Hedgelawn Farm

HEDGELAWN FARM

MR. HARTWELL’S HOMESTEAD, AS IS WELL KNOWN, IS SITUATED ON A HILL OVERLOOKING THE SHEPAUG VALLEY. THIS FARM HAS BEEN IN THE HARTWELL FAMILY FOR GENERATIONS, HIS FATHER, DANIEL, AND GRANDFATHER ISAAC, LIVING ON THE SAME SPOT. MR. HARTWELL TAKES PLEASURE IN KEEPING THE GROUNDS ABOUT HIS PLACE IN FINE ORDER, AND HAS A FOUNTAIN ON THE GROUNDS. SOME 32 YEARS AGO, HE SET OUT AN EVERGREEN HEDGE ABOUT HIS PLACE AND HAS KEPT IT IN FINE ORDER. NEAR HIS BARN HE HAS A GROVE OF PINES, AND FROM THIS POINT THE VIEW OF THE VALLEY IS SUPERB. SEATS ARE ARRANGED HERE, AND IT IS A FAVORITE RESTING PLACE ON A WARM DAY. MR. HARTWELL HAS APPROPRIATELY CHRISTENED HIS PLACE “HEDGE LAWN” FARM.

- The Newtown Bee, September 1895

A place of beauty. A place of shelter. A place of history. With a name dating back to the 1800s, Hedgelawn Farm is a storied, heritage farmstead in bucolic Washington, Connecticut. Set high above the Shepaug River Valley, with sweeping views across the Steep Rock Land Preserve, Hedgelawn’s 28 acres are a mix of open pastures, rolling hills and groomed woodland. It is here on this special land that generations have made a living, made memories and found themselves connected in one way or another to this treasured property. For the Hartwells in the 1800s, it was the tobacco fields and prized poultry, for the Whitneys in the late 1900s it was horses and art, and for the current owners it has been farming and gardening. Each owner has also put their own permanent mark on the buildings of Hedgelawn Farm, and most recently all of those buildings have undergone sensitive and masterful restoration to create a family compound for the future generations; the next caretakers of this important legacy.

THE COTTAGE

Originally a simple caretaker’s dwelling, The Cottage was the first residence to receive a complete transformation. The building was taken down to the original post and beam skeleton, at which point the post and beams were removed, cleaned and inventoried. The crawl space was excavated and a proper concrete foundation was poured. Once a new base was created, the post and beam skeleton was reassembled, piece by piece. Around the historic frame, a modern home was constructed, utilizing 2x6 framing, eco-friendly insulation and high-R value sheathing. Clapboard siding was installed, and a periodappropriate dentil molding and cupola were installed to elevate the stature of this once humble building. The interior was designed to suit several use options. The main space features vaulted ceilings, three exposures, and a white oak floor which received a glossy gray finish. The windowed kitchen rivals that of a small Manhattan apartment, appointed with an antique French marble floor from Paris Ceramics, custom cabinetry, a white marble countertop, and a Bertazzoni range and SubZero mini-fridge. The bathroom is also outfitted in the same antique marble as the kitchen on both its floor and in the oversized shower. A custom vanity from Wet Style includes additional storage. A modern jewelbox, The Cottage is perfectly sized for a guest suite, a private home office, an artist studio, a fitness suite or a luxe accommodation for staff.

THE GUEST HOUSE

The soul of Hedgelawn Farm emanates from the Guest House. Originally a small and simple one and a half story farm dwelling constructed in 1762, this home has changed tremendously over time, yet remains so deeply, authentically a place of shelter and love. If one studies carefully, or is given a prompt, the original four posts that identify the earliest footprint can be seen and within this simple square the original granite hearthstone can be found. This hearthstone, weathered by centuries of use, was once the most vital component of the home. It was this stone, and the large fireplace it once anchored, that provided generations with heat for cooking and for comfort. Unmoved for over 250 years, the hearthstone was left in place out of reverence for its past and for its role in protecting families for generations.

In 1821, Isaac, Daniel and Sherman Hartwell purchased this small dwelling on roughly 80 acres of land from Constantine and Lydia McMahon, who themselves had purchased the property in 1816 from Simeon and Abner Mitchell. Daniel Hartwell ended up purchasing his father’s interest in the property and also purchased his brother’s portion of the property. The property became known as Hartwell Farm, and soon thereafter, Hedgelawn Farm.

