Houses· At Home· At Home No. 001· Wilton, Connecticut

The House Among the Trees

On charcoal siding, new windows, warm wood — and choosing to let a house disappear a little into the trees around it.

Charcoal-sided house set back on a lawn among mature trees — The house among the trees.

When we started renovating our house in Wilton, I knew I wanted to change how it looked. What I didn’t want was for it to lose its relationship with the trees around it.

We’re surrounded by mature woodland, and that became the starting point for many of the decisions we made.

Charcoal

The dark exterior was deliberate. Rather than painting the house a color that would make it stand out against the landscape, we chose charcoal so it would sit more quietly among the trees.

One idea

We replaced the windows, introduced warmer wood details, and worked on the entrance and the spaces where the house meets the garden. Each decision was part of the same idea: make the house feel more connected to its setting.

Living with it

What I like most now isn’t any single architectural detail. It’s the way the house changes with the light, the weather, and the seasons.

Some days you notice the house. Other days, you notice the trees.

That’s exactly what we were hoping for.

The house before the exterior work: weathered, streaked grey shingle siding and deteriorating white wooden window frames above a brick patio — Before — weathered grey shingles, streaked and uneven, and white wooden window frames wearing through, the paint lifting and the sills starting to break down.

The back of the house after the work: charcoal siding and dark windows among autumn trees, with the patio and lawn — After — the same side of the house, in autumn.

Charcoal-sided house beside a deck with flowering shrubs, grasses and tall green trees — After — the deck steps and the woods behind.

Charcoal shingle siding beside a dark fence and white hydrangeas — Charcoal siding and hydrangeas.

Tall dark-framed windows on the side of the house, surrounded by green planting — New windows, facing the woods.

Dining room with tall windows looking into the trees — Inside, looking out.

Side of the charcoal house with tall windows and ornamental grasses — Where the house meets the garden.

Stone path curving toward the dark house under trees — The path in.