Mid-Century Philip Collins Design in New Jersey Needs a Rescue

Noted Mid-Century Modern architect Philip Collins attended Princeton University and rocketed to fame not long after graduating, when he won a competition to design the state of New Jersey's 1964 New York World's Fair pavilion.

It seems fitting that the Princeton area is home to some of his most notable designs, including this breathtaking Mid-Century Modern home only a 15-minute ride from his alma mater and not far from his own majestic former home, also in Hopewell, NJ.

Of his World's Fair work, Collins said, "We have sought a design that will be open and festive, gay and exciting, inviting to the public."

That same design aesthetic can be seen in this four-bedroom, three-bathroom home, which is listed for $885,000. It sits on 8.75 wooded acres and embodies the concept of bringing the outdoors in.

Wood decks surrounds the living room.

The long living room features a wall of windows and sliding glass doors that open to wood decks, including one with a serene fountain. An outdoor swimming pool provides another tranquil setting for relaxation. Views from every window beckon to the woods beyond.

The couple who owned the home died, so finding details about the home's past could be an interesting quest for a new owner.

The former owners, a husband and wife, never spoke about being the first to own the home, for example, but listing agent Merlene Tucker, who knew the wife, recently found tax records indicating they were the only owners of the home.

Tucker has been trying to find out if Collins designed it specifically for them. The architect also died last year, and his former firm has no records to clarify the history.

"It's a stunning property on 8.75 acres," Tucker says. A separate building on the estate served as an office for the wife, who was an attorney, Tucker notes. It sports a kitchenette and full bathroom and could function as a guesthouse or be connected to the main house. The former owner had spoken with an architect about making the connection without compromising the architectural integrity of the home, Tucker notes.

The serene pool area

Tucker also says new owners would likely want to make some updates. Bedrooms are smaller than in the homes of today, so they could stand to be expanded. Also, the home has a galley kitchen, but a wall could be removed to open it up to other living space.

The area has held appeal in the past for writers and artists seeking to find rural quiet away from New York, which is an hour and a half to the north, or Philadelphia, an hour to the south, Tucker notes. The Hopewell area also has become a hotbed of the farm-to-table movement with local farmers producing crops for restaurants in the larger cities nearby, she notes.

Collins' own former home, which was listed for $1.65 million in 2014 and sold in the $1.4 million range, is a mile and a half away on the same road as this home -- the two forming fitting bookends to his storied career, and a corner of architectural bliss for any lover of Mid-Century Modern design.