Upstate House Fall 2021

Fall 2021

HUDSON VALLEY/BERKSHIRES/CATSKILLS

ON THE

Cover

Home Is Where the Art Is GRANDBERG & ASSOCIATES ARCHITECTS Cover Story on page 64

Vernacular Variant A Barn-Inspired Home in a Former Bluestone Quarry

A Tannersville Garden A Lush, Botanical Idyll on a Greene County Mountainside

Roscoe Renovation A Sullivan County Farmhouse Gets a Scandinavian Update

Windows And Doors Built For How You Live

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Detail of a chandelier from the recently launched Whiplash collection by David Weeks Studio.

Photo by Rachel Leiner THE MAKER

DEPARTMENTS 6

FALL 20 21

FEATURES

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GARDEN PROFILE: BOXES OF L ATE SUMMER LIGHT

By Mary Angeles Armstrong, Photos by Winona Barton-Ballentine

Master gardener Dean Riddle works botanical magic on 12 acres in Greene County in a garden redesign that pairs formal raised beds with a sense of wildness that spills into the landscape.

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HOME PROFILE: HOW SWEDE IT IS

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When builder and contractor Lawrence Mullane wanted to build a home outside Woodstock, he turned to his friend, architect Richard Pedranti, to help him realize his vision for a modern barn that pairs timber framing with contemporary touches.

When will the region’s housing supply begin to meet the demand?

THE SOURCE: FINCH HUDSON

THE MAKER: DAVID WEEKS STUDIO

The lighting designer unveils a new line at his Germantown studio.

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THE STUDIO: COUNTEREV

Bowling alleys are transformed into furniture in Kingston.

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THE SOURCE: LIZA PHILLIPS DESIGN

Modern design meets Himalayan handcrafting in Narrowsburg.

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AREA SPOTLIGHT: NEW PALTZ

Life against the backdrop of the Gunks is good, if expensive.

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AREA SPOTLIGHT: KINGSTON

New York’s first capital is a landing pad for urban remote workers.

HOME PROFILE: A LESSON IN COLL ABOR ATION

By Joan Vos MacDonald

MARKETWATCH: A PERMANENT IMBALANCE

A reimagined version of the lifestyle store in Hudson opened in June.

By Peter Aaron

A Newburgh couple buys a 19th-century farmhouse in the Sullivan County hamlet of Roscoe and hires Studio Den Den to transform it into a Scandanavian-style retreat.

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80 BACK PORCH: RENOVATED WRITER’S WORKSPACE

Architect David Burke transforms a detached garage in Beacon into a library/workspace for an author and bibliophile.

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THE MARKET I N D E X O F A DV ER T I S ER S / MAP OF THE REGION

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HOME IS WHERE THE ART IS

Outside Rhinebeck, architect Ira Grandberg designs an expansive home that’s also an exhibition space, fitness center, and state-of-the-art recording studio.

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ARCHITECTS & DESIGNERS GUIDE 51

Dream House A Survey of Unbuilt Architectural Designs

By Brian K. Mahoney

A look at some plans of projects that have not (yet) been built, plus commentary from the architects who designed them.

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M A RK ET WAT CH

A Permanent Imbalance?

L

ast year, when the Hudson Valley was deep in lockdown, the housing market was still booming. Sellers couldn’t get their homes on the market fast enough as buyers snatched up—in record speed—whatever became available. Bidding wars became the norm.

One year later, home resale inventory is at a record low and new construction has suffered from a shortage of supplies, workers, and even land to build on. What will it take for the housing market to return to a state of equilibrium between supply and demand? We checked in with some building and real estate leaders to find out what you can expect if you want to buy or build a home in the Hudson Valley anytime soon.

“I believe the market is near its apex,” says Joe Czajka, senior vice president for research, development, and community planning with Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress. According to Pattern’s second quarter Regional Housing Market Report, data shows the continuing trends of a strong seller’s market, with the amount of new listings increasing but inventory being sold faster than they appear. Research shows that homes under $275,000 are sorely needed.

