Arleen Karnoff, antique house expert

Arleen Karnoff of Redding, an expert in antique houses who had careers in interior decorating and real estate and who was a major benefactor of Temple B’nai Chaim, died Tuesday, Aug. 1, at her home on Newtown Turnpike.
Mrs. Karnoff, a longtime Ridgefielder, was founder of Realty 7 in Wilton and later became a well-known consultant on both the histories and construction of old houses.
In 1981, she and her husband, Martin Karnoff, donated the land to the newly formed Reform Jewish congregation, B’nai Chaim, that enabled the construction of its temple in Georgetown.
A native of New York City, Mrs. Karnoff was the daughter of the late Phillip and Rita Siegel. She grew up in the city and graduated from Edgewood Park School in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y. She studied at the Kansas City Art Institute and became an interior decorator.
In 1969, the Karnoffs moved from California to Wilton and four years later bought an 18th Century house on Nod Road in Ridgefield. They lived there until moving to Redding in 1999.
After qualifying to become a real estate broker, Mrs. Karnoff worked in the profession for several years and around 1978, founded Realty 7 in Wilton. She was active on the Wilton Board of Realtors and was a graduate of the Realtors Institute. She sold the business several years later.
Her interest in houses led her to Yale University where she studied architectural history. This prompted her to undertake a successful campaign to save the 18th Century Matthew Marvin House on Route 7 in Wilton, which was slated for demolition. The house had been acquired when the town bought land on which Wilton High School was built. The Karnoffs signed a 30-year lease from the town, carefully restored the building, and used it at first for offices, then apartments. The building, which will revert to the town in 2013, has since been placed on the National Register of Historic places.
With her combined interests in houses and architectural history, Mrs. Karnoff developed a practice of researching and documenting the chain of title and changes in construction for old buildings, and became a consultant to owners of historic houses, community historical societies, and local governments, developing “house histories” for a number of them.
She was a consultant to the Keeler Tavern Museum in Ridgefield, and had lectured there.
Mrs. Karnoff also enjoyed cooking and in 1975 wrote a book, A New England Sampler, featuring old New England recipes and kitchen tips. In recent years, she had also been a docent at the Maritime Aquarium in South Norwalk.
Besides her husband, Mrs. Karnoff is survived by two sons, Phillip of Redding and Robert of Newtown, and a daughter, Jodie Karnoff of Watertown; and five grandchildren, Caite and Alex of Redding, Stephen and Peter of Watertown, and Rachel of Newtown.
Services were private.
Contributions in her memory may be made to the Regional Hospice of Western Connecticut, 30 West Street, Danbury CT 06810.