Creating Beauty As He Goes

March 25th, 2008

Builder E.M. Rose combines fresh ideas, lifelong passion and the finest materials to fashion a home of eminence
BY ERIKA ALEXIA TSOUKANELIS | PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRISTOPHER KOLK

Since beginning his career nearly thirty years ago, Eric M. Rose has completed building projects in nine states and three countries. Although he is best known for building custom multi-million dollar estate projects, he applies his same workmanship to meticulously detailed garden sheds and custom-built wine cellars. He has received numerous HOBI and Homebook Awards, has been interviewed by The New York Times, has been featured by the Public Television Small Business School, and has entered several corporate partnerships. His recent efforts include the construction of a three-level English Country masterpiece on Longneck Point Road in Darien, designed by Moisan Architects of Woodbury. While EM Rose Building Company was not the only talented entity involved in the building of the home, Rose takes special pride in his weighty contribution to the project. Standing on the expansive back terrace of the Darien property, he looks at the stone beneath our feet and begins to tell the story of his extraordinary endeavor. “Before we were done laying this flagstone,” he says, “the quarry in China closed.”

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Rose battled to locate a source that could find a substitute for the missing material. He employed the services of Sargeant Stoneworks of New Fairfield to find a domestic quarry for the job, and they came through. The rest of the high-quality flagstone was produced at a quarry in New York State opened specifically to fabricate the material. Its purple is one of the many colors picked up in the slate shingles above our heads. Motioning to the multi-hued roofing, Rose explains that the super-thick Vermont slate, rated to last 100 years, was chosen by the client and architect for its durability and aesthetic. The cool tones in the roof are echoed by the bluestone of the windowsills and the tops of the columns that frame the wide terrace, along with solid bronze railings. Richer tones in the roof match stained mahogany bay windows. Rose recommended the natural finish for its beauty. The clear finish demands more frequent attention to keep its luster, says Rose, thereby ensuring that small cracks and larger fissures don’t get overlooked before worsening, as the rear of the house faces the Long Island Sound, in all its watery, windy intensity.

The land sweeping down to the shoreline was overgrown when the house was built. From the ground level, the view was completely obscured. The owner received approval from the state to remove the unruly wetland, replacing it with indigenous vegetation that is both pleasantly arranged and allows for a full experience of living on the water. The back terrace became the perfect setting for the client’s father’s 80th birthday party last May. Two hundred guests, including Rose, appreciated the view, the pool and the various seating vignettes along the terrace. “There’s a lot of room to move around and talk,” Rose says as we step inside.

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The client has granted Rose free reign of the house for our tour, and we enter through a solid-panel kitchen door manufactured by Rosewood Custom Cabinetry of Killingworth. A number of these doors lead into other rooms, with leaded glass windows at their tops to lend an antique appearance.

As we walk across Italian porcelain tiles on the radiant-heated kitchen floor, Rose points out the Zeluck-made windows that overlook the terrace and Sound. Above the larger glass panel are Tru Divided Light window panes. When the saltwater winds and heavy storms assault from outside, Tru Divided Light construction makes it possible for each pane to be replaced individually and as needed, reducing maintenance costs while ensuring architectural integrity. All of the windows throughout the home were designed and built this way by Zeluck Incorporated of Brooklyn, New York.

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Off the kitchen, the family room is embellished with a unique floor of fumed antique pine. The character and patina of the floor boards were created by smoking salvaged wood in a kiln-like pressure chamber, then hand-waxing and staining each plank. This particular flooring was done by Baba Wood, whose service includes blessing the material before sending it to its fate. Above, EM Rose hand-joined reclaimed timber over a solid ceiling before plastering between the beams to create a clever, interesting and decorative configuration that mimics a true timber-frame building.

The floor in the dining room is hand-planed, hand assembled French oak parquet in the “Versailles” pattern.
It has been adjusted to fit exactly into the room, without overlap or discontinuity, and it flows into the limestone floor of the entrance hall, where an original Rodin bust is on display, along with 600-year-old twin tapestries. Another piece of art is displayed on the wall above the staircase. It is a replica of a work by modern English Impressionist Edward Seago, a favorite of the client’s. The oil painting was created by one of Rose’s crew who specializes in faux painting, which is one of EM Rose Building Company’s many services.

