Designed by Richard Meier, the Smith Home Is a Waterfront Wonder on the Market for $14.5M

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Architect Richard Meier is famed for his designs, including the Getty Center in Los Angeles and the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art.

But before he rose to prominence designing huge structures on the world stage, Meier had his start building residences. One of his first, from 1967, the Smith House in Darien, CT, is now on the market for the first time in 50 years. The iconic home sitting on prime waterfront property is listed for a cool $14.5 million.

“Just like [with] a famous painting, you react to it because of the incredible artistry that went into it,” says listing agent Jack Trifero, a preservationist who leads tours of the area’s Mid-Century Modern homes.

With its vertical grid of glass that fronts Long Island Sound, the house works as well from the outside as it does on the inside, he says. “You walk in, and every single inch of this place sings. It’s just very powerful.”

The Smith house designed by architect Richard Meier

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Living room with dramatic views

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Dining room with fireplace

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Wall of windows

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Only 31 at the time, Meier was commissioned to design the home for Frederick and Carole Smith in the 1960s. Architecture critic and author Paul Goldberger noted that the Smith house helped “set a career in motion and defined the American domestic architecture of an era.”

Located just an hour from Manhattan, the 1.5-acre waterfront property comes with a private beach. The four-bedroom, three-bath home is built from white-painted redwood, and held up by steel columns. The design expands upward rather than outward and offers three levels of living space totaling 2,874 square feet.

The living and dining rooms, both with fireplaces, are at the back of the house, where walls of glass show off the dramatic water views. The bedrooms are on the opposite side, and face the woods and the road.

A slate walkway leads to a ramped entrance which opens to the two-story living room on the main level, where you’re greeted with stunning views of sea and sky.

“First-time visitors are usually astounded upon entering the living room,” recounted the owner, Carole Littlefield (formerly Smith), for Goldberger’s book, “Richard Meier Houses.” She added that she received compliments time and again on the view. “Of course,” she said, “the view is the same from all the other sites along the waterfront; the house, however, is not.”

The home has been well-maintained and is in pristine condition after five decades, the agent notes. “The family has been incredible  stewards of the property,” Trifero says. They’re looking for the next owner to do the same, without much to do once the sale closes.

“It’s been completely livable. You don’t have to do any updates,” he adds. Instead, the next owner can look forward to simply enjoying the view.

The post Designed by Richard Meier, the Smith Home Is a Waterfront Wonder on the Market for $14.5M appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

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