Every day, hundreds of cars zip up and down Obtuse Road past Hound House, without a clue of the eclectic magic that awaits just inside its unassuming facade.Dan Patrick Show, welcomed a two-day photography session with Country Home Magazine for a summer 2018 feature, sat for a segment on WPKN's State of the ArtsUnlocking Fairfield bloggers who are planning an "At Home" story on Hound House, all while completing the transformation of a former den into a library. program, invited the Facebook; for inquiries, reach out via e-mail at Instagram or houndhousect@gmail.com, and stay tuned for their new website coming soon.

But just pull off into the driveway and you begin to observe a few teasers - a huge bronze deer head above the garage adorned with spiky branches for antlers; a modest but beautiful seasonal potted arrangement below; and a rear yard that expands across gorgeous landscaping adorned with patios, walkways, and a small pond. And yes, there are hounds - a pack of excitable and curious canines who are the pride and joy of their dedicated owners.

An invitation from owners Trent DeBerry or Collin Robison, however, provides all the incentive one needs to venture inside and experience what is literally a funky treasure trove of sights, sounds, and smells spilling from one room to the next evoking "ooohs" and "aaaahs" at every turn.

If you think that intriguingly tantalizing scent would make a great candle you would burn in your own home - it is; if you observe the afternoon light pouring through a rear window illuminating a corner table adorned with linens and curios would make a great magazine ad - it has; and if the spacious kitchen and adjacent exterior deck strikes you as a perfect setting for a casual soiree - it can be.

When Mr DeBerry, a career educator, and Mr Robison, a designer, first visited the prospective home one Sunday morning in 2015, they knew immediately that this colonial-era home on Obtuse Road would be the next stop on their life journey together. But with every historic renovation, every addition of new and uniquely modified taxidermy, each carefully placed curio, the entity that has become Hound House continued, and continues, to take shape.

From the crowned deer head affectionately dubbed "Elsie," that Mr Robison said has become something of a Hound House mascot, to the porcupine quills spilling across a desktop, to the carefully reassembled partial giraffe skeleton in one of the upstairs spaces, to the antique surveyor's gear in a corner of the smoking room, to his grandfather's military dog tags, and Mr DeBerry's grandfather's World War II-era diary, what may first reveal as organized chaos actually transforms into an appealing visual landscape as the eye pans around each room.

The couple's flair for design is becoming more and more notorious as they become more settled in the Newtown community, with creatives not only looking to Hound House as a canvas for their ad layouts, but who hope to transplant some of the couple's clever ideas outside its walls.

To that end, Hound House was the featured seasonal designer for the Fairfield County Antique and Design Center, 19 Willard Road, Norwalk, and Mr Robison's work was a hit among attendees at the center's Sip and Shop on the evening of September 28, which showcased the space he and Mr DeBerry transformed.

That space is on display through October 31.

Back at the ranch, they have received an inquiry about a film shoot, hosted a Thanksgiving segment taping for the 

"Our formal living room is now our main living space," Mr Robison said. "We are calling this room The Gallerie as it displays many of our pieces in a museum-like style."

Their website, houndhousect.com is in its final stages of construction, and Mr DeBerry said they are developing a third scent to add to the signature holiday candles they are designing and marketing on-line and with boutique retailers like Queen Street Gifts and the shop at Shakespeare's Garden in Brookfield.

"We love candles and we're constantly burning them, so we felt that would be one of the easiest ways for anyone to have their own piece of Hound House," Mr Robison said. So they found an artisan candlemaker in Tariffville (Conn.) and started mixing oils.

"This is version six," Mr Robison said.

"We knew what we wanted to capture," added Mr DeBerry.

"Sometimes I experience a house during a season, and this house I see as very fall into winter, with fireplaces blazing and pine trees," Mr Robison said. "That is when this house shines, so we wanted to capture that. We wanted something green, something that smelled like a fireplace, something that would evoke feelings of a snowy night, with maybe a Christmas tree - all of that went into our Holiday Candle - and I think we got it."

Next is a scent of the Hound House Library, with essences of burned tobacco and seasoned leather. Mr DeBerry said he is hoping to have a few more room-specific scents by next spring, and he is planning an event specific candle for next summer as well.

But the couple's focus is still bringing creative types, filmmakers, and photographers in, along with those desiring unique entertaining space for small groups.

"When we've had small dinner parties, our guests are always mentioning how we should have larger events here," Mr DeBerry said. "So it really is perfect for someone if they want to hire a chef and have a group over."

"Our business cards say 'venue, lifestyle, design,' and our website is almost ready to launch. I still offer design services, but ideally I'd like to focus on Hound House, or just do clients who would like to have something of a Hound House touch in their own space," Mr Robison said.

"I could see us working more with local restaurants or boutiques," Mr DeBerry said. "We really want to focus on local. I think we could come up with some interesting collaborations."

For all they may offer, Mr DeBerry and Mr Robison say that Newtown has offered them so much more.

"If you asked us where we would be five years ago, we would have never thought of Newtown," Mr DeBerry said.

"But this is the first place that I ever lived where I feel like I want to stay here for awhile," Mr Robison said. "Up to now, every place was like a step and here there is something that embraces us."

At one point, the couple took their pack of dogs for a walk around Fairfield Hills.

"We just wanted to gauge people's reactions to us. And we talked to more people in 45 minutes than we ever did walking around Manhattan," Mr DeBerry said.

"It's funny, but since we've been living here I find that I'm making more eye contact when I'm back working in the city. And I think living in Newtown has helped us drop our guard," Mr Robison said.

To learn more, check out Hound House on