CHRIS SHEA DOMUS CONSTRUCTORS

When home is where your heart is, there’s no need to leave if you have the talented team of Michael Smith Architects, Christine McGovern Design, Brunetti Design Group and Domus Constructors to transform your residence into a modern haven. The owners of this house in Fairfield, CT, loved their neighborhood and the memories they’d created over two decades raising their nowadult children, but as their lifestyle and design tastes evolved, their home failed to keep the pace. So they engaged the dream team to create a modern-day oasis—inside and out.

Chris Shea, owner of Domus Constructors, recalls that the design team renovated nearly every facet of this home and landscape and completed the job in only 10 months—just in time for the family to celebrate Thanksgiving. With such a high-level design, this renovation is truly impressive. The millwork package alone required three separate millwork shops and a mason to complete it all, with Domus bringing in nine shipping containers of precut stone from India. In the end, the home offers a sense of transitional simplicity rooted in thoughtful complexity, merging both the history and the future of the couple in the home.

Arriving in the backyard, you are greeted by an idyllic landscape integrating a variety of passive and active spaces to support the couple’s evolving lifestyle. Lounge chairs on a covered porch overlook the expansive grilling station, perfectly positioned next to an elegant dining space beneath a natural mahogany trellis structure. From this dining space, perfectly framed by hardscape and greenery, you can see a matching trellis offering poolside shade and lounge seating, surrounded by a perfectly manicured lawn.

The property is truly a showpiece, creating a cohesive experience from the front door to the backyard. (Indeed, the design earned Domus a first-place national award from the National Association of the Remodeling Industry in 2018, for a whole home project over $1 million.) Every detail was considered along the way, including the design of the new freestanding garage structure that aligns with the home’s architecture, and the mahogany trellis structures that match the handrails at the upper balcony. The details add up to a warm and inviting experience, achieving the owners’ dream of having a home that is a desirable destination for their children in the years to come.

The clients and Domus—which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year—are thrilled with the results. Chris credits the project’s success to a collective team effort and all the great people on the team.

Domus Constructors, LLC

Chris Shea, Owner P.O. Box 181 Greens Farms, CT 06838 203.852.6789 domusllc.com