549 Oenoke
Photos: Eric Dyer
COMFORT AND CLASS… AND LOTS OF GLASS
Yes, 549 Oenoke is that house! The spectacular white Southern Colonial, that seems almost as wide as two houses, and has a second-floor balcony facing the street…and a couple of drop-dead Drophead Phantom Rolls-Royces in the driveway. On the northern side of Oenoke, right between the two quite notable mid-century moderns - Edward Durell Stone’s Celanese House to the west, and Philip Johnson’s Alice Ball House to the east. Right across Oenoke from William Tubby’s 1920s stone tudor mansion. …One of New Canaan’s very best A+ locations!
Set on 2 ½ acres, the residence is 9,225 square feet above grade, including a finished third floor, with 6 bedrooms, 6 full and 2 half baths, and 10 foot ceilings throughout. There is also an unfinished basement with plenty of windows and easy access to the backyard, and the house has an elevator that serves all four floors.
The residence is sunny and bright, and features the simply stunning view of the backyard from almost every room of the house. The front-to-back entry provides a direct line of vision, through a wall of glass, to the pool house and the waterfall edge of the pool. Every room is oversized, there are comfortable sitting areas in space after space, and the flow is effortless. Everything in and about the house is custom. The main floor, with four fireplaces, includes a formal living room and formal dining room, a family room, a sunroom with bar, an office, and the gourmet double-island kitchen with adjacent breakfast room and sitting area. On the second floor, the primary suite, with a large picture view window overlooking the backyard, includes a sitting room, a luxury bathroom, and two fully-outfitted walk-in - or what might be called ‘stroll-around’ - closets. The completely finished third floor includes a massive gym and family room, and a full bath.
The three-car garage that’s walk-in to a huge mudroom has been retrofitted with lifts - so that this garage accommodates a total of six cars. In addition, there’s a structural driveway leading from the house into the backyard that’s under the lawn, and another garage in the backyard - in the same modern, stone, wood and glass style as the separate pool house, and with homage to the mid-century modern masterpieces in the backyards on either side of the property - and that two-car space, with a glass front door that makes the cars inside visible from the house, has underground elevators in each bay, so that garage can house four more cars…or make for a great party space!
All the sightlines are incredibly dramatic! The patio on the back of the house is even fitted with a glass railing so the view of the backyard is unimpeded. The view of the pool and poolhouse, and into the backyard garage/studio, give the feeling of living in a museum of modern art. The juxtaposition of the elements is gracious and comfortable. There’s an overall sense of calm…and yet an arousing sensuality.