It was the Hartwells who expanded the house from the original story and a half dwelling by connecting it to a large, two-story farmhouse. This new home reflected the success of the family, containing wide-plank floors, a gracious front door and porch

fronting Roxbury Road, ornate fireplaces in each of the main floor public rooms, and a small staircase that led to bedrooms upstairs. The original structure remained and the kitchen was incorporated here.

Long after the Hartwells, the house continued to evolve. The Whitneys expanded the house in the 1980s - including the addition of a large room with vaulted ceilings that became known as the “barn room”. This room offered beautiful views across the backyard to the distant hills across Steep Rock.

The new transformation came after the owners had lived in the home’s prior configuration for almost a decade, all the while thinking and planning the best way to honor the past while creating a home suited for comfortable modern living. Numerous floor plans were drawn, many elevations studied, and in the end a plan was devised that paid proper homage to the past. The footprint stayed except for the removal of a recent addition that made no architectural or functional sense.

The entire house was taken down with the exception of the modern barn room. Master Builder Ed Cady removed and reassembled all the antique timber frame, but this time the large two-story section of the home was re-configured. What had originally contained a main floor, second floor and attic was opened up on its southern end to create a dramatic living room, soaring from the main floor all the way to the roof beams. The northern portion of this section received a modified treatment, retaining a study on the main floor and a guest bedroom on

the second floor which was opened up to the roof beams. The small, steep original staircase was replaced with a simple yet gracious curved staircase adorned with a walnut handrail and raw bronze spindles built by local craftsman Tude Tanguay. The kitchen was moved to the barn room in a nod to today’s living, and the core of the original house became closet space, a laundry center and an intimate sitting area with a modern bio-fuel burning fireplace built above that original hearth of the home, too important to remove.

The guest house contains two bedroom suites: the main floor houses the primary, which has serene views through a wisteria arbor to the hills beyond. The

primary bathroom is in space that previously housed closets and two cramped bathrooms, now an indulgent sanctuary complete with a BainUltra jetted hydrotherapy tub and a large, freestanding glass shower. The primary bath has seven windows open to three exposures, bringing an abundance of natural light and summer breeze through the windows. The upstairs suite includes the aforementioned bedroom which feels like a treehouse with its three exposures, and a bathroom in the space that was likely once a sleeping loft for an entire family and most recently housed a staff efficiency apartment. The new guest bath features a striking wall of stone slab with a fireplace, another freestanding glass shower, and north and west exposures across the farm to the Shepaug River Valley beyond.

The breezeway happened by chance, as things sometimes do in architecture. Originally planned to be a more conventionally framed and fenestrated dining area in the space that connected the new kitchen to the “older” portion of the home, one of the owners happened to be on site when the walls came down, and in that moment, the glass breezeway was born. The glorious light and views both north and south were too good to close up and the design was re-worked to make it happen. Utilizing a nod toward mid-century modernism, an appropriate roof pitch was established to make this unique space feel just right.

The appointments throughout the guest house are of the highest quality, including the custom cabinetry in the kitchen, a Miele appliance package, custom Wet Style vanities in the baths, and antique marble from Paris Ceramics in the bathrooms. The home’s heating system is propane-fired, and all plumbing throughout the home is copper. The HVAC system has four different zones. A large pantry/wine room/ exercise room is on the lower level of the home, and the residence is served by a whole-house generator.

THE BARN HOUSE

The final residence to be rebuilt, the Barn House posed the greatest challenge to the owners, and it is the building which went through the most design and planning revisions before the answer appeared.

Originally built in 1865 by Daniel Hartwell as a tobacco-drying barn, the large building was placed at the most important location on all of the farm. Sitting on the highest elevation of the farm, with unobstructed views all around, the barn was large, built with three levels owing to its placement on the edge of the hillside. There were stables on the lower level, and the main floor and upper loft were used for the tobacco endeavors. In later incarnations, the Whitney family used the barn not only for horses, but had later added bathrooms, bedrooms, studio space for displaying art, and a pink kitchen (more on that later). Surprisingly few windows made it into this version of the barn, with small scale windows being added where absolutely necessary, but overall the barn was dark and cavernous, save for the double-height art studio which had a showroom window added on its northern exposure to capture that famous Hartwell view across Steep Rock and the Shepaug River valley.

Owing to the size and scale of the barn itself, the framing was extensive. Not only was the barn large at thirty feet by fifty feet, it was three stories high, and had wide open bays between the king posts. What this means for anyone wishing to reconfigure the interior space or add proper fenestration is that one must work around the posts and beams. For years it was a puzzle, figuring out how to give this barn home its proper treatment.

