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Couple's Retirement Home Has Custom Design, Elegant Feel
MODULAR MASTERPIECE
By Rick Koster
To Ed and Addie Hogan's way of thinking, you get one chance to do retirement the right way — and that the recipe might include a modular home had never entered their minds.
The thing is, if you're standing on the second floor balcony, just off the master bedroom in their lovely Waterford dwelling overlooking Parker Beach on Niantic Bay, the last thing you'd think about was that you were in a modular home.
With its landscaped terrace and yard, a wraparound downstairs porch fairly clamoring for nonstop barbecues, and a welcoming, unique and modern Colonial design, the Hogan's retirement palace actually rejects any thoughts of its origin — by the very nature of its natural elegance.
What's more impressive is that the original structure on the property was a tiny, seasonal cottage — charming in its fashion but not particularly suited for year-round and/or retirement purposes.
“We realized we had to make a decision about whether to stay in our home or come to the shore — and I think we were both a little surprised that we decided to make the move,” Ed says. “The problem was, what do we do with the cottage?”
Indeed. Though quaint, the cottage wasn't insulated or practically sized for year-round occupancy. The Hogans — Ed was an engineer and Addie a commercial pilot — lived for 39 years in East Longmeadow, Mass., just outside Springfield. They inherited the cottage from Addie's parents years ago and fell in love with the area and the cottage.
When it came time to retire, the comfort and familiarity of their East Longmeadow home suddenly had competition: the more they thought about the Waterford cottage, the more the idea of relocating there was intriguing and exciting.
It also presented problems. Should they add-on for more living space — and by necessity insulate for winter climate? Or tear down the cottage and hire builders to construct a new home? Neither was particularly attractive.
“We had no idea what to do or what was possible,” says Addie. “We were kicking ideas around with friends and one of them brought up modular homes. So we went to the Net and started doing our homework. What we found out just made more and more sense.”
What they discovered is that modular homes are no longer — in any fashion — to be confused with the mobile homes of yesteryear from which the concept sprang. Or even the boxing ring-shaped, clearly aluminum-constructs that came later. They're also typically much cheaper than building a stick home.
“Modular homes have come a long way,” Ed says. “What people don't perhaps realize is that you can have whatever you want. It's not just the same design over and over.”
For example, the Hogan's home was completely custom designed to meet the requirements of property and existing landscape.
There are several area companies that work with designers and builders to conceptualize modular home projects for customers. The Hogans selected Ricon Homes, a business that works with Westchester Modular Homes in Wingdale, N. Y.
“They definitely wanted to accentuate the possibilities of the water views,” says Attila Keller of Ricon. “Because there was the existing cottage, we had to think beyond that in our design. We knew we'd have to demo the cottage, but we ended up tearing out the whole foundation and starting over.”
“It was a bit emotional to get rid of the cottage, but it was the right way to go,” Addie says. “We thought, every day could be like a vacation in this place. Particularly if we do it right. Attila was a huge help.”
“The more clients read and are educated, they understand that modular homes are a good deal and a realistic option,” Keller says. “Many times people drive by modular homes and they have no idea that's what they're looking at. We've built some that are 800,000 square feet — and you'd never know what you were looking at.”
In the pursuit of optimizing the Hogan's location, one issue is that a neighbor's home intrudes on some of the seacoast panorama. The Hogans and Ricon simply angled walls and the setting of the house so the walls would block some of the next-door structure. Large windows, then, on two sides of the Hogan house open directly onto the water from both the open living and dining quarters and the upstairs master bedroom.
The main floor comprises an open living area segueing into a kitchen area with spectacular granite counter tops and wooden cabinetry. On the opposite side is a comfortable area that serves as either a den or guest bedroom, with a neat office tucked in a back corner. This space extends beyond the original parameters of the cottage and pushes the square footage of the home to over 16.
The whole house is finished in a soft cream with white accents and a bamboo wood floor that in itself is worth studying like an art exhibit.
A drive-in garage opens directly into the house so that winter grocery trips can be facilitated without having to be exposed to the elements.
The Hogans were also able to memorialize the old cottage. The tri-level landscaping utilizes rock from the cottage's original foundation. And local mason Dennis O'Sullivan integrated a tile from the cottage fireplace into a new stone fireplace in the side living room.
In the end, part of the magic of the Hogan's situation was the ease with which it all came together. A modular home arrives in pre-constructed boxes, which then interlock when delivered to the property. The entire assembly process took a few days. “The house was up in a week,” Addie says, “and we've still got boxes we haven't unpacked 10 months later.”
“We do not tire of this place,” Ed says. “It's a lovely home and it's worked out for us. If we were going to retire and live on a fixed income, we had to consider all the options. This was the right way to go.”
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