McNeill created the compound so that a three-car garage connects to the family’s living quarters via a glass breezeway. It’s in this part of the property that the family spends quality time together, whether it’s gathering in the kitchen, an oversized living room, the kids’ four bedrooms, or their centralized homework space.
“We deliberately designed smaller bedrooms for the kids because the idea was to use those rooms mainly for sleeping,” he says. “It was also a priority for the parents to be nearby—we didn’t want to put the parents’ bedroom on the other side of the house.”
The primary bedroom is a stunner and was designed by Julia Vandal, an interior designer at Hutker. It features hand-hewn reclaimed white oak timbers, Brokis Knot Uovo pendant fixtures, a brick fireplace, and a custom king-size bed frame. A cozy window seat featuring custom bench cushions is an ideal spot for the kids to stretch out and read, lit by the natural light emanating from the oversized windows.
Making sure the space felt serene was also important to the owners and the primary bathroom certainly emanates a spa-like, airy feel. Vandal’s vision included a custom vanity with a super stylish built-in bench seat, an MTI Elise Freestanding bathtub, Kallista One plumbing collection in antique bronze, and a Steamist steam shower with gradient frosted privacy glass.
The kitchen sitting area, which overlooks the pool, is ideal for casual family gatherings. Vandal designed the space for stylish comfort with an Artefact Esme Chaise Sectional, an Iaon area rug by Woven, an Usona armchair and custom walnut nesting tables by Hopes Woodworking.
McNeill utilized reclaimed timbers to frame the ceiling for a warm, dramatic look.
In the dining and living rooms, Vandal echoed the look of the sitting space and the Cala Mobile glass chandelier by John Pomp is an eye-catching centerpiece. A custom dining table with a cherry wood live edge top and patina bronze wishbone-style base by Brooks Custom (and Carl Hansen Wishbone dining chairs) is just the right size for this big family to enjoy everyday meals.
For the living room, Vandal selected a Minotti Hamilton sectional, a statement-making Croft House leather Latigo lounge chair and built-in shelves with exterior slat detail.
A Quiet Retreat
While the centerpiece in the middle of the house is the main entertainment space—which offers plenty of places for guests to mingle and features architectural details such as oversized windows and rustic beamed ceilings, the building next to it serves as the owner’s office, and offers plenty of room for guests. Family and friends can experience their own home-away-from-home here. The building includes a ground-level guest suite, secluded from the rest of the house via a small glass breezeway, and four kids’ bedrooms on the second floor.
“The guest suite has a small living/sitting area and a barn door which can close off this entire wing of the house,” McNeill says.
“The idea is that the house can live big,” he says. “The owners wanted to create dedicated spaces to host larger groups of family and friends.”
Ultimately, McNeill says the best part of this project was being able to connect with the family, find innovative ways to enhance their lives and design a home that now looks like it has been there for much longer than anyone would guess.
“It was so satisfying being able to organize their life with the house,” he says. “The goal was to design the home in a way that enabled them to grow, entertain, and spend time with friends but then scale it down and live in their own space when it was just the family.”
The Team
Architect / Thomas McNeill, Partner, Hutker Architects
Interior Designer / Julia Vandal, Hutker Architects
Builder / Paul Fontana, Cum Laude Group
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