Couple restores Witthoefft Residence in Armonk to modernist glory
Mandolene and Goddard replaced a damaged portion of the concrete terrace, which runs the length of the house in the back, with an eco-friendly grass square. They preserved the entire frame of the house while reusing and reinstalling several of the original fittings such as door handles, lighting fixtures and frosted-glass skylights.
The four-bedroom house was converted into a two-bedroom dwelling, with the other two merged into a study.
Wherever possible, the two owners tried to mimic the rectilinear design throughout the house, including the installation of a square toilet and a square fire alarm.
Some touches are purely about creature comfort. A window in the master bath has been replaced with a pivoting glass door that, when opened, brings in the outdoors. An enlarged kitchen, which was altered in the 1980s, now has additional cabinetry and a floating custom stainless steel hood above the island.
Witthoefft, who raised four children in the house with his wife, Eleanor, an interior decorator, made many trips to the house in the past two years while the work was being done, and some since. He said the experience had won him two new friends.
"They did such a wonderful job of repeating the design. It's the same I lived in for 31 years. They were very careful to rebuild the house the way it was designed," Witthoefft said. "I feel honored that I was able to build something that lasted through this kind of process."
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