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The care the artist took in re-creating the Seago was also taken by Rose when hand-selecting outstanding cherry wood for the library. The book-matched veneers on each wall all came from one flitch of veneers from the same tree and same log. Panel after panel was
chosen for its superior quality and compelling color and grain. The lumber for the cabinetry came from a different supplier. Again, Rose went through volumes of wood with an expert eye to determine the finest material that would match the veneers. Before we exit the library, he points out the zigzagging brick of the fireplace, a herring-bone pattern that took meticulous care to create.

Such meticulousness was rewarded. EM Rose finished the original home in 2004, but were recently welcomed back by the client when he wanted his downstairs finished. “I had a serious Tudor-Gothic theme in mind when my client asked us to give him a private theater. He left the details to me, and I turned to Sean O’Kane, AIA of Ridgefield to bring all of the details together. I’m always thinking ahead about what more we can do on a project,” Rose explains as he opens the door that leads down to this impressive addition. At the bottom of the stairs, an antique stained-glass window that depicts the crest of the English Crown is built into millwork and back-lit so that it appears to be refracting sunlight.

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Rose found it while antiquing with his wife in Old Saybrook, and knew it would be just the thing for his newest project in the house. He called the client from his cell phone, and received the go-ahead to purchase the antique. Neither man was sure where the piece would fit, but fit it does. Rose relates the story of his find with the passion that sustains him in creating beauty as he goes, fitting together ideas and materials alike.

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The idea for the downstairs renovation was to imitate the feel of an English country home. Though completed last, it is a foundation of design for the rest of the Americanized structure atop it. The reclaimed French limestone that makes up the floors was originally quarried between 400 and 500 years ago and imported directly from France by EM Rose. Stepping up into a window seat, we take a closer look at the bay window that is faux-painted to match the hand-carved old English Oak throughout the lower level.

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The English Oak carvings and iron Gothic motifs and brackets, finials and fleurs-de-lis were handmade to designs by architect Sean O’Kane. Interior designer Lynn Brown of Darien placed antique leather pillows in the window seat and on nearby couches, her touches always keeping in precise time with structural themes. On the wall, carved in the form of 15th century linenfold paneling, there hangs a polychromed carving in English Oak of the client’s own family crest. The images of knights on the crest were photographed and sent to Britain, where the brilliant artisans at Stuart Interiors hand-carved a four-foot-tall statue in English Bog Oak, carbon-dated to be 18,000 years old. This oak is from trees that fell before and during the last Ice Age and were trapped in an anaerobic, or oxygen-free, environment, where they began to petrify instead of rot. The dark, ancient wood modeled now in the shape of a knight stands as a column at the edge of the bar, a spacious wine cellar alongside, its doors covered in hand-made iron motifs of grapevines. Inside, the client’s extensive wine collection, cataloged by computer, is numbered and arranged. Sipping wine at the bar is a favorite activity for guests and family, as is relaxing in the custom private theater. Furnished with row upon row of deep, comfortable leather seating, the theater features a universal remote control for lighting and media equipment, a giant movie screen, a custom-built Runco projector, and a custom-built water-cooled computer server that allows the children to play video games online and wirelessly with up to 100 people worldwide.

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More technological wonder may be found in the main boiler room, also located on the lower level. There are three other satellite mechanical rooms throughout the house, but this is where the central boilers are located. Forty-thousand gallons of pool water circulate through pipes and are heated here. Spa water is also warmed. The radiant heat floors in every room of the house and the radiant heat tubing below the driveway that automatically melts snow and ice are all managed from this room. Valves are clearly marked, lighting is optimum, and care was taken to make sure there is plenty of room for more than one technician to work in the space at the same time. Rose is proud to show me his design work in this crucial room. “If you really want to see the quality of a project and its builder,” he says, “go look where no one else would think to look.” Truly, the boiler room’s layout leaves no detail of maintenance uncovered.

Such is the way of EM Rose Building Company. Rose and his team construct homes that incorporate old-fashioned quality and beauty with modern technology and comfort. When I congratulate him on his work before we part, he looks genuinely pleased, but he cannot dwell on my compliments for long. His phone is ringing. He takes the business call, and is quickly absorbed in discussion of work. He does not even sit down. Eric M. Rose is once again caught up in talk of new creation.