The number of homes for sale was down 31.1 percent compared to the second quarter of 2020, ending with 3,829 fewer homes for sale than the same time last year.

“Prices will stabilize toward the end of the year as the demand subsides,” says Czajka. “Further, I think interest rates will likely rise and there will be a ‘return to the office,’ as remote work diminishes, which will temper the demographic shift from New York City and thereby influence demand. As goes New York City—so goes the Hudson Valley. Overall, demand will likely outpace supply for another 12 to 18 months.”

Chuck Petersheim, owner of home-building outfit Catskill Farms, also doesn’t see the market changing anytime soon. “I believe the supply and demand of housing in the Hudson Valley will remain unbalanced for the long term,” says Petersheim. “Even if a lot of new construction came onto the marketplace, that effort would be quickly diluted because there is not enough land available in the Hudson Valley to meet demand for new housing.”

Lisa Halter, principal broker/owner of Halter Associates Realty in Woodstock and Kingston, agrees that it’s going to take a long time to return to the days when there were plenty of homes available in all price ranges. “In addition to the rising costs and difficulty obtaining building materials, zoning requirements for some areas are onerous,” says Halter. “Many areas do not have town water or sewer, and each lot is unique, requiring individual engineering and architecture as opposed to old-style subdivisions on level parcels.”

Halter suggests that zoning requirements should be updated to allow for more cluster developments. “The old-school style of building one house on three- or fiveacre parcels creates sprawl and isn’t environmentally friendly,” she says. “But there’s always a tension between providing needed housing and preserving the open spaces that make the Hudson Valley so desirable in the first place.”

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“The problem lies in the fact that there eventually becomes only two types of housing—the more affordable home that was built many years ago to house people permanently living in the area and the posh homes of the wealthy weekenders.”

—Andrew Mason A New Class of Locals The region has always been a popular second home location for New York metro residents, and Andrew Mason, New York Area Developer for Green Homes Builders USA, says that during the pandemic, these people decided to live here permanently.

“Many of those with their main residence in the Hudson Valley are staying put for now,” says Mason, who explains that this disparity between local residents and the wealthy weekenders is both a blessing and a curse.

“These weekenders’ voracious consumption has allowed many local businesses to thrive and has helped many previously less-gentrified towns and cities to flourish,” he says. “The problem lies in the fact that there eventually becomes only two types of housing— the more affordable home that was built many years ago to house people permanently living in the area and the posh homes of the wealthy weekenders.”

Unfortunately, he continues, the pandemic has only exacerbated this situation, though it could help to create an affordable housing initiative. “Builders and developers can help change the affordable housing shortage by building attached homes, multifamily dwellings, and smaller, energy-efficient, singlefamily, green homes; and many are doing just that,” says Mason. “Any builders or developers who began some type of housing project because of or during the pandemic may still be in the approval and permitting process, so that new inventory can’t yet be considered.”

When asked, “When will the market return to normal?” Czajka answers by saying that the new normal needs to be defined. “In today’s new technical and digital age and speed of marketing a property, there’s essentially no ramp-up period to get a home in front of potential buyers,” he says. “A home can easily be widely marketed within a few days. Therefore, the six-month rule of a balanced market should be dropped to four months.”

“Regardless of the market being in a state of equilibrium or not—prices have risen to new heights and buying a home in the Hudson Valley is costly and we are in a housing crisis,” says Czajka.

Looking into the future with a crystal ball Czajka says he wishes he had, he urges local leaders, municipal boards, and decision makers to “embrace the demand for housing, address the needs of essential workers, and foster the ability to build affordable options for people to live in the communities in which they work.”

—Lisa Iannucci

EDITORIAL EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Brian K. Mahoney brian.mahoney@chronogram.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR David Clark Perry david.perry@chronogram.com DIGITAL EDITOR Marie Doyon SPONSORED CONTENT EDITOR Ashleigh Lovelace CONTRIBUTORS Peter Aaron, Mary Angeles Armstrong, Winona Barton-Ballentine, Anne Pyburn Craig, Jacqueline Gill, Lisa Iannucci, Tracy Kaler, Joan MacDonald, Will Solomon, Kathleen Willcox PUBLISHING CO-FOUNDER & CEO Amara Projansky CO-FOUNDER Jason Stern CHAIR David Dell Upstate House is a project of Chronogram Media.

