park view through windows unadorned by draperies. A new fireplace plays off a masonry chimney on the opposing wall; the latter
is a remnant from the home’s previous exterior. A curved, floating
stairway with walls sheathed in limestone leads down to a wine cellar and exercise room. The stairs ascend to a home office with a
vaulted skylight that floods the addition with light.
To the right of the glass connector, a piano lounge with a castlimestone fireplace provides a seamless transition into the preaddition part of the home. Throughout the residence, a palette
of authentic, carefully matched materials—from Venetian plaster
on the walls to wooden beams, mahogany window trim and slate
shingles—blurs the lines between old and new.
Breeding’s bold plan also integrates the home with the landscape. “The first renovation gave the house a very balanced, symmetrical façade on the back. That led us to create this connector
so we could repeat the symmetry and proportions,” the architect
explains. “It connects the point of arrival all the way through the
house and down to the garden.”
Landscape architect Kevin Campion devised a way to link the
existing rear terrace to the landscape below so the owners and
their young son could safely navigate and enjoy the grounds. “The
previous owners had done nothing with the slope, so we inherited
a site that was wild, to say the least,” he recalls. Today, a curved
stairway flanked by lush gardens connects widened terraces to a
lower terrace off the exercise room and down to the lawn below.
Building the addition and hardscape was no easy feat. “It turned
out to be a very delicate dance,” says Pyramid’s Bret Anderson.
“The site provided no access to the rear of house, where a major
portion of the work would transpire. Materials and equipment
that couldn’t be hand-carried had to be craned in.
“Our second major hurdle was replicating the exterior and interior details and maintaining a seamless appearance between new
and old,” Anderson continues. “The house has a very sophisticated, aged look. Recreating that was a bit of challenge.”
The owners, who frequently entertain on a large scale, sought interiors that were comfortable and elegant, yet more contemporary
in context than the home’s previous style. “We wanted to embrace
what was there in a more ‘family’ way,” says one of the spouses, a
journalist who works from the addition’s new sky-lit office.
Whether their son, now a toddler, is hosting a pumpkin-carving
party for his playmates or his parents are throwing a dinner party
for 3 0, the house conveys a welcoming, non-fussy vibe despite its
pedigree. Designer Helen Sullivan captured the couple’s vision with
a mix of newly purchased and antique furnishings and a restful color
palette of neutrals and pale greens and blues. Custom treatments—
from the leather banquette in the kitchen to the linen-upholstered
bedstead in the master suite—impart a sense of relaxed luxury.
Colorful modern art collected on the owners’ travels adds punch.
76 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 • homeanddesign.com
F_Pyramid.indd 76
10/15/13 3:39 PM