Posted in Feature Articles |

Hidden Treasure

March 11th, 2008

Fordham Marble
Creating Excellence Through Experience

421 Fairfield Avenue in Stamford is the home of the Fordham Marble showroom. I had heard a great deal about this 103-year-old stone fabricating company. The word amongst people in the know— like builders, architects and interior designers—is that Fordham Marble is the place to go with your important projects. I wanted to see for myself, so I made an appointment to meet with Joyce Sardo, Fordham’s vice president of sales.

Sardo told me that Fordham Marble was founded in 1905 in New York, and that the shop and yard were still located in the Fordham area of the Bronx. “Right near Arthur Avenue, the ‘Little Italy’ of the Bronx, that’s where most of our men came from,” she added.

The company is considered one of the few A-level marble contractors in New York. Fordham Marble is always on the short list of marble contractors when it comes to the most important residential projects. I asked why Fordham Marble opened in Stamford. Sardo told me that even though the major market for Fordham Marble’s level of work was in Manhattan, they always had a large clientele in the Greenwich area. In 1988 the company decided to make it easier for Connecticut clients to select their materials and enjoy the best in craftsmanship.

Extraordinary displays of materials and workmanship were everywhere in the 7,500- square-foot space, and I was amazed at the array of full-size slabs individually shown. “We would never put a client in the position of having to select a material from a small sample. Others may think that is acceptable, but we know better,” Sardo remarked.

A wide range of mosaics, artisan ceramic tiles, glass tiles and even metal inserts were also showcased. “We are not just about natural stone. Our clients are among the busiest and most successful people you can imagine” Sardo said. “When they have a space to finish, we have the materials and resources to facilitate successful completion. The Fordham Marble difference can’t be easily explained; it needs to be experienced. If you plan to use stone in your next project, stop by and check us out. I love to share our story and make new friends.” n Fordham Marble is open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5 pm, and Saturday, 10am to 3pm.

Telephone: 203-348-5088.
Fax: 203-348-4458.
Website: www.fordhammarble.com

Posted in Hidden Treasure |

From the Publisher

March 11th, 2008

If you’ve noticed that this issue looks a little different, it is. Please
join me in welcoming our new Creative Director, Richard Zoehrer,
to the team. Richard brings a fresh eye, years of amazing experience and a sophisticated design sensitivity to the pages of the magazine as we take it to the next level and beyond. We are delighted to have him on board.

This month in Fairfield County Home we celebrate three different local homes each with their own distinctive approach to design.

Award-winning builder, E. M. Rose Building Company specializes in the art of fine home building for some of the best architects in the world. Known for creating custom multi-million dollar masterpieces, E.M. Rose Building Company and Moisan Architects of Woodbury CT show what can be achieved with a meticulous attention to detail, exceptional taste, uncompromising standards and superlative products. The result can be described as truly magnificent.

New York City-based designer Robin Baron brings elegance, sophistication and a sense of calm to a Greenwich couple’s home. With a restful color palette, luxurious fabrics plus clever design touches, the upper level of the house reflects the owners’ tasteful formality. But for a complete change of pace, see the English pub, complete with authentic bar, that Robin created for them in the basement—a reflection perhaps of their more lively social side.

Formal meets friendly, too, in the ASID 2007 Design Awards of Excellence winning dining room/family room by Hollie Sutherland, owner of Hollis Interiors. More and more, she sees a trend in home design away from austere formal spaces; her mantras these days are “livability” and comfort. The owners of this house liked traditional design but wanted it re-styled with a contemporary twist and kid friendly feel, so she brought in warm wood tones, combined different textures and fabrics and turned it into a beautiful but highly livable, “approachable” home.

And finally, on another celebratory note, we would like to take this opportunity to congratulate local interior designer, Lynne Scalo, recipient of the Best of Year Award from Interior Design Magazine, announced at their annual ceremony last November in New York City. This highly prestigious award is given for design excellence for projects around the world, and in winning it, Lynne joins a very impressive group of past recipients including Victoria Hagan, Gensler, Clive Wilkinson and Tsao and McKown Architects. On behalf of the entire team here at Fairfield County Home, Lynne, we are proud to have worked with you over the past few years—and proud that a Fairfield County based designer has shown the rest of the world what great design looks like!

Susannah Pask

Publisher

Posted in From The Publisher |

Let’s Play!

