After getting married, Francesco and Meri Leigh Daniele bought their first home in the Saugatuck area of Westport, choosing to move out of New York City before having children, despite their friends’ dismay. Following the move, they were happy living a suburban life while commuting to finance jobs in Manhattan, and planned to stay at their new abode for a long time. But five years and two little ones later, and amid a COVID-19 lockdown, they craved more space.
“The house fit our needs at the time,” Francesco says. “And then my mom, who lives in Italy, came to visit us for our son’s birthday and got stuck here until the summer because the borders were closed. Here’s when we realized that we needed a home office, more bedrooms and extra space for the kids. We weren’t actively looking, but we drove through Southport and loved the town’s historic feel. It felt like a place lost in time.”
After falling in love with the town, they found a home they equally loved — a chic, brick Colonial-style house, which mirrored those in the South where Meri Leigh grew up. However, once they stepped inside, the 1960s house was dark with a series of cramped rooms. Having completed many home projects in their Westport home, they weren’t dissuaded. But this one proved to be out of their comfort zone, so they contacted Darien architect Christopher Pagliaro and Leia Ward, founder of New Canaan-based LTW Design, who jumped on board the project.
Pagliaro and Ward collaborated to create good flow and an open-plan layout by taking away most of the interior structure. The back wall of the house was pushed out to create a glass gallery hall that seamlessly connects all the rooms. With 10½-foot ceilings, compared to 8½-foot ceilings throughout the house, this new addition creates an inviting open concept and floods the home with natural light. Part of the kitchen also enjoys the higher ceiling, and the newly renovated entry hall is now two stories, making for a grand first impression.
“Everything is so beautiful and calming,” says Meri Leigh, who is enjoying her new role as a full-time mom to two boys, both under the age of 5, and two English bulldogs. “The first time I saw Leia’s work on Instagram, I immediately thought, ‘This is my vibe.’ We don’t like a lot of color, but we love a lot of texture and interesting things. And Leia gets it. Plus, she’s a mom and understands how to make a space livable. She’s created a place that everyone can live in without it feeling chaotic.”
While some designers will change their look based on the client’s aesthetic, Ward doesn’t. She has her own signature style and attracts clients that like the LTW look — calm, clean lines, and bold neutrals. The Danieles’ house is light-colored throughout except for a lounge, home office and powder room that Ward made dark and moody with a modern vibe.
“I understood their needs in wanting a house that they were proud of and that they could bring their friends over and entertain, but that was also livable and practical,” says Ward, whose LTW Design evolved from a staging company into an in-demand design firm. “My goal is to create calm spaces. I use the tagline ‘casually sophisticated’ because we design our projects so they are sophisticated enough that our clients are proud to bring their adult friends over to entertain, yet casual enough that it is inviting, warm and most of all durable for parties, kids and pets.”
To achieve the LTW look, less is always more, Ward says. That means fewer pieces within a room, and furniture that’s large, bold and sculptural. With this approach, every piece feels important and owns the space it’s in, whether that’s a 65-inch coffee table in the couple’s living area or an oversize dining table. “Performance fabric,” an easy-to-clean and long-lasting material made from a blend of synthetic and natural fibers, is also key.
Plentiful white oak cabinets in the kitchen match the beautiful beam work. Two 12-foot concrete islands are stylish and functional with three drawers in one to house kids’ crayons and other items, enhancing order and preventing messes. Ward was mindful of the needs of a busy family, creating a mudroom with custom-built cabinetry to act as a catchall for everything from outerwear to shoes, and even a dog room complete with doggie beds and shower. “Leia knew how to hide the clutter,” Meri Leigh says. “Thanks to her design moves, we can easily put everything back together and make it always look presentable.”
“And when family visits, everyone has their own room now,” Francesco adds. “I have a lot of family from Italy, and Meri Leigh’s family is from the South, so when they visit, it’s never just for a weekend. It’s always an extended amount of time. An expanded house was important so that everyone could feel comfortable. Before, my mother was sleeping in the living room where I was working.”
From start to finish, the renovation of the six-bedroom, 6½-bath, 7,500-square-foot house took about 11 months. They closed on the property in October 2020, started construction in January 2021, and were in the house the Tuesday before Thanksgiving 2021.
“They both put so much love into this project,” Ward says. “That’s what I loved about them. And it made me want to really give them that house of their dreams. I appreciated that they were not only passionately involved, but also really trusted me.”
https://www.thehour.com/connecticutmagazine/article/This-Southport-Colonial-is-a-sophisticated-17090972.php?t=b7d8f15184&src=nwkhplifestyle
