Home Buying

For $615k, a mid-century modern beauty in Greenfield

Architect-designed and owned home is set on a pond and comes with built-in furniture. The kitchen hasn't changed since the house was built in 1957.

The mid-century modern home at 18 Newell Pond Place in Greenfield has three bedrooms and two full baths. Jeffrey Byrnes/Clear to Close Media

By Megan Johnson

May 31, 2024

Inspired by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, John F. Bednarski designed a variety of prominent buildings in the Pioneer Valley. Now the architect’s mid-century modern Greenfield home is on the market for $619,000.

Set on just under 2 acres alongside bucolic Newell Pond, 18 Newell Pond Place is a three-bed, two-bath home measuring 2,133 square feet. Designed as a single level set on a concrete slab, the home was built in 1957 and stayed within the Bednarski family until his passing in January.

“You just couldn’t build this house again, and you couldn’t build it so close to the water. It’s very pointed at nature,” said Ilene Be rezin of The Murphys Realtors, Inc., who shares the listing with Sharon Castelli. “Everything in the house points you back outdoors.”

A long gravel driveway leads up to the home, which was built for maximum privacy. Guests step into a foyer, but the eye is drawn to the living room and a variety of design elements like high ceilings, redwood beams that contrast with concrete walls, and a built-in table. Bricks lead to an oversized corner fireplace in the living room, which is lined with built-in seating and shelving. A bay window provides stunning views of the pond, and a row of doors opens to the deck, perfect for embracing the natural beauty of the landscape. A series of steps lead down to the water’s edge.

Back inside, the living room connects to a dining room with built-in furniture. The kitchen, which has essentially been untouched since its 1957 construction, is the epitome of midcentury design. A sun porch with a built-in hot tub is south-facing to embrace passive solar light. The primary bedroom features built-in furniture constructed by hand.

While it’s technically a three-bedroom home, it’s currently functioning as a one-bedroom because one bedroom is currently set up as a den with built-in closets. The second bedroom was made into Bednarski’s studio and features a built-in desk and extensive shelving, as well as a smaller fireplace and double doors to a small balcony.

“Nothing has changed since 1957,” Berezin said. “Everybody wants it, but it’s a complicated house. It’s so stylized in this Frank Lloyd Wright period. You have to be an aficionado of that style to understand how to live in the house.”

The mid-century modern home does not have a basement. Three homes share ownership of the pond.

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