The final plan hinged on the staircase. With such height to climb from the lowest level to the top, a conventional staircase would consume so much real estate within the box. Also, it would bring the final landing into such a place that the bedroom configuration wouldn’t work. And so the new plan was built around a spiral staircase. Within an eight foot by eight foot box, the stair would wrap from the ground level to the main level to the upper level. Once the parameters were set, internationally recognized architect Francesco Librizzi of Milan’s Librizzi Studio was engaged to create something that felt like art and served as function. Francesco Librizzi is the sixth Artistic Director for FontanaArte, following a long list of design greats including Gio Ponte, Pietro Chiesa, Max Ingrand, Gae Aulenti and Giorgio Biscaro.

The entire design and management of the fabrication was completed by Mr. Librizzi, and it is he who traveled to Connecticut from Milan with the finished staircase and the Italian construction team to oversee its installation in 2022. The result was the floating staircase, inspired by origami. Set in a metal cage, the treads appear to float as they wind their way up. The visual is striking as it is possible to see completely through the staircase.

Long before that final staircase installation, the rest of the barn was under construction according to its new plan - a grand wellness floor on the ground level, the public spaces on the main level, and the bedrooms on the upper level. The main entry to the Barn House would be on the east facade, and open into a reception hall with the staircase as an anchor. The main entry doors were custom fabricated by Forms and Surfaces in their iconic “Heroic Sunburst” design made famous in the 1970s. The doors are made of bonded bronze with custom handles.

A casual, “family and friends” entrance to the Barn House is located to the north, off of the new terrace, and opens directly into the main public space. This public space is wrapped in three walls of windows and doors, providing north, west and southern exposures. Anchored at one end by a large, open kitchen, this public space is like a penthouse in the sky. The barn’s original post and beams are given proper homage, yet beautifully juxtaposed with the walls of glass and modern white oak floors. All of the windows and secondary exterior doors within the Barn House were custom fabricated by Fleetwood, and a team from California was flown out for the installation. The northeast and southeast corners of the main floor house a powder room, laundry center and an intimate room referred to as “the sipping room”. And that pink kitchen? Looking closely at the post in the northwest corner of this level will reveal a section that contains that original pink paint, intentionally left as a nod to the past.

The large, 1970’s-era Knoll ball-shaped lights over the kitchen and desk were repurposed from Mr. Whitney’s incarnation of this room, over 40 years later.

Upstairs, two guest bedrooms mirror each other on the northeast and southeast corners of the building. A unique fenestration pattern was designed along the east wall to accommodate the barn’s beam layout. This gives the rooms’ occupants a lovely and different view, almost a peekaboo postcard puzzle, as they lay in their beds. The primary bedroom is the entire western end of the floor, and almost entirely glass with truly forever views with endless sunsets.

A necessity in the post-Covid era, the wellness floor was designed to ensure that the mind, body and soul can be recharged without ever leaving the property. The new structure was designed to give the wellness level high, 11-foot ceilings and a south-facing wall of windows overlooking the zen garden - an intimate outdoor spot for quiet contemplation, meditation or yoga. Rogue Fitness fabricated a custom, commercial-grade gymnastics/ weightlifting/training rig which complements the staircase with its gloss-white finish. A cardio area at the western edge of the floor accommodates bikes, rowers and ski machines. A striking BainUltra jetted hydrotherapy tub is boldly and intentionally placed within the space for post-workout relaxation, and an open shower rounds out the daily routine. The floor on this level is a bold terrazzo, which blends beautifully with the raw concrete walls - purposely left in their natural state but softened with custom sheer curtains featuring mid-century design icon Alexander Girard’s “Alphabet” design from 1952.

THE POOL AND SUMMER TERRACE

The importance of the pool and summer terrace location can be found in a 128-year old article in the Newtown Bee in which the reporter pays Daniel Hartwell a visit on a hot summer day in 1895:

“…Mr. Hartwell’s homestead, as is well known, is situated on a hill overlooking the Shepaug Valley…Near his barn he has a grove of pines, and from this point the view of the valley is superb. Seats are arranged here, and it is a favorite resting place on a warm day…”

If the Hartwell House is the soul of Hedgelawn Farm, then this very spot on top of the hill by the barn is the farm’s divine spirit. The views are hypnotic, the breezes are magical, and the energy is nothing short of heavenly. It is this spot where the current owners feel the strongest connection to the past and to nature itself, and it is this spot where they spend so much time.

