Creating in Connecticut – Winterhouse Painting Studio Remodel

Think Connecticut – you’ll most likely be envisioning vast mountainous landscapes, serene forests and an environment that’s generally ideal for retreating and creating. That’s what the Winterhouse is all about. Situated on a hilltop in Falls Village, Connecticut, the home is a former painting studio, built in 1931 for renowned muralist Ezra Winter. It now belongs to William Drenttel and Jessica Helfand who wanted an escape from hectic Manhattan when they purchased the home in 1998. They took along their creative endeavors (books, magazines, websites), their two young children and their modernist sensibilities. They took the trail up to Connecticut, which they knew had harbored the creative efforts of such luminaries as writer Edith Wharton, Lincoln Memorial sculptor Daniel French, film critic Pauline Kael and dancer Ted Shawn. What they came across, however, seemed beyond salvageable, until Morris Sato Studio stepped in for the remodel.

The impressive 6,600 square foot property features all the best things Connecticut nature has to offer – landscaped gardens, open skies and lands, hiking trails, babbling brooks and streams, even a natural waterfall! Inside await four warm, cozy bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms, a gorgeous painted studio, with ceilings 30’ tall and windows almost the same size, a contemporary kitchen, a garage and the barn. They kept the lavish stone fireplace and floor-to-ceiling book cases which can hold no less than 750 linear feet of books, and created a dining room that’s at once welcoming and fit for royalty. The home won the Home of the Year award in 2002. Photos taken by Albert Vecerka, Esto & Michael Moran.

(Source: Winterhouse.com)