March 11th, 2008

Game Rooms Provide Sophisticated Yet Comfortable Entertainment
BY MEG McAULEY KAICHER

Subscribe to Fairfield County Home Magazine!Game Rooms Provide Sophisticated Yet Comfortable Entertainment BY MEG McAULEY KAICHER

Formerly the domain of young children and teens, the recreation room concept has been updated for modern entertainment. Adults as often as youth enjoy the game rooms of today, as the spaces offer an ideal setting for comfortable relaxed entertaining without the muss and fuss of a formal dinner party.

Many have masculine overtones, as oftentimes the man of the house influences the room’s design. Often these spaces function as a “gentlemen’s lounge” and provide a perfect place in which to indulge in leisurely pursuits.

Designer Sharon McCormick specializes in customized game room treatments for several of her clients. “These spaces often are the last in a house to be decorated, so frequently they are treated as an exciting new project to which the homeowners are ready to devote resources.”

These intimate spaces may support specific hobbies as well as friendly downtime, engaging people in entertaining activities that have broad appeal. Men tend to influence the design direction in these areas with their favorite activities in mind; including a wine bar, a theatre space and gaming centers are popular aspects.

Headquartered in Durham, Connecticut with satellite offices in Massachusetts and Vermont, McCormick has seen game rooms get more luxurious while increasingly customized. Whatever the style to be achieved, whether it be English pub, country club grille, modern movie theatre, or sports gymnasium, functionality is key.

Whether outfitted with ornate English mahogany cabinetry or with a sleeker mid-century modern flair, clients can reflect their personal style. McCormick arranged multiple screens for sports viewing, providing comfortable access from two audience vantage points. Surround sound is all around.

McCormick’s recent project with Van Horst Construction applies a European palette of Tuscan umbers and burnt sienna to create an encompassing aura of rustic peace. Warm tones imbue a sense of reflective light, reiterated by the sheen bounced from the antique stained glass.

A marvelous mural painted by Patrick Ganino artfully depicts an Irish landscape paired with sepia toned European bridges. Encompassing the space is a copper embossed ceiling grid which cleverly houses all the room’s mechanics.

The level of customization available today practically is endless. Billiards tables, for example, offer hundreds of different felt options, as well as myriad choices on wood finish and table leg style.

While entry points for a good example may begin at about $2,000, special collector tables may climb upwards of $100,000. A Brunswick “Marquette” billiards table chosen by McCormick for a client juxtaposes brilliant ebony with a mother-of-pearl inlay on a highly figured Italian olive wood veneer.

Complementing Ralph Lauren woolen plaids with leather and suede textiles, McCormick often uses fabric to absorb sound while enhancing comfort. Valences adorned with nail-head trim provide textural contrast. Mica pendant lights provide an amber glow.

Careful space planning is essential: Scrimping on the billiards perimeter by just a few inches may ruin the whole experience, creating an atmosphere of aggravation rather than fun. (See sidebar.)

VAS Construction, based in Wilton, has been recognized with the 2007 HOBI Award for Best Gentlemen’s Room. This recent masculine game room completed exemplifies how careful craftsmanship can create remarkably impressive results. The exquisite stone foundation and distressed cherry wainscoting on the walls and ceiling gives the room an all-around restful old world flavor.

It is this timeless feel that typifies VAS projects for their excellent design and building applications. Says company owner Vincent Sciarretta,”Such a room provides the ideal place in which to relax comfortably at the end of a long day.”

Activities for socializing such as poker playing or wine tasting may take center stage, allowing those functions to direct the interior design.

A more family-centric theme may feature the big screen theatre area as focal point, which may double as the WII or gaming arena as well. With physical participation gaining in gaming, such as with virtual tennis, baseball or bowling, space requirements become increasingly important.

Physical activity was the guiding principal behind a recent Wernert construction project. Wernert Associates Inc. is a premiere construction firm based in Cos Cob that just completed an awesome home gym for a delighted client family.

“Our client wanted their home to invite fun and focus on family activities,” says Anne Wernert. “Building their vision of an indoor gym for basketball with a view of the water does that and more.”

The exceptional views complement the detailed workmanship resulting in a phenomenal space ready for years of entertainment. Evan Burchell, business development and marketing director for Wernert, acknowledges the emphasis on family interactions and small group activities in these spaces.

As the trend toward “The Digital Home” becomes more pronounced and accessible, integrating multiple facets of the home within these spaces is critical.