Before the owners even slept at Hedgelawn Farm, the pool was designed and installed here for their use. Set at the crown of the hill, this is the only place that the pool could rightfully go. An oval pool was designed by Dinyar Wadia of Wadia Associates, along with a stone poolequipment house, set out of sight down the hill. The gunite selected was white, to give the pool a classic “true” blue. The bluestone coping perfectly fits the rounded edges of the pool.

This spot is also so magical it was decided that one day, this area would have a proper entertaining terrace, connecting the Barn House to the pool, and today that plan is realized with the installation of the large bluestone terrace that incorporates the outdoor living experience.

THE OUTBULDINGS

Maintaining the integrity of the original farm while providing updated utility and function, the outbuildings are an essential component of the property. There is a six-car garage barn suitable for autos, RTVs, tractors and other equipment. If not fully needed for vehicles or equipment, it could also be used as a workshop or other hobby uses. The three-stall horse barn was retained. Originally the home of Derby favorites Little Miss Sundance and Donnybrook, this structure could be returned to its original purpose or used as it is at present for landscaping equipment and the farm and gardening tools. The summer garden pavillion, which once provided protection for the horses, is now an ideal place for a late afternoon lunch overlooking the wildflower pasture. The stone pool equipment house was designed by Dinyar Wadia to blend into the hillside below the pool and resemble an early root cellar. And for fun, the farm’s original “three-seater” outhouse was decommissioned and relocated to the berry patch.

LANDSCAPE AND HARDSCAPE

While the entire property is filled with specimen trees, champion trees and other notable plants, several features and areas stand out. In May and June, the walk from the Guest House to the Barn House is lined with a living wall of pink Rose Bay rhododendrons that present a dazzling display of color. In June, every fence post around the Barn House and Guest House is highlighted by white Festiva Maxima peonies in all their fragrant glory. Dubbed the “Summer Walk”, the area that leads from the Garage Barn over to the walking path is filled with flowering dogwoods, perennials of every color and fragrance, and over 100 flowering Annabelle hydrangeas. At various locations throughout the farm, springtime brings flowering delight from more than 1,000 bulbs of daffodil, hyacinth, and tulip. There is a large pond with two aerators as well as a smaller pond. While both ponds are stocked with grass carp that dine on any vegetation that creeps into the pond, the smaller pond is also home to what appears to be millions of goldfish. There are abundant numbers of frogs living in both ponds, and their songs fill the night air during the spring and summer season. Turtles are also found in great numbers at both ponds, with the large rock outcropping at the northern end of the big pond being a particularly favorite sunning spot. And the king of the turtles is an ancient snapper that migrates annually from the small pond to the big pond.

THE ORGANIC FARM

Since 2013, Hedgelawn Farm has been a certified organic farm, certified annually by Baystate Organic Certifiers, and operating under the guidelines of the Northeast Organic Farming Association and taking the CT NOFA’s Farmer’s Pledge that reads in part “..farmer’s should work in harmony with nature and leave the little piece of the world over which they have stewardship in better condition than which they found it.” Over the years, the farm has grown and sold a variety of organic fruits and vegetables, from heirloom tomatoes, beans, strawberries and potatoes to peaches, pears, apples, blueberries and raspberries. At one time, the farm was producing and supplying its crops to local businesses including The Mayflower Inn, The Pantry, Community Table, The Washington Market and New Morning Market. It has also from time to time opened a farm stand for the public. In recent years, the farm has limited its production to the fruit trees and berry patch and donated all of its production to local area food banks. Certifications are up to date and a new owner could keep the farming program limited in scope or expand to a larger production vision.

THE TEAM

The revisioning of Hedgelawn Farm’s design, interior and exterior, as well as both hardscapes and softscapes, was completed by Kevin Comer of City and Field Design. The restoration of The Cottage and The Guest House was completed by renowned builder Ed Cady of East Coast Barn Builders. Hedgelawn Farm was one of Mr. Cady’s final large-scale projects. The post and beam work of The Barn House was completed by Mr. Cady’s son, Kevin Cady of Cady Builders. Finish work in The Barn House was undertaken by Dan Keys of Old New House Consulting in Roxbury, who has built many of the most renowned homes in Litchfield County. Architect Dinyar Wadia of Wadia Associates designed the pool and the pool house. Francesco Librizzi of Milan’s Librizzi Studio designed the Barn House staircase. Paul Swanson’s Oak Ridge Services of Roxbury was responsible for most of the large-scale hardscape and softscape projects, including the addition of over 100 mature Arbor Vitae trees along Roxbury Road at the entrance to the farm, furthering the eponymous “Hedge”.

HEDGELAWN FARM