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The house was built for a ship captain’s family in 1905.

Paul Costello

A Classic Sea Captain’s House in Old Greenwich Gets a Modern-Day Update

A design insider enlists an A-list team of architects and designers to bring her seaside home back to its former glory.

April 4, 2023

Once upon a time, the town of Greenwich, Connecticut, was the epitome of laid-back insouciance, a place where dapperly dressed-down neighbors might share their opinions on the latest Cheever novel over cocktails on the deck at sunset. In the years before and after World War II, the town—now synonymous with sprawling estates and manicured hedges—was mostly a collection of roomy, white-shingled 19th-century cottages and Victorians with covered porches that could be glimpsed from the street. It was quaint, in its own chic, literary way.

“The home is like a very tight puzzle that [our architect] Joel Barkley pieced together with his brilliant geometrical way of thinking,” says Birdwell, pictured here in the kitchen, where a glossy blue floor (painted in Vert Blue No. 11 by Emory & Cie) reflects the water views outside.Paul Costello

It was that ambience that Becky Birdwell, the former managing director of the Design Leadership Network, a trade group of architects and designers, was looking to capture when she and her partner of more than 15 years, Chris Lytle, an investor, found their own Greenwich spread with character to spare: a turn-of-the-century former ship captain’s home on an inlet off the Long Island Sound, in the doggedly discreet neighboring hamlet of Old Greenwich. There, the homes are slightly closer together, and the neighbors known for unpretentious bonhomie. Rocky beaches and a meandering nature preserve keep the forces of civilization at bay, making it the perfect setting to fulfill Birdwell’s ever-so-lightly retro fantasy. “I wanted to bring back the Greenwich of the 1930s,” she says. “Something elegant and a little sexy.” 

Rebecca Birdwell worked with designers Bill Brockschmidt and Courtney Coleman to fill the living room of her Old Greenwich, Connecticut home with a mix of custom midcentury-inspired furnishings, including a leather-wrapped chandelier and a curved sofa in a bespoke Zina Studios raw silk based on a pattern that Parish Hadley used in the 1950s. French doors overlooking Greenwich Cove flank a painting by the Cuban artist Osvaldo Ferrer. The plaster walls (in Domingue’s Ivory plaster) and aged French oak flooring (from Chateau Domingue) lend a soft rusticity.

  • In the living room, a pair of newly reupholstered Fritz Henningsen beech chairs sits opposite a 1940s Georgian-style wingback armchair from Assemblage LTD; the eglomise mirror is from A. Tyner Antiques.

    Paul Costello
  • The otherwise neutral palette of the breakfast room is punctuated by a lipstick-red pendant from BG Galleries. Spill-resistant C&C Milano waxed linen covers the Saporiti chairs; the sconces are from Urban Electric Co.

    Paul Costello

Fronted by water on two sides, the five-bedroom house had great bones and unparalleled views, but needed a gut renovation. That didn’t faze Birdwell, who has spent her career around distinguished architects and designers; her list of like-minded collaborators was as vast as her imagination. Her first call was to the New York–based architect Joel Barkley, whose dreamy, artistic vision is enhanced by an obsession with quality and precision; her second was to the designers Bill Brockschmidt and Courtney Coleman, known for their deep historical references in a variety of traditional vernaculars as well as their fearlessness in reinterpreting those codes with unexpected brio. “We love that no one ever says, ‘Oh, that’s so Brockschmidt and Coleman’,” says Coleman, whose practice is split between offices in New York and New Orleans. “The idea is to go so deep with your clients that the house comes from inside them.”

  • Birdwell was initially unsure of Brockschmidt and Coleman’s suggestion to use old-fashioned Lincrusta wallcovering (painted in Vert Très Fonce by Emery et Cie) in the entry hall, but “now, I totally adore it,” she says; an ottoman in Brunschwig & Fils horsehair takes the place of a center table.

    Paul Costello
  • Kerry Joyce’s Addison Stripe linen covers the dining chairs; the paintings are by Gary Ruddell (left) and Wes Hemple.

    Paul Costello
  • Oak planks emphasize the steep angled ceiling of the powder room; the sink is from Chateau Domingue.

    Paul Costello
  • In the bar, shiplap and brass Van Cronenburg hardware hit a nautical note.

