All it took was a look-see of a vast, green meadow by the Connecticut River and a line of evergreens for two artists to decide to buy and build on 11 acres in Lyme, CT.
“The Barn” was born. Now it can be yours.
“The property was inspired by the artist and his wife, who is a poet,” said listing agent Angela Ruel. “When they saw this meadow in the Connecticut River Valley, that just spoke to them.”
The result: a modern home shaped like a hangar and inspired by its natural surroundings as well as by art. The couple, now in their 90s, wanted the building to look like a piece of white sculpture.
They called on Beinfield Architecture to design the 3,700-square-foot contemporary space in 1992. The architects drew up a “modern barn” that mirrors the shape of farm buildings in the area, but with a twist.
The back of the house, with its floor-to-ceiling windows, is meant to appear like a “ship afloat upon the surrounding sea of grass,” according to the designers.
The design was a hit. In 1994, the home won the American Institute of Architects’ Connecticut Award for design excellence.
Meanwhile, the couple focused on their creative pursuits. The painter’s neomodern works can be seen hanging inside the house.
And now, after 25 years, the owners are selling their prized possession to be closer to their children. The price was recently slashed from $ 4 million to $ 2,250,000, which is “on par” for the location, Ruel noted.
An open house is scheduled later in the month. Visitors will experience the “redwood exterior with a copper barrel roof and porches, industrial commercial steel balconies and spiral staircase,” and “dramatic curved plaster interior walls, Juliet balconies and 20-foot ceilings,” according to the listing. Not to mention that wall of glass.
“You’ll never see anything like it again. It’s a treasure,” Ruel said.
Although the property is open and filled with light, it’s also private. “There are no property owners on either side,” the agent said. “Unless someone comes walking across the field, the only ones who look in are the deer.”
While its natural setting, the home could certainly work as a “seasonal property”—but it’s meant to be lived in year-round. The place is easily accessible to the road, and there’s a bonus: “It truly is located on one of the most picturesque roads in New England,” Ruel added.
If you’re still not sold, here’s what the AIA had to say in bestowing its design award on the home: “This house accomplished something most unusual. It takes off from the cool, modernist vocabulary and produces a warm and whimsical building.”
Sounds like something only artists could dream up.