Grand design

Designed by Landry Design Group (LDG)

From the architects:

Having successfully created an estate in Los Angeles with Landry Design Group (LDG), Brazilian supermodel Gisèle Bündchen and former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady were ready to design another home for their family, this time in Boston. They found a verdant site with gently rolling hills and natural boulder outcroppings, its generous outdoor space further enlivened by its adjacency to a golf course.

The design brief for the home was to combine New England charm with a modern lifestyle and bring in as much light and views as possible while being eco-conscious.

Even the approach to the home reflects and celebrates the bucolic setting. Reached via a long rural-feeling driveway, one enters the gates and winds past a barn atelier, through trees and outcroppings, eventually arriving to a semi-formal motor court shaded by a large specimen tree.

This setting had also dictated a different design approach than for the home the couple had built in California. Their stylistic leanings pointed toward a New England vernacular, which would incorporate a tailored brick exterior, and traditional accents such as a Vermont slate roof, decorative window mullions, and a cupola. LDG wove these into a fresh interpretation. A roof swoops down to temper the volume of the entrance, details are borrowed from Belgian design, including the use of reclaimed Belgian brick with tailored details and bluestone trim and modern additions such as glass walls and roofs were designed to admit more light. 

A family-centric interior flow was important to the owners. To achieve an open, cohesive feeling, rooms like the kitchen and adjacent family room visually borrow space from others. The more formal areas retain a more intimate scale.

A warm, wide-plank oak floor flows throughout the rooms and, in the kitchen and breakfast area, a steel and glass wall extends seamlessly into a roof of the same materials. The room’s effect is one of a modern conservatory added over time and flooded with light. Window walls are repeated elsewhere, from one leading to a covered loggia off the living room to another in the family room, designed specifically to bring as much light into the house as possible during New England’s winters.

Even the subterranean spa—among the couple’s private sanctuaries—is awash in light thanks to its open courtyard. The Los Angeles interior design firm Joan Behnke & Associates introduced a relaxed elegance throughout the home with chic, contemporary furnishings.

Responding to the eco-friendly aspect of the brief, the home has a strong sustainable agenda. Passive ventilation is achieved through operable windows in the stair tower, and high-efficiency HVAC systems are designed for using minimal energy year round. Rainwater collection supplements the irrigation needs of a vegetable and herb garden

The design’s melding of modern and traditional is especially apparent in the barn. Complete with a sleeping loft, this is used as an office, meeting space, a guest house, and yoga studio. Located a short stroll from the main house, across a gently sloping meadow, it appears as if it has long been part of the property. With its Zen interiors and floating walls, this contemporary outbuilding is a peaceful respite from the rigours of a high-profile life.

Story by: Trendsideas

Photography by: Erhard Pfeiffer