Tour a Totally Transformed 1970s Home in a Connecticut Forest
Connecticut has long held a special spot in Jae Joo’s heart. “It’s the place I went to college, met my husband, got married, and had my first apartment,” says the interior designer. It’s also, she notes, where she’s spent “countless hours antiquing and looking for the best flea markets around.”
The vintage furniture shopping in the state proved particularly appealing for Joo, whose design practice grew largely out of her penchant for collecting antique and artisanal items. (She laughingly admits to some hoarder tendencies.) In its six years, her eponymous Manhattan-based studio has become known for the way she mixes contemporary decor with decades- and centuries-old items to create layered, low-key, and character-rich spaces filled with warmth and patina.
And so when she noticed a late-midcentury house for sale not far from one of her client’s homes in a wooded enclave of southwest Connecticut’s Fairfield County, about an hour’s drive from her offices in Tribeca, her curiosity was piqued.
“It’s in a town that really feels like a forest, and the home had [the look] of being really fun. It felt like a party house,” she says of its 1970s leanings. At the same time, the abode seemed very low maintenance and—thanks to the largely open-plan ground floor, vaulted wood ceilings, and tree-filled views—it had warmth and comfort too.
Joo and her husband, Devin, thought it ideal for the gatherings of friends and family that they envisioned hosting. “We didn’t want to worry about stuff getting messed up,” she emphasizes. What’s more, the space also successfully brings a sense of the outdoors in, while incorporating her various antique and artisan finds. In other words, it “is everything I like, all put together”—which is, of course, exactly what one’s home should be.
If there’s a room Joo likes more than any other, it’s the kitchen. “I cook, and my favorite thing is to have people over,” says the designer, who wanted to ensure that guests could occupy the space with her. That meant she needed it to be as welcoming as possible: “Somewhere people could relax, that wouldn’t feel too functional—a space you could hang in.”
The existing kitchen was something of a blank box, so she started from scratch, adding elements to warm things up, sometimes literally (like the big Ilve stove). Throughout the space, plastered walls, all-wood Shaker-style cabinetry, and crown molding painted in Hardwick White and Shadow White, both from Farrow & Ball, were added, along with tons of vintage pieces. The four-legged counter stools and Moroccan carpets, which flank the massive custom oak island, recall old country kitchens.
While those nods to traditional design might sound like they would be at odds with the house’s modern architecture, Joo didn’t see that as a problem. “I always love contrast…something so contemporary and something so traditional working together.”
Fall Sale: Become an AD PRO member today and save 40% on an annual membership.
That something-old, something-new mix can be seen throughout the house, and on occasion even within a single piece of furniture. In the living room, for example, newly added vintage brass legs and a glass top turned an early-20th-century watercolor-painted Chinese screen into a coffee table that nestles into the clean-lined, low-slung custom corner sofa she designed. And, in the dining room, an RH table, big enough to seat fourteen people, anchors an assortment of mismatched vintage chairs. “I’ve been holding on to them for a while,” Joo says of some particularly special 19th-century Chinese chairs. “I’ve never been able to use them because I didn’t have enough. Now was the perfect time.”
Outfitting this house also proved to be the ideal opportunity for Joo to indulge her love of playful color—something her clients don’t always share. Case in point? The rich pastel hues of the bedroom wall mural painted by Los Angeles–based artist Skylar Hughes. “He was here for two weeks, hiking around, taking in the natural surroundings, and getting really inspired by them,” Joo fondly recalls. He then created the abstracted forest scene that enlivens the more child-friendly of the guest bedrooms, echoing and embellishing the sylvan view outside. Finishing the space are hand-thrown organically shaped ceramic pots by Joo’s friend Jenny Min, which sit on the headboard of the custom red-lacquered bed. (Other Min vessels adorn the kitchen, primary bathroom, dining room, and dressing room.)
“I wanted this house to just feel really lived in, really comfortable, and to be family-oriented,” says Joo. “A lot of the time, my projects are very linear, very curated. But my own style is more relaxed.”
.jpg)
1/15Interior designer Jae Joo and her husband, Devin, bought this 1970s home with modernist leanings just before the pandemic, falling in love with its open plan, sense of fun, and sylvan setting in Connecticut’s Fairfield County. Joo had a new door made of Sapele wood and the facade painted Benjamin Moore’s Amherst Gray.
2/15“This was the area I couldn’t wait to fix. Before we renovated, the entry had a very traditional oak wood railing stair,” Joo explains. “When you enter the house, you want to give a good first impression.” Joo designed the softly curving staircase and accentuated the room’s height with an Isamu Noguchi pendant and an antique chair. She found the vintage Turkish rug at the Brooklyn Flea.
