2 min read
Late architect Edward Durell Stone designed some of his generation’s most enduring landmarks, among them Radio City Music Hall in New York and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. In 1957, Connecticut-based contractor Theodore de Freyne Hobbs and a chemical company called the Celanese Corporation of America enlisted Stone to devise a show house for their products in the leafy suburb of New Canaan, then a hotbed of midcentury design thanks to homes by architects from the so-called “Harvard Five,” including Philip Johnson, Marcel Breuer, and Eliot Noyes.
Alan Barry for William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty
The back of the house, where the pyramids and lattice screen are on full display.
Stone responded with a residential-style structure that adhered to midcentury modern principles on the inside, with clean lines, glass walls, and a floor plan that maximizes light and circulation. He took a more adventurous approach on the exterior, however, crowning the single-story edifice with 12 glass-tipped pyramids that allow light to flood even the innermost spaces. He surrounded the 4,400-square-foot building with a series of terraces enclosed by an intricate lattice screen.
Alan Barry for William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty
The interiors feature satin-bleached oak floors.
Completed in 1959, the striking four-bedroom house quickly vaulted to fame, appearing on the cover of House & Garden as well as in other national design outlets. Once Celanese got its press coverage, de Freyne Hobbs sold the house for residential usage to Frederick and Velma Willcox in 1960, per the Smithsonian. The couple would go on to live there for the rest of their lives, with Velma passing away in 2005.
Alan Barry for William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty
The home sits on two manicured acres.
Today, the Celanese House, as it’s known, sits on two manicured acres and maintains much of its architectural integrity—with Stone’s original skylights and exterior walls still intact. The two most recent owners completed their own updates, and the interiors now feature floating sheet rock walls and satin-bleached oak floors.
Alan Barry for William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty
The roof sports 12 glass-tipped pyramids that act as skylights.
Current owner Joel Disend first tried selling the property in 2023 for $4.7 million. Two price cuts and a pending sale later, the home has a new asking price of $4 million, listed with Inger Stringfellow of William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty.
Geoffrey Montes is an associate editor at ELLE Decor with a serious love for all things real estate and design. Before that, he worked at Architectural Digest, Galerie, and Preservation magazines, covering everything from jaw-dropping listings to world-famous architects and design events like Salone del Mobile and Homo Faber.