Located only steps from Long Island Sound, this gracious hundred-year-old Dutch colonial home needed major work when the family bought it in 1999. The home bent and leaned with age, offering massive structural challenges to Brenner Builders, who were hired to make certain the structure lasts for another century.The house also required new plumbing and wiring and all the modern day conveniences desired by today’s families.

The first two floors of the home were completely gutted and a family room, mud room, laundry room and kitchen area were added to expand the home from 4000 square feet to 5500 square feet with livable space on four floors. The exterior had to be re-skinned and new cedar shingle siding, windows, and a cedar roof were added.

To capture the charm of the original home, Brenner Builders re-used the nineteenth-century woodwork whenever possible. When necessary, they created millwork to match the original profiles. The second floor stair railing was not to code and to keep the family’s young children safe, Brenner Builders modified the existing railing by adding custom balusters.

The family room addition features a two-story beadboard ceiling with a gambrel roof to echo the lines of the Dutch colonial style home.

A stained glass window created by artisans when the home was first built was restored and relocated; it is now a home highlight, visible from both the first and second floors.

Elsewhere, the house features traditional detailing with modern touches. The design of the kitchen befits the age of the home, with pine cabinets and antique reproduction overhead lighting; the countertops are poured concrete, and the floor surface is concrete tiles imported from France. Throughout the home, there are pocket doors, highly detailed built-ins, and decorative interior windows.

When the major work on the home was completed, the family commissioned Brenner Builders to add an 18 x 36 foot swimming pool and retrofit the existing garage to include a changing area, storage area, and full bath.