New Canaan, CT
Architects: Sherwood, Mills and Smith
Mills House 2 was built in 1956 by Willis N. Mills, a principal in the architectural firm of Sherwood, Mills & Smith, as his private residence. The house received design awards from Architectural Record and the Boston Arts Festival. It was constructed on a rocky slope where many thought it was impossible to build. The uncomplicated geometry of the rectangular floor plans was offset by the diagonal balconies and terraces. The site drops 45 feet from the street level entrance and the three-story house follows suit, with cantilevered sections at each level.
In 1999, the house was purchased and renovated by architect Craig Bassam and Christopher Scott Fellows. This resulted in a number of alterations to the structure, including the removal of several interior walls and the replacement of a section of the solid wall on the rear façade with a wall of glass. At the time of this renovation, the wood decks had rotted and were replaced with new decks in the same footprint. Steel and wood windows were restored, wood windows were replaced with steel units, and aluminum windows were replaced with aluminum units. A new stone-clad garage was constructed to the north of the house. The original garage was integrated into the living quarters and the north wall of the house was re-clad with stone to match the garage. Dwell featured this home in their March 2005 issue.
How anyone walks away from a home like this boggles my mind yet the property was sold to James C. Seuss in 2007. Not sure if James already got bored and sold it – 2007 is the where my trail ended on my little internet search last night.
And why was I even looking at an issue of Dwell from 2005…
I have been going through my old magazines looking for boulder-landscape inspiration. You see I have boulder on the brain and MUST have some giant rocks in my yard. I set out after work yesterday to see exactly how one purchases a ginormous rock and gets it back to their home. There are a few places that sell boulders around here. Where I went last night - place number one - will sell you a gigantic rock for kind of a lot of money and deliver it to your curb for $60. Then I would be left to get it to its final resting place in my yard which means I would have to rent a bobcat type thing. I wonder if this is why there are so many boulders at the ends of people’s driveways around here. Hopefully the next place I try will offer to set it in place. Probably not but I will continue to ask around. Not to be completely denied of my boulder dreams, I did purchase 3 rocks of decent size last night. Two of which are still in my truck since it will take at least two dudes to get them out - luckily I have nice neighbors that will give my husband a hand later today.
Back to New Canaan…
I LOVE those barstools!
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