Address: 22 Father Peters Lane, New Canaan, CT
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 6
Square feet: 7,154
Price: $3,995,000
Heralded as one of the greatest architects of all time, Frank Lloyd Wright is famous for his organic designs that blend seamlessly with the natural surroundings. In 1932, Wright started the Taliesin Fellowship to educate a select group of apprentices in his principles and share his passion for organic architecture. John Howe and Edgar Tafel, who 50 years later designed this modern home at 22 Father Peters Lane in New Canaan, CT, were among Wright’s first apprentices. “Howe is famously called ‘the Pencil in Wright’s Hand,’ having created many of the finishing works for designs of Fallingwater, Guggenheim and many others,” says real estate agent Chau Prutting of Compass in New Canaan. “This bloodline of organic architectural design flows deeply into the home at 22 Father Peters Lane in New Canaan, through its natural elements, solar hemicycle orientation and openness to the outdoors.”
Taking cues from the natural surroundings, the home feels intentional as you move from room to room. “Apropos of organic architecture designs there is drama added to everyday life by the compression and expansion of space as you move through it,” says Prutting.
The home is on nearly seven acres on a private cul-de-sac with trees hugging the grounds on all sides. A crow’s nest in one of them allows for some up-close leaf and bird peeping. With more than 7,000 square feet inside, the home is large enough to entertain for grand events, but the curved nature of the rooms and cozy corners to tuck away into for conversation make it comfortable for intimate gatherings as well. The grand dining room opens through sliding doors to a Japanese garden, a stone patio and fire pit. “The lush greenery complements the natural elements of Delaware riverstone, Cypress wood and glass, with naturally descending levels harmonious to the landscape,” notes Prutting of the home’s landscaping.
Hemisphere windows in the living stretch up to the second floor and frame the view of the trees outside. A seating area in the living room is wrapped in stone and has a curved fireplace hearth. Above, stained glass windows give light and warmth to the space.
An original upstairs loft has built-in cabinets in Cypress wood to match the walls, just like the original kitchen. Because the home was built in the 1980s, it was renovated in the mid-2000s to accommodate the modern family while preserving the integrity of the original design. Two large additions doubled the size of the home and created a second kitchen (the original is preserved), which allows for gourmet home cooking. The addition includes the dining room, a four-car garage, large great room, new guest quarters and new infrastructure throughout. Outside, new plants, a whole-house generator, fire pit and wrap-around paths were added.
“This particular home allows for intimate communal family space for unity, while enabling privacy and distributed space when solace and separation is ideal,” says Prutting. “This is true both inside and outside of the actual home, spilling out on to the property.”
At the end of a private lane, the neighborhood and the position of the home offer seclusion and privacy while being 10 minutes from downtown New Canaan. Tall maple, oak, hickory, and conifers abound on the grounds. “It is quiet and serene, a million miles away, yet convenient in every way,” adds Prutting. “One never loses the initial marvel of the soul of this home that is created by this flow, the natural elements of construction, and the surrounding landscape.”
Contact:
Chau Prutting
Real Estate Salesperson, Compass
New Canaan, CT
917-848-0341; chau.prutting@compass.com
