William Styron's Connecticut House, Estate of the Day
Some houses you don't want to change a thing in even when you know they need updating. That's how the late author William Styron's home in Roxbury, Connecticut strikes me. The WSJ's Private Properties column reports that the home of the late "Sophie's Choice" author recently went on the market and is being sold by his widow.
The 4.7-acre estate includes a five-bedroom colonial home that was built in the 1850s. William and Rose Styron bought the home in 1954 and raised their children there. Fans of "Darkness Visible," Styron's intensely honest memoir on his battle with depression, will recognize descriptions the home. The listing pictures show a classic New England home with beamed ceilings, brick fireplaces and wood floors. For me there's something particularly evocative in the wooden wet bar in the great room, the site, one might imagine, of many literary conversations. The kitchen is dated and I'm sure the bathrooms probably also need refreshing but I hope whoever buys the home renovates with a gentle hand.
The property includes a one-bedroom guest house, a pool with cabana, a tennis court, gardens and a pond with a waterfall and the listing pictures show an Adirondack chair perfectly perched in a quiet spot for waterside reflection. This home is listed at $2.2 million.
UPDATE: This home is now listed at $1.895 million.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mariet May 24th 2009 6:55PM
I love your comments on this house, I wouldn't change a thing. It seems so relaxed and happy to be itself, not scrambling to be glamorous in stainless steel and granite. The kitchen is perfectly functional with a window over the sink to watch the birds.
pamela a Jun 25th 2009 8:37AM
I agree. This is one house that clearly manifests the love and care given by its owner through the years.