Creating a backyard sanctuary
Within the private, gated neighborhood of Mead Point in Greenwich there stands a red brick Georgian revival house with such magnificent water views that the homeowners made an unusual request of their interior designer.
Christina Roughan, the principal of Roughan Interior Design, an international luxury design firm with offices in Greenwich and New York, was asked to create an outdoor living room, dining room, and sitting area within a glass enclosure so as not to obstruct their views of Indian Harbor and Long Island Sound. Roughan designed for them an elegant yet functional and comfortable space with subtle yet sophisticated materials and a color palette that dovetails beautifully into the natural setting.
The glass room features a custom sofa, lighting, carpeting, an outdoor television, music system, and gossamer drapery for those occasions when shade is preferable. This is a place for the family to relax, entertain, dine alfresco, and even view a movie, as well as the water; and not just in the summer, but throughout the year.
“It’s quite impressive to watch TV while lounging upon a heated floor and enjoy the snow falling all around you,”
Roughan said, conjuring a magical image befitting the alluring waterfront scene.
Roughan’s vision of a seamless mélange of indoor-outdoor living was brought to fruition in collaboration with Argos Development and Jones Bryne Margeotes Architecture. The concept of extending the indoors outside is not new, although during the COVID-19 pandemic many more people began requesting elaborate outdoor living and entertaining spaces.
“They are looking for a view and a seat to enjoy the view,” Roughan said, and not just for a few months each year but through all four seasons. The Mead Point space “is a virtual outdoor painting that changes seasonally,” Roughan said. It features Nanno doors imported from Europe that stay open in the spring and summer and are closed in fall and winter.
“There are screens that remotely shut as well, so it’s an all-purpose room.
They owners have held July 4th, graduations, and Christmas celebrations in the space. It can be formal or informal, dressed up or dressed down. Their last Fourth of July celebration “included guests on the putting green,
Never underestimate the healing power of a quiet moment in your home oasis.
around bonfires, roasting marshmallows, and watching fireworks in the offing,” Roughan said. “During the winter solstice they go out and watch old movies and star gaze,” she said.
Not every homeowner wants a glass room outdoors. Some prefer to sit in the open to enjoy the sun, ocean breezes, and salt air. Most waterfront backyards include expansive wood or Trex decking and bluestone terraces. The 15-room colonial house at 1093 Pequot Avenue in Southport, for example, which is on the market for $12,950,000, features stellar panoramic views of Southport Harbor and Long Island Sound from its spacious bluestone terrace, which is adorned with furnishings from Lillian August and Raymour & Flanigan.
Southport’s only direct waterfront new construction was designed by award-winning architect Jack Franzen and features a heated gunite inground swimming pool near the water’s edge. Pools and other amenities that promote or accommodate an active outdoor lifestyle are a must, according to local realtors; some more elaborate than others.
There are plenty of growing trends and technologies to create what the Professional Pool and Hot Tub Association website calls the “total backyard.” Homeowners are installing elaborate outdoor kitchens, fire pits with built-in seating, and swimming pools with play-time elements for children and adults. Kids get the slides and adults get the swim-up bar.