Fred and Nita Travis move from large apartment to modest house

FAIRFIELD — When the youngest of their three children moved out, Fred and Nita Travis thought that it might be time to downsize.

The Fairfield couple had been living in an apartment on the campus of Maharishi International University, where Fred chairs the Department of Maharishi Vedic Science. They have three daughters: Dariana, Joella and the youngest Avery, who graduated from Maharishi School in 2014.

In recent years, Fred and Nita felt it was time to make a change in their living arrangements now that they no longer had three children at home or college tuition to pay. Not only did they want to move out of their large apartment where they only used a third of the space, they also wanted a garden. They began looking for empty lots and found a perfect one just east of campus that gives Fred a nice eight-minute walk to work, or four-minute bike ride past the Punj Tennis Courts.

Nita’s brother is an architect, and he helped the couple design a home because on their rough sketches. The Travises asked around for a contractor to hire. Jon Lipman, an expert in Maharishi Vastu architecture, suggested hiring Ben Muntz. Fred and Nita got a list of references from Muntz and called to talk to them.

“One of his references wouldn’t stop praising him for 20 minutes,” Nita said. “Ben wants to build homes that will last 100 years.”

Fred and Nita wanted to be as environmentally conscious as possible, and sought opportunities to save money by reusing materials that they had installed in their apartment. For instance, they saved thousands of dollars by moving the solid wood cabinets from the apartment into the new house. They also asked Muntz if they could paint the house to save on labor costs. The interior is a bright mango color that matches the cabinets’ wood.

The kitchen countertops were brought from their apartment, too. While looking for marble to put around the sink, Fred and Nita stumbled upon a garage sale held at Creative Edge Mastershop in Fairfield, and found just what they needed.

Nita’s father built the couple a pantry 30 years ago, and that, too, was moved into the new house.

The kitchen employs electric heating, which Nita says she loves, and has used all her life. The couple plan to install a solar array, too. They’re waiting to find out how much energy they’ll use in the new home, which will determine how large their solar array should be.

The new home is 1,200 square feet, with one bedroom and one bathroom, but designed to feel larger than that thanks to its cathedral ceiling and open floor concept.

“You never get the sense you’re in a closed space because of these long views,” Fred said.

Nita initially felt that it wasn’t necessary to have large windows, but her brother insisted, saying the couple would appreciate the extra sunlight. Now that the windows are in, Nita thinks her brother was right.

Construction on the home began in October 2021. A warm December allowed for rapid progress, and by the time the heavy snows came in January, the house was sealed so work could continue inside.

Fred and Nita said they are excited to move into their new home as soon as construction is done. The only parts of the house that remain under construction are the front porch and garage, which will be finished as soon as the ground dries. In fact, Fred has done a lot of the construction on the garage himself.