Connecticut Residence
This modern house sits on a low hill overlooking woods, wetlands and a small river that flows into the Atlantic. Its 10-foot high windows draw the outdoors in so that, in classic modernist fashion, the distance between occupants and nature is barely one inch physically and non-existent visually.
But the house is primarily about art. Elliott + Associates' mandate was to create a museum-like interior for works by Miro, Motherwell, Picasso and other modern masters, as well as a superb collection of African masks and sculpture. The lack of wall space inspired the architects to design a 21-foot sandblasted acrylic coffee table to display small groups of African pieces.
Elsewhere, they mounted slabs of polished black granite to present African masks and sculptures, using sophisticated museum lighting to accentuate form and texture. On one wall masks peer out from jet-black niches that seem almost archaeological.
In this modern house museum the glass walls are both envelope and frame, organizing the woods and rocks and water into nature paintings that are as compelling as any inside.
