Property of the week: A CT home with much more than meets the eye

12.11.2023 14:15

The phrase “more than meets the eye” seems woefully inadequate when describing the home at 160 Beacon Hill Drive in West Hartford. Viewed from the street it is a contemporary colonial, with a wide front porch. It appears to be a typical suburban home.

Enter, however, and one’s initial expectations are immediately and delightfully rendered null and void. As Thomas Divine, who owns the home with his wife Donna Divine, is quick to explain while walking from the front door toward the rear of the home, the original structure of the house ended at the kitchen. Now, thanks to a generously sized addition that the Divines had designed and built in the early 1990s, the kitchen is open to and overlooks a large great room, which soars dramatically to the second floor, is brightened by a large skylight, and offers a wall of windows overlooking the backyard.

At the second floor level this great room features a mezzanine on three sides lined with bookshelves. A spiral stairway at one end of the mezzanine allows for access to these bookcases from the great room while a second floor home office also opens onto the mezzanine.

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At the first floor level, this addition also contains an area for a table, which can be used for informal meals or work projects, access to a three-season screened-in and curved-wall sunporch, and a sitting area that holds a gas-fed fireplace.

The original part of the house on the first floor has a living room to the right of the entry foyer, which easily accommodates a grand piano and offers ample room for seating. A wood burning fireplace serves as the focal point, while hardwood oak floors, used through much of the house, add a touch of warmth. Handsome teak flooring with a herringbone pattern is used in the addition. A formal dining room is open to the living room and is connected through French doors to the sitting room. On the other side of the entry foyer is a den, or home office, with built-in bookcases, storage cabinets and a desk.

From the addition, a hall that leads to a half bath also grants access to the laundry room, which is half a flight down. Continue down another half flight and you will reach a suite that includes a second full kitchen, bedroom, and a full bath. It also provides access to the homes mechanical systems and a rec room with a wood-burning fireplace that can also be reached by a separate stairway off the kitchen.

“The downstairs bedroom area could be used by a teenager or an au pair,” said Lois Siegal of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England Properties. It would also be ideal for intergenerational living.

The second floor consists of four bedrooms and a home office. The primary suite is spacious, has good closet space and a walk-through dressing area on the way to a primary bath that was redone about five years ago. It uses granite and marble to create a spa-like atmosphere, has a large jetted tub and a separate shower. A dual sink vanity with plenty of spread-out space and a separate closed-off area for the commode complete this bathroom.

The other three bedrooms on this floor are airy and inviting. They are served by a full bath just off the upstairs hallway. The second floor also features that home office that opens onto the great room’s mezzanine. From this vantage point, the view looking down into the great room and out windows to the backyard and the woods beyond should never grow old.

The great room, which is open to the updated kitchen, makes this home ideal for entertaining. The kitchen is galley style, with ample room for several chefs to work simultaneously. Appliances include a four-burner gas cooktop, dual built-in ovens, a dishwasher, and space for a family-sized side-by-side refrigerator. Separating the kitchen from the great room is a counter that seats three people and is high enough to hide the meal preparation from guests in the great room without isolating the chef from the gathering.

“The architect who designed the addition, [David Handlin and Associates of Cambridge, Massachusetts], was brilliant,” said Thomas Divine. Anyone who spends time inside this home would have to agree. It is an interior with the style and drama that one simply does not expect in a mid-century colonial. All the more impressive, these design elements not only stand out, they also complement the original design of the house. The flow from the original structure to the addition seems logical and inspired. Even the two-story high curved-wall three-season porch at the rear, complete with its domed ceiling, fits perfectly.

The view of the backyard also plays a part in the success of this home’s design. Beyond the lawn are mature trees, which are part of woods owned by the Metropolitan District Commission. This entity maintains a reservoir about a quarter mile from the house. Divine notes that the hiking options are numerous and since the area is key to the area’s water supply, development on this land is not an issue.

The location is also ideal. This home is close to West Hartford’s numerous services and shopping areas, close to Bloomfield, downtown Hartford and I-91 and I-84. It is also near the end of Beacon Hill Drive, which minimizes traffic. Peaceful, quiet and architecturally unique, this home is a once-in-a-lifetime find.

Info:

Built: 1966 with a significant addition dating to the early ‘90s

Price: $775,000

Style: Contemporary colonial

Rooms: 14

Bedrooms: 5

Baths: 3 full; 1 half

Square footage: 3,621 plus approximately 700 in the lower level

Acreage: 0.51

Mill rate: 40.68

Best Feature: Great space that allows for lots of togetherness or lots of privacy in a natural environment

Contact: Lois Siegal