ADVERTISING & MARKETING (845) 334-8600 MEDIA SPECIALISTS Kelin Long-Gaye kelin.long-gaye@chronogram.com Kris Schneider kschneider@chronogram.com DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Lisa Montanaro lisa.montanaro@chronogram.com MARKETING MARKETING & EVENTS MANAGER Margot Isaacs margot.isaacs@chronogram.com ADMINISTRATIVE FINANCE MANAGER Nicole Clanahan accounting@chronogram.com PRODUCTION PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Kerry Tinger kerry@chronogram.com PRODUCTION DESIGNERS Kate Brodowska, Amy Dooley

ChronogramMedia CHRONOGRAM MEDIA 45 Pine Grove Avenue, Kingston, NY 12401 (845) 334-8600 | fax (845) 334-8610 chronogrammedia.com All contents © Chronogram Media 2021

427 warren, hudson, ny • finchhudson.com @ finchhudson.com

S U S TA I N A B L E • PA S S I V E • N E T Z E R O NEW HOMES • ADDITIONS 8 45 679 2130 • WILLIAMWALL ACECONSTRUC TION .COM

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THE S O U RCE FINCH H U D S O N

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ndrew Arrick and Michael Hofemann’s journey with their meticulously curated home goods emporium Finch, in many ways, reflects what has been happening on a much larger scale within the town of Hudson itself. High highs, low lows, and a sense of giddy hope for the future.

The partners in business and life opened the first iteration of Finch eight years ago on Warren Street, after purchasing a weekend home here about 15 years ago. (They purchased a new home about year ago, and live here full-time now.)

“We saw an opportunity to create a retail space in Hudson that did more than sell goods,” says Arrick, explaining that his 25 years working in luxury fashion houses like Yves Saint Laurent and Vera Wang, and his work as a consultant and merchandiser for brands like J. Crew, informed the aesthetic he wanted to bring to Hudson. Hofemann, meanwhile, brought his background in marketing, operations, and finance to their business.

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“I handle the visual side of the business, he focuses on making it work,” Arrick says. “It has always been a great balance. And we both love to do sourcing. Michael has an amazing eye, especially for the furniture we source from Scandinavia and across Europe.”

Together, their love of travel, antiques, art, and furniture, and their determination to do more than just “sell goods,” come together in a distinctly American store, with European flair and that sizzle of sensual pleasure that can upgrade a day of casual browsing into a memorable, even artful experience.

Their touchstones when planning Finch were the “energy, spirit, and juxtaposition of high and low culture found at Merci in Paris or the Dover Street Market [in Manhattan],” he explains. “We wanted it to be an experience, from the mix of items available, to walking around the store, to the music, which Michael curates.”

But even while pouring energy and love into

Finch, like so many other New York City-based professionals and creatives who launch a business in the Hudson Valley, they still held on to their jobs and lives in Manhattan. “We actually traded on and off who was focusing full-time on Finch, and who had another full-time job in the city,” Arrick recalls.

That all ground to a halt, like everything else, just as the pandemic kicked off. Arrick’s contract with J. Crew was up and they were in the awful position of having no full-time paycheck, while, at the same time, having to close up their store due to COVID. But amid the storm clouds, a silver lining. “It became clear early on that people from the city were moving to Hudson full-time,” Arrick says. “It has been happening for a few years, but then the floodgates opened. Weekenders moved up here full time, and we got an entirely new group of people as well.”

Indeed, out of 926 metro areas examined by the New York Times in an April 2021 piece looking at

The store is designed as a series of mini room vignettes to allow customers to envision how they might interact with the furnishings in their own space.

Opposite: Andrew Arrick and Michael Hofemann in the new incarnation of Finch Hudson.