    Paul Costello

While it’s not uncommon for a sophisticated homeowner to have a strong hand in creating their own residence, this particular project was an especially close collaboration, due to Birdwell’s depth of knowledge. From the reimagining of the interior structure (the floor plan was shifted to accommodate the couple, who have two dogs and a cat, as well as four grown children who frequently visit) and the exterior cladding (now painted black) to such pinpoint details as the Van Cronenburg hardware (“Like jewelry,” says Birdwell), every decision in the home was considered with academic intensity. Plenty of changes took place even after construction started (from beginning to end, it took more than three years), but instead of that being the burden it could have been in a more conventional client-designer relationship, it deepened the experience for everyone. “Chris would joke that Joel had to stop coming over for a drink because every time he did, we would start dreaming up something else to do and the house would get more expensive,” laughs Birdwell. 

With oak shiplap ceilings and windows on nearly every wall, the primary bedroom and Birdwell’s bathroom are meant to evoke the feeling of a sleeping porch. Soft blue walls (Blue Heather by Benjamin Moore) and matching curtains (in Christopher Hyland’s Capri) emphasize the view outside. The designers opted for a large 1980s Widdicomb chaise and oversize vintage alabaster lamps to give scale to the space. The rug is from Fedora Design.

Paul Costello
  • With its scrubbed-wood floors and simple fireplace (filled with concrete spheres from Chesney’s), Lytle’s spare dressing room conjures an English Georgian mood. The custom-mixed “muddy brown” paint color complements the periwinkle blue of the bedroom.

    Paul Costello
  • For the adjacent bath, Barkley designed a sleek built-in dresser and corner vanity (both with Waterworks’ Fallbrook leather pulls) for a nautical feel. Bottom-mounted roller shades preserve the view but provide privacy when needed.

    Paul Costello

Having a daring client also meant that Brockschmidt and Coleman could explore one of their key passions: the frisson created by contrast. They were guided by Birdwell’s imagined aesthetic narrative: She wanted the house to look as though it had long belonged to a casual-but-stylish Greenwich clan in possession of old, good things; the sort of family that might get a kick out of seeing the younger generation jazz the place up. Such juxtapositions can be seen in every room. The dark-hued foyer, for example, leads to a light-flooded living room beyond, and the front door, with glass panes, is painted a glossy chartreuse. In the breakfast room, the mood is midcentury, with a red-painted aluminum 1950s pendant light fixture and a set of Saporiti dining chairs; on the wall hangs a large canvas by the Cuban artist Osvaldo Ferrer. The dining room, as well, blends traditional American antiques with unexpected features, including a pair of handblown light-blue glass lamps.

A pair of lamps from Galerie des Lampes and a Regency giltwood mirror from Susan Silver Antiques take the place of the usual sconce-and-medicine-cabinet combination. 19th-century-style window treatments attach to small knobs on the window surrounds. The tub and fixtures are Waterworks.

Paul Costello
  • Located in the tower of the new addition, daughter Camille’s bedroom includes a mix of midcentury and vintage rattan pieces; a printed Indian bagru bedcover enhances the bohemian feel. The throw rug is from Aero Studios. 

    Paul Costello
  • The third-floor hall was designed to feel like an old attic, from which bedrooms and bathrooms were carved out for Birdwell and Lytle’s four children. Barkley shaped the door heads to fit within the angled eaves. Vintage “coachlight” sconces from 1stDibs continue the theme of 1950s lighting throughout the house.

    Paul Costello

If there is a single room where all the sophisticated design codes come together, it is the living room, which perfectly conjures the atmosphere that Birdwell dreamed of. The weathered French oak flooring found throughout the house comes particularly alive here, contrasting vividly with an eye-catching sofa with 1950s contours. It’s upholstered in raw printed silk, a custom floral fabric adapted by Brockschmidt and Coleman from one originally used by Sister Parish and Albert Hadley. Birdwell had found a swatch of the textile years before, on a visit to the woman who designed it, Countess Tatiana Bobrinskoy of Zina Studio, who was then in her nineties. The designers worked and reworked the density of the pattern until the sky blue and snow-white blossoms now seem as though they might have blown inside from one of the graceful trees. “It makes me happy every time I look at it,” says Birdwell. “And isn’t that the only reason to go to all this trouble?”

  • The owners worked with Janice Parker Landscape Architects to design the house’s rear garden, which overlooks Greenwich Cove.

    Paul Costello
  • An intimate seating area is nestled in a thicket of trees. The furniture is from Sublime Originals.

    Paul Costello

In the den, the existing shingle exterior walls were preserved inside and painted in Farrow & Ball’s Hague Blue No. 30.. The custom sofa by Brockschmidt & Coleman is upholstered in a mohair velvet. Embroidered pillow from Fedora Design.

Paul Costello

The antique painted chair was given to Birdwell by an aunt. Antique khotan rug from Nazmiyal Collection; mid-century light fixture from Glen Dooley Antiques.

Paul Costello

This story originally appeared in the winter 2023 issue of Frederic. Click here to subscribe!