Darien Best Custom Home by Arnold Karp and Associates
(New Canaan, CT) Karp Associates, Inc. a distinguished building and construction firm of New Canaan, Connecticut was recently acknowledged with 4 HOBI awards at a presentation at Southington’
These prestigious awards are given out annually by the Home Builders Association of Connecticut and regarded as the Oscar’s in Connecticut for builders’ work. The HOBIs showcase the best products and services offered by members in many categories under new home construction, land development, remodeling, and commercial construction, sales and marketing and financing.
Karp Associates took awards in the following categories:
o Best Custom Home 6,000 - 8,000 sf : for 40 Maywood Road, Darien
o Best New Old Home: for 4 Westerly Road, Watch Hill, Westerly, RI
o Special Focus: Special Recognition for Funniest Bath Feature
o Community Service: Special Recognition for Community Service: for the Jewish Community Center parking lot in Stamford
“It is nice to be recognized by the judges and peers for our work. We are thrilled that this is the 11th consecutive year to be acknowledged in this way. Our firm is dedicated to building long-term relationships with clients, placing great emphasis on high caliber craftsmanship that successfully reflects clients’ tastes and lifestyles. We work diligently to take a clients vision and bring it to completion in a thoughtful and intelligent manner,” says owner and founder Arnold Karp.To receive a HOBI, builders must submit photographs and written entries of their work. Then it is reviewed by judges who visit the site to assess the quality of the work.
Karp Associates was founded in New Canaan, by Arnold Karp more than 20 years ago and specializes in renovation, custom home, construction management and consulting.
Best New Old Home
4 Westerly Road, Westerly, RI
If clients have a positive feeling toward their old house they will try to incorporate the old details into the new structure. This client wanted Karp Associates to follow the concept and details of the old house in the new structure. This new house was to have every amenity, from elevator to state of the art electronics, with the overall feel of a bygone area.
This was accomplished in numerous ways. First, was reusing the original front door stone entry and columns that were painstakingly removed, stored, and then reinstalled at the relocated front door. In order to make the stonework have that original look, considerable time and effort was spent finding the same stone and using the unique and distinctive mortar joint detail. The grand homes of this era also had impressive front entries and this was accomplished here by the use of quarter-sawn oak panels throughout the entry vestibule and ceiling as well as in a custom door to hide the elevator entry. Doesn’
The original stone fireplace in the great room was also reworked to be a prominent design feature for that portion of the house. However, the fireplace was updated with a gas log starter. An additional detail was the keeping of the windows that flank the fireplace that originally opened to the exterior and now can be opened into finished space.
When picking out stair parts the use of custom made balls (spheres) at the newel posts was the proper detail. The client also went as far as using a reproduction of an antique print for wall paper for the second floor hallway. The client also wanted the new dining room and the old dining room to be very similar, which was gracefully accomplished.
The use of windows in many areas was similar or the same as in the old house, including the use of large pane windows in the sunroom and a prominent eyebrow dormer following the original house detail. The elevations of the side of house also mirror the original structure in its updated form. When faced with what to do with the “old door hardware” the owner also decided to reuse the knobs as towel hooks for the outdoor shower and interior guest room closets.While this is a completely new structure the owner used numerous details to insure the house maintained that old house feeling in this new home.
Best Custom Home 6,000 – 8,000 sf
Darien, CT
A client approached Karp Associates, Inc., for consultation and advise about which spec house to buy in the neighborhood they were living in. They wanted to upgrade from their existing, plain vanilla house, into a new home with a little more character. After considering numerous spec houses on the market and not finding anything that fit the bill, they decided to build their dream home (and their consultant turned into their builder).
With three small but growing children, they were looking for something they could grow into. They picked a charming lot nearby, with mature trees on a level 1 ½ acres. An important requirement for the architectural and site team members was to give the house ample interior space while maintaining an elegant and gracious exterior – nothing that had too much mass for the site or for the neighborhood. The rooflines were tailored with well-placed hips and dormers to help achieve this goal, as well as meticulous house placement on the lot.
The interior displays a rich mixture of classic, but not ornate, elements. Quarter-sawn oak graces the floors in the formal areas. Wood paneling, mahogany handrails, and a mahogany front door accent the foyer, along with the clean lines of cast iron balusters. Mosaic tiles highlight festive children’s rooms and baths. And a 20’ high barrel vaulted ceiling with arched beams and cove lighting add elegance to a spacious, yet comfortable, family room.
Community Service Award
Stamford, CT
The Jewish Community Center (JCC) located in Stamford, CT needed its parking lots rebuilt. Over the thirty years that the building has been in operation the parking lots had deteriorated. At a charity event the executive director asked Karp Associates what the JCC would need to do to repair/replace its crumbling parking lots. As with all non profits – Karp Associates was ready to help. They prepared an extensive logistical plan that took into consideration the schedule of the JCC, which is an 18 hour day facility, 360 days a year. The facility could not loose the use of its parking as it services clients from 6 months to 90 years of age. Karp Associates hired an engineering and boring firm to test the existing soils to see what type of work needed to be done - minor or major. The results came back showing that the lots had not been built properly initially.
Karp Associates wrote an extensive scope and put the project out to bid. The bids came back with an initial range of $600,000 to $800,000 dollars. After picking the executive director up off the floor they started to review the bids. It quickly became apparent that Karp Associates should project manage this undertaking for free in order to make the existing budget work. With Board approval and a $650,000 budget they began work. Even with the prior testing they found extensive sink holes, buried debris and crumbling catch basins. Moreover, the executive director wanted the mini buses that the JCC used to fit under its front portico. For the last 5 plus years the buses could not fit under due to the newer model’s heights.
The project was completed in less time then the bidders had outlined and under the budgeted amount, even with extensive additional field conditions. The JCC was extremely happy with the Karp Team and the $150,000 it saved.
Best Kitchen/Bath Feature
Westerly, RI
For the client that has everything a house has to offer but needs to make the house even more memorable, this bath feature was a mega hit. It was almost every trade person’s cell phone screen background during the project and had the client’s friends and family in stitches.
Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/