FINCHHUDSON.COM

fleeing city dwellers, Hudson was one of the top places they were landing.

Pre-plague, Arrick and Hofemann planned to open a clothing and lifestyle offshoot of their store, dubbed finch clubhouse. It was a grooming version of their home store, with clothing, accouterments, and a full-service barbershop opened in partnership with Kingston-based Pugsly’s. While it did open in March of 2020, the timing was initially horrendous. “But we wanted to bring everything under one roof, and we realized that the pandemic was actually turning into the perfect time to do it,” he says. “We found a phenomenal 7,000-square-foot space in the former police precinct [427 Warren Street], down the street from our former stores. We’re renting, and we’ve been lucky to find a landlord who understands our vision, and has allowed us to rebuild it from the ground up. Unlike a retail store where you move in, we were able to decide how every element of the interior would be developed, so we were imprinting our vision on the space, instead of vice versa.”

And what a vision: Finch now offers every object one might want, from grooming essentials and clothing for men to furniture, under one rigorously curated roof.

The mid-century brick building has been outfitted with a Workstead-designed glass facade, concrete floors, steel beams, skylights to welcome in the sunlight.

On the ground floor, Arrick has created mini room vignettes “so people can imagine living their lives in them,” with Finch’s signature blend of haute Scandiminimalistic finds, timeless antiques, post-modern textiles, and funky-chic modern home goods. In the back, there’s the barbershop and clothing. Prices for goods range from $50 to $10,000.

Business is booming. “We have enjoyed exponential growth, because so many people have bought homes,” he says.

What’s next? “Our landlord is in negotiations with the city to add 2,000 square feet of space,” he says. “Now that would really be something.” Indeed.

—­Kathleen Willcox upstate HOUSE

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T HE M A K ER DAV ID W EEK S S T U D IO

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A three-tiered fixture from the Whiplash collection, which debuted this summer at the Germantown location of David Weeks Studio.

Opposite: David Weeks in his Brooklyn studio.

Photos by Rachel Leiner

F

rom a design perspective, David Weeks sees form and function as not only existing side by side, but equally critical; from an artistic perspective, he approaches his work as if it were sculpture. “I make one of something, and I’m not really concerned about how I’m going to make it again,” the Brooklyn-based designer explains of a process that’s not only pragmatic but also very much in the moment—as evidenced in the Whiplash Collection.

Unveiled in May, at the David Weeks Foundry in Germantown, the Art Nouveau-inspired collection takes its name from the sinuous lines that came to define an era more than a century ago. The collection—the first from David Weeks Studio to feature blown glass—repurposes an ornamental flourish as functional with signature minimalism and ease. The end result is what Weeks calls an open-ended dialogue between material and form.

“Materials dictate strength. Strength dictates structure.

Repetition quantifies proof of concept,” the artist explains, pointing to a contemporary who once said his favorite design is the one that’s about to break. “[In other words], it’s designed so dead-on-the-money that it works, but it’s not overbuilt in any way,” Weeks explains. In fact, he welcomes loose ends that help advance a project.

“Designing for yourself can be contradictory,” he explains, akin to having two jobs, where one is tasked to resolve the very same problems one creates—a process for Weeks that ultimately clarifies his understanding of art and design.

The Whiplash Collection, marked by piercing elegance and modernism, stands in stark contrast to the quotidian chandelier. “Glass is inevitable,” Weeks says, pointing

to the partnership between light and glass, glass and light. This, after years working with metal, proved a welcome respite. “Working with glass is a totally different experience,” Weeks says of the three-year collaboration with Brooklyn glassblower Michiko Sakano. The collection features six configurations of a modular design—employing complementary elements including very fragile pearls of glass and engineering that hinge on counterweights— ranging from a solo pendant to a five-tier fixture.

David Weeks Studio was founded in 1996 as an umbrella for the designer’s diverse interests. What began as a core group of elemental lighting fixtures has evolved into a product line featuring furniture, accessories, and installations