Across its 32-year history, Laura Kaehler Architects of Greenwich has designed everything from museums and libraries to New York City apartments. But, as Laura Kaehler notes, the firm’s bread and butter is custom homes. Recommended for this project by Frank Pompa of Pompa Development & Construction—the project’s builder and a longtime collaborator—Kaehler was commissioned to design a large summer residence for a family of four on a prime four-acre hilltop site. The property slopes south, with sweeping views of Long Island Sound and abundant natural light. “There’s very pretty sunlight,” Kaehler says—and capturing that light, along with the vistas, became central to the design.
The clients wanted a house that was neither traditional nor modern, but clean-lined, warm and welcoming. Scale mattered: The home needed to accommodate a large extended family—24 relatives live nearby—and entertaining was a priority. Kaehler’s gable-roofed design draws on classic New England vernacular, reinterpreted at a contemporary scale with large windows and refined, stripped-down detailing. To avoid a boxy appearance, the façade is broken up to read as an assemblage of volumes, lending the house a village-like rhythm rather than a single oversized mass. The program also includes a swimming pool, a gym and dedicated hangout spaces.
There are two primary points of entry, each setting a distinct tone. Guests arriving at the front portico step into a grand entry with a stained white-oak floor in a herringbone pattern, with living rooms, a study and the kitchen radiating off the hall. In these high-ceilinged spaces, broad white expanses are enhanced by floor-to-ceiling wood panels, and oversized moldings and baseboards, which introduce shadow, texture and depth. “The panels shine,” Kaehler says, noting that the gloss finish signals: this is important.
This home was designed by architect Laura Kaehler and her team (Matt Arnott, Ken Taverna, and Michelle Huot) and built by Pompa Development & Construction. Landscape design is by Eckerson Design Associates.
Three framed panels of a Schumacher wallpaper cover one wall in the living room; the chandelier is from Visual Comfort.
The study has walls painted in Sherwin Williams’ Iron Ore and is furnished with a Lee Industries sofa and chairs, a custom rug, plus an RH desk and chair.
The home’s main stairway was designed with black steel balustrades and an oak handrail.
A Visual Comfort Loire chandelier illuminates the primary bedroom, which is grounded with a rug from Jaffe Rug Gallery.
The main bedroom seating area is furnished with two Lee Industries swivel chairs.
Her retreat is located off the upper-floor landing and features a Lee Industries mulberry plush-velvet sectional sofa, a Gabby Clifton coffee table, and a Currey & Company pendant light.
Her bathroom features an elegant Villa & House Morris writing desk paired with a chair from Universal Furniture.
Three Visual Comfort Agnes pendant lights are suspended above the bar, and the stools are from Bernhardt.
The four chaise lounges alongside the pool are from Kingsley Bates. The dining table and chairs are from Palecek.
A grid of stained white-oak cross beams on the ceiling delivers warmth into the kitchen. “With such a large open space, I wanted to break up it up in a few ways,” says Kaehler. “Using the ceiling, which is often a forgotten design element, is an especially interesting way to achieve this.”
The second entrance is more informal—and more frequently used. The garage sits off to the far left on an angle, deliberately kept from becoming a visual focal point. It connects to the main house through a tiled mudroom, which also opens to the front driveway. Between the mudroom and the main living areas, a monumental custom back stair takes center stage, designed to look as light as possible, with slender black balustrades and an oak handrail. “The actual treads are on a slight angle to look like a folded ribbon,” notes the architect. The stairs float up two stories behind an exterior wall of nine large Marvin windows, an area expressed on the façade by a triangular pediment and bump out. Far from a secondary route, the stair reads as its own sculptural space.
Upstairs are three bedrooms and a nanny’s suite. The primary bedroom includes separate his-and-hers bathrooms, along with the wife’s office—a relaxed space with comfortable seating and generous views.
Interior design is by Angie Hummell and Vicki Butz of Nesting Place Interiors. “The clients wanted a modern Versailles,” Hummell says, describing a palette of French-inspired richness—velvets, plus romantic shades of lavender, purple and mulberry. Yet their tastes lean minimalist. The main bedroom pairs simple white linen curtains with a custom headboard, washed-lavender walls, a statement chandelier and a bespoke white cowhide bench. A seating area to one side frames, naturally, more views.
The lower level is devoted to leisure and togetherness—a gym, bar, pool table and game room, plus an expansive media area for watching sports. At the rear of the house, this floor opens directly to the pool terrace and the descending landscape, where the eye is drawn toward the water. “It’s a family that’s very much about family,” says Hummell. And the house—in both plan and spirit—is built to hold them.
