Darien, Conn. | $ 2.795 million
A 1966 waterfront home with four bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a private beach and mooring on 0.53 acre lot
The sellers bought this property in 2009 as their primary residence so their three sons could grow up on the water with sailing, kayaking and water skiing right outside their door. It is located on a cove in Long Island Sound called Holly Pond, two miles southwest of downtown Darien, which is where a commuter train station is located. (A second station in Noroton Heights is about 1.6 km north.) The morning travel time to Grand Central Terminal on weekdays is 62 to 75 minutes. The children went to the local elementary school and rode bicycles to local beaches and tennis courts. The home had no history of flooding but is located in a FEMA zone that requires flood insurance.
Size: 3830 square feet
Price per square foot: $ 730
Inside: In 2016, sellers opened the kitchen to the family room by removing walls and relocating a bathroom. A two-story addition to the rear created a large mud room on the ground floor with storage space and an upstairs office overlooking the water. The garage was given a second floor, which the children used as a meeting place. The sellers moved the laundry room to the second floor to be near the bedrooms. They also replaced the roof, windows, and exterior cladding (including the cedar shingles) and upgraded the heating system to include three energy efficient heat pumps.
The front door is under a covered porch next to the attached two car garage. To the right of the entrance is a formal living room with original oak floors and a fireplace. On the left a dining room with the same floors, a slim chair rail and a decorative strip as well as a bay window.
The combined kitchen and family room extend across the back of the house. A wall of windows overlooking the sound and sliding glass doors lead to an aft deck. The white kitchen cabinets are covered in quartz and there is an induction hob on the island. There is also a double-walled oven and two pantries. The family room has a wood-burning fireplace with a wooden top and a wall of open bookshelves. The floor is made of white oak throughout. The new bathroom next to the kitchen has a shower for rinsing off after water sports.
The mudroom, fitted with wall hooks and cubbies, serves as a rear access point and connects the house to the garage. A back staircase leads to the 21 by 22 foot meeting point that flows into the windowed office.
The four bedrooms can be reached via a front staircase next to the foyer and have a 13 x 20 foot master bedroom with its own bathroom with two sinks, a toilet and a shower room and a walk-in closet. The additional bedrooms share a bathroom with two sinks and a combined bath and shower.
