The state of Connecticut, in the heart of New England, is fully stocked with quaint capes, classic colonials, and sprawling shingle-style estates, but, remarkably, modern homes have also found a foothold here. Indeed, some of the country's most celebrated architects and their disciples have descended on the state over the past century, building innovative modern residences next door to the New England classics. This movement gained traction in New Canaan in the '40s, where Philip Johnson built his famous Glass House, but has since spread throughout the state. This low-slung midcentury house in Litchfield, designed by the legendary Marcel Breuer, was completed in 1966 and has just undergone a loving restoration by couple of New York-based fashion insiders. Listed for $3.2M, the stone and stucco house sits on 9.5 acres of bucolic countryside and includes four bedrooms, a guest house, and, remarkably, an original Calder mural, all once featured in The World of Interiors.
? One year earlier, in 1965, Frank Lloyd Wright apprentice Allan J. Gelbin designed this Prairie-influenced home in Weston. Measuring just 1,560 square feet, the house was a descendant of Wright's Usonian designs, aimed at the middle class. Today, thanks to the popularity of that style and the contemporary affluence of Weston, this house is asking almost $1.6M. The immaculately kept house has been refurbished by the current owner, who purchased back in 2004 for just $443K.
? This brilliant white structure, completed in 1987 to plans by the Georgia-based, Harvard-trained Anthony Ames, rests just up the hill from a rustic horse barn, but looks like a spaceship by comparison. Defined by titanic walls of glass, the living room is a throwback to true Wall Street-era drama. Set on nine acres in Roxbury, the 3,300-square-foot structure with six-car garage and gym is asking $4.8M.
? In 1990, the Uruguayan architect Rafael Viñoly, who would later become known for his large-scale public projects, drafted the plans for this dramatic country estate in Fairfield. Designed for a wealthy art collector, the house combines acres of wall space with equally expansive glass walls that bring the outdoors inside. Fairfield University, who received the house as a donation, is now looking to sell the 9,700-square-foot two bedroom for $3.2M.
? Glass also features prominently in Ulrich Franzen's 1992 design for this 8,800-square-foot mansion in Greenwich. The highlight of the home, in fact, is the two-story glass atrium that looks out on 7.4 acres of landscaped grounds. The five-bedroom, nine-bath home with indoor and outdoor swimming pools is listed for $13M. A pretty penny, to be sure, but par for the course in tony Greenwich.
? Some more recent innovators have chosen a subtler way of incorporating modernism into the Connecticut countryside. In 2009, the tongue-twisting architect Andre Tchelistcheff tackled a classic farmhouse dating from 1810, transforming it into a purely modern abode, while retaining the original front facade. The unusual grey exterior and metallic garage doors hint at the interiors within, but its only inside that the modern modifications are totally evident. Listed for $4.85M, this new school farmhouse lies just an hour outside of NYC on Metro North.
· Marcel Breuer's Stillman II [Klemm Real Estate]
· Best Laid Plans (PDF) [World of Interiors]
· 24 Skylark Lane [Zillow]
· Undisclosed Address [Zillow]
· Modernist Rafael Viñoly Creation For Sale in Connecticut [Curbed National]
· Undisclosed Address [Zillow]
· 7 Plunkett Place [Zillow]
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