Connecticut Custom Home Pays Homage to an Icon of the Arts and Crafts Movement

Built-in bookshelves and columns delineate the entry foyer and great room while conveying an expansive sense of space.  Photos: Olson Photographic

Architect Peter MacPartland already knew the clients, having designed a vacation home for them in Maine. The homeowner, he says, was an Arts and Crafts connoisseur and showed MacPartland a book about the Gamble House, pointing out the details to incorporate into his new home.

The builders, Gary and Donna Baylor, weren't content with looking at photos of the famous residence. They decided to see it for themselves while visiting friends near Pasadena. “Once I was there, it all came to light for me,” says Gary. “We were in the process of framing [the Connecticut house] at the time. The finishes were very, very important, and that's what I specifically wanted to see in the Gamble House.”

MacPartland created the basic design concept but left the fine details to Baylor, who produced the construction drawings and coordinated the various trade contractors, designers and artisans. “For example, to do the built-in drawers under the stringers of the main staircase, I drew sections of the stairway in that enclosure with the windows so that all the components would work,” Baylor says. “That one section of the staircase was a collaboration between the homeowner, myself, my stair designer and my millwork guy.”

A slope at the rear of the lot was turned into a walkout tower level that the owners use as a family recreational space.

Drawers and cabinets under the main staircase are typical of much older homes. The bench seat is an extension of the stair assemble.

Shallow roof lines with large overhangs that make the roof appear to float are also reminiscent of Wright's Prairie style, but the tapered columns on the wraparound porch, with stone at the base, are Craftsman.

Much of the five-acre site was not buildable because of the woods and wetlands. “There wasn't a lot of room, actually, once the septic system was put in,” says MacPartland, whose challenge was to figure out how to orient the house.

“I thought about it not so much from the outside in as from the inside out,” he says. “I spent time on the property tracking the path of the sun and sited the home to maximize natural light.” The breakfast room, which faces east, gets early-morning sun. The dining room and great room get afternoon light.

At the rear of the sloping site, MacPartland carved out a walkout basement.

The design phase took about nine months; construction took about 15 months. The painstaking efforts of everyone involved paid off in the clients' delight with the finished product — not to mention the 2007 Custom Home of the Year award from the Home Builders Association of Connecticut. “It took a lot of extra work to make sure everything would fall into place,” says Baylor. “But the communication from the homeowner was extraordinary. He really knew what he wanted and was able to clearly demonstrate what he was looking for.” 

FIRST FLOOR KEY: A kids’ study: 15’8” x 7’6” B tv/media room: 11’6” x 16’ C breakfast nook: 9’ x 7’6” D butler’s pantry E kitchen: 19’6” x 18’6” F dining room: 17’6” x 17’6” G mud room H guest bedroom: 13’8” x 10’ I guest bathroom J great room: 18’2” x 21’6” K front hall L powder room  M two-car garage: 22' x 28'	SECOND FLOOR KEY: A play room: 16’ x 14’ B bedroom 1: 14’6” x 12’6” C bedroom 2: 11’ x 16’ D shared bathroom E bedroom 3: 12’ x 12’ F octagonal hall: 8’ x 8’ G master bedroom: 16’ x 16’6” H master bathroom I dressing room: 10’ x 16’6” J study: 12’6” x 16’6” K study/loft: 9’ x 21’6” L laundry	BASEMENT KEY: A future home theater: 18’10” x 27’ B play room: 17’6” x 17’6” C bedroom: 18’6” x 10’ D music room: 15’ x 23’ E bathroom F mechanical: 10’ x 13’6” G storage