Art: Gage Delprete3/15“This is the room that everyone plops down in,” Joo says of the living room. The built-in corner sofa she designed, with its ivory-hued cushions and vintage textiles, is a big part of that. Joo crafted the coffee table by adding vintage brass legs and a glass top to an early-20th-century painted Chinese screen. Vintage poster artworks can be seen throughout the interior.
4/15The entryway leads to the glass-walled dining room, where Joo surrounded an RH dining table with a mix of vintage chairs, including a handful of curvy metal-framed seats from Get Back Inc. She asked artist friend Laura Chautin to paint the Noguchi pendant above the table, placing custom ceramics by another artisan-friend, Jenny Min, below. Of the vintage hand-painted Swedish dresser, Joo says, “I found it at an antiques market, and as soon as I saw it, I knew I had to have it. It’s perfectly whimsical and perfect for this space.”
Nick Glimenakis5/15The kitchen is the favorite room of Joo, who loves cooking as well as sharing meals with family and friends. She created a warm and welcoming space with all-wood cabinetry, a large farmhouse sink, and an Ilve stove. The room’s rich character and sense of history come from the vintage items: repainted oak stools, found on eBay, and Moroccan rugs, purchased in Paris, flank the custom oak turned-leg island.
6/15For the primary bedroom, Joo turned a hand-painted early-20th-century screen (previously sourced on 1stDibs) into a dramatic headboard. “I wanted to feel cocooned,” says the designer. “This room was a little tough to do, with oddly sized windows everywhere. The screen came in handy because it controls the light but not in an invasive way.” Hanging above the bed is another Noguchi pendant. On the nightstands, a Giuseppe Ostuni for Oluce lamp (left) and a dog-shaped lamp (right), both from 1stDibs, can be seen.
7/15“It has a lot of wall space, with a vaulted ceiling, so I wanted to fill the room with color,” Joo says of the primary bathroom. The drawings, hung on the back wall, and the purple-y vintage Moroccan rug are both from Chairish. The vintage Italian sconces are from 1stDibs.
8/15The primary bath’s soaking tub area features a ceramic planter by Min, a vintage stool, handmade blinds, and a print purchased in Paris. “I didn’t want it to feel sterile, because it’s totally open to the dressing room and bedroom,” the designer explains. “I wanted it to look good all the time.”
9/15The primary suite’s dressing area is accessed through the bathroom. Joo chose Sherwin-Williams’s Purple Solitude for the walls and custom storage cabinets. “I’m not the most organized closet user, so everything being concealed really helps, especially because this is an open space.” The ceramic vessels are again by Min, while the brass sconces are Ralph Lauren. The custom shades are Décors Barbares fabric. The vintage cane chair was sourced from Mongers Market.
10/15Joo’s friend Skylar Hughes painted the abstracted forest scene in a child-friendly guest bedroom. He stayed in the house for two weeks, gathering inspiration by hiking in the surrounding woodlands. A vintage blanket is from Mongers Market, in nearby Bridgeport, Connecticut. More ceramics by Min top the custom red-lacquered bed.
11/15Joo created storage in this guest room—painted Sherwin-Williams’s Dusty Heather—by flanking the bed with closets. The red Moroccan rug, a vintage chair she bought on eBay a decade ago, and the antique Korean tapestry upholstering the headboard “are all in very rich jewel tones that work together really well.”
12/15The designer selected Waterworks sinks and faucets for the bathroom, which serves the guest rooms. Hanging over them are Gio Ponti–style mirrors, one she already had in her collection. (The other was purchased to complete the look.) The red CP-1 Charlotte Perriand sconces are from 1stDibs. “This is one of my favorite rooms,” Joo says. “It has a skylight, so it feels really sun-filled, between the custom blue tile floor and the blue sky above.”
Nick Glimenakis13/15“I always wanted a mudroom,” Joo says. “That’s a luxury you don’t get with city living.” She found the vintage baskets at a country store in Connecticut—their weave echoes that of the handmade blinds. The light fixture is from Visual Comfort.
14/15Along with its largely open floor plan and surprising geometries, the “wild-shaped” pool gives the house a sense of fun. On the patio, Joo placed chaises from Arlo Home and an umbrella “from my Turkish Rug dealer, purchased via WhatsApp.” The surrounding woods make the house and grounds feel completely private, “which was a really big thing for us,” she notes.
15/15Joo and her husband feel lucky to have found a place to live in “that feels like a forest,” she says. Here, they pose on vintage biergarten tables and benches sourced from Marvin Gardens, in Weston, Connecticut.