Jim Sweeney of Hometronics Lifestyles explains how by integrating lighting, security, audio, temperature control, media control, wireless data and entertainment, homeowners obtain a superior level of control over their home while achieving greater efficiency and maximum availability within it.

According to the Consumer Electronics Association, there was an 8.2 percent growth totaling $161 billion for 2007. As technology advances become more prevalent, luxurious game rooms are becoming more focused while more practical. Content can be accessed from several locations throughout the house.

“We’re on the cusp of a frenzy,” states Sweeney, when asked about options like Microsoft Media Center. Systems such as this increasingly are being requested by clients, in order to provide storage for music and video libraries as well as to stream internet television and radio in multiple rooms of your home.

Accessing photographs from computer files and instantly creating a slideshow accompanied by a favorite soundtrack takes seconds with a handheld remote. This integration truly personalizes the content and usage of digital content.

Another very popular component of the Microsoft system is the Sports feature, bringing real-time statistics to a home screen. Tracking favorite athletes and teams becomes simple; the game schedules cater to individual preferences. Keep track of realtime game scores while watching a movie!

With Tivo and DVR systems, watching a program or movie is fits to preferred schedules: real-time or chosen time, entertainment viewing is dictated by client choice.

In Greenwich since 1968, Audiocom has a stellar reputation for seamlessly integrating technology systems, including audio, video, data, telephony, lighting, and hvac. Owned by father and son team Bill and David Donofrio, their in-house design team alongside best of breed technicians allow for custom solutions and exceptional functionality.

“What sets us apart is the ability to work with people from the onset,” explains David Donofrio. “We get deeply involved in the design process and provide a seamless integration of product lines, managing the whole process.”

As the second largest Crestron dealer in New England, Audiocom instrumentally provides the proper level of planning essential to getting all elements assimilated. Crestron is the control hardware and software that facilitates functionality, delivering sound to the speakers, video signals to the televisions, etc.

Backing up each project with ongoing professional, personalized service at the highest level solidifies Audiocom’s client relationships and is intrinsic to their success while generating streams of referral and repeat business.

“Future-proofing” is a key design aspect at Audiocom. Audio, video, data, and fiber optic cables inside one jacket laid in at construction provides adaptability going forward, should additional equipment be added or new capabilities be adopted.

Technology is becoming recognized as an integral house system, just like plumbing. Working closely with interior designers, cabinet makers and electricians from the design phase ensures proper planning to make systems run seamlessly. Professional custom installation and automation creates a complete service solution.

Truly superior performance is attainable with multiple options for system amalgamation, which companies like Audiocom and Hometronics Lifestyles provide. Home efficiency is increased exponentially with sensible coordination.

Planning the size and placement of components is critical as it affects signal reception; reviewing hardware options with clients to select the most appropriate components is primary. For example, plasma and LCD television screens each have advantages; Audiocom will assess factors like the room’s level of ambient light and size parameters, then guide clients correctly.

Project Manager Conor Coleman has been with the company for three years and recently supported the game room renovation at the Greenwich home of interior designer Cindy Rinfret, owner of Rinfret Ltd. For that system, Cindy’s husband Peter had a very specific vision in mind.

Audiocom was able to integrate his own existing Sonos system. Audiocom supplied all the in-ceiling and theatre speakers from Bowers & Wilkins. This British company produces an exceptional audio line ranging from small in-wall speakers up to $20,000 reference floor-standing models. The Rinfrets now have world-class audio as part of their overall media system designed by Audiocom. Components include a Sony projector with a 140″ fixed screen tied into the Sony 7.1 surround sound system with Bowers &Wilkins 801 speakers up front, two sets of on-wall dipole rears, and a B&W subwoofer with a strong center channel.

Rotel equipment in the rack acts as the surround processer in the amplification and powers the whole system. A Sony Blu-Ray player, a Toshida HD-DVD and a Microsoft Xbox 360 round out the Rinfret home entertainment system.

Masterfully designed as a luxurious welcoming interior, Cindy Rinfret elegantly demonstrates perfectly how a high-functioning technology suite needn’t sacrifice aesthetics for top-notch performance.

Meg McAuley Kaicher, Capital Consulting Group, 201 Shore Road, Greenwich, CT 06830, 203-625-3375/cell 203-554-5300, megmk@optonline.net

Posted in Distinctive Spaces |