The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Bright, light-filled home
Contemporary in wooded setting with beach rights
This architecturally-designed contemporary home sits snuggly in a wooded area yet is a stroll to the beach.
“It’s a nature lovers dream,” said Rose Ciardiello, listing agent for William Raveis Real Estate.
Joan and Jay Amatruda, sellers, who purchased the home in 1992 when they were expecting their second child, were entranced by the location, according to Joan.
In the Wingate Beach Association – with paddle tennis, and beach and mooring rights on a private beach with a cabana – the close-nit neighborhood consists of 13 architecturally-designed homes.
“We’ve lived together through births and deaths and everything in between and there’s something really magical about that,” Joan said.
Members of the nearby Sachem’s Head Yacht Club, the Armatruda’s three children learned to swim and sail, becoming accomplished competitive sailors.
“We raised three children in this house and it was a wonderful place to raise our kids,” Joan said.
The bright main level has an open floor plan with “lots of glass…skylights, windows,” Joan said.
“The main living area is light and bright and you get that on all levels,” Ciardiello said.
In the front of the house, the dining and living rooms flow together.
The spacious kitchen opens to the family room – with walls of glass and a brick fireplace –and extends into the breakfast room.
“When we’re entertaining or having friends over or I’m cooking dinner for my kids, I’m really engaged,” Joan said. “It’s a huge open space.”
Over the years, the Amatrudas held large parties. Joan laid buffets in the kitchen and breakfast bar and, in warm weather, the glass doors to the deck overlooking the serene backyard were left open.
“People can gather everywhere,” Joan said. “It’s unusual to find a house where you can have a party and have 75 people and no one’s on top of one another. We’ve had huge parties here and it’s a very comfortable space for people to gather.”
When Joan’s brother-in-law passed away they held the memorial service at the house. As light poured in to the living room the 85
people in attendance found quiet spaces for private conversation or interacted in larger groups, enjoying the food spread on the dining room table.
“We had the door open to the deck,” Joan said. “I was cooking in the kitchen, but my husband was cooking outside and we had caterers going around.”
Upstairs there are two wings, one for the master suite. The huge room has cathedral ceilings with skylights and is “very bright, very open,” Joan said. The master bath has a Jacuzzi tub. In the bedroom are sliding glass doors to a deck with stairs to a private room with
a fireplace and a separate exterior entrance – a possible home office.
“For us it was really great,” Joan said. “We had this private space that was ours; our kids were on the other side of the house.”
The Amatrudas added an addition with a family room and bedroom. Their Lacrosse player sons shared the large bedroom and had their own space when friends and teammates came and hung out.
Off that bedroom is a loft that leads to the kitchen via a spiral staircase. Jay uses the space as an office and the previous owners used it as a bedroom.
There are also two more bedrooms.
The Amatrudas are moving to a house on the water, but it was a tough decision.
“We’re staying in the neighborhood; I cannot imagine myself moving out of this neighborhood,” Joan said. “It’s the ease of living here, the neighborhood is perfect; the setting is perfect. We love living near the water and it’s very quiet; it’s very private. It’s just a very, very idyllic serene setting.”