For a long time, as I spend more and more time in NYC, I have been thinking that it is time to hand my big house on a quiet street to a family with young children, and to live in cozy, compact quarters very close to Metro North. To this end, I have been keeping my eyes open for nice houses within five minutes walk of the train station, so when I saw a dumpster parked next to this house on West Avenue in Darien, one I had long admired for its simple lines, I was intrigued, and left a note. Long story short, I closed yesterday.
The house has an interesting history. It was built in 1840, and sited where the Darien train station is now. It was moved to a pleasant little hill nearby when the train station was built, and a small wing was added at that time. Other, rather unfortunate additions were constructed in the forties and the seventies. 
Others might have been tempted to take this little Greek Revival farmhouse down and start over (with something way too big), but my plan is to restore the original part of the house, removing the "improvements", and adding back two architecturally compatible stories.
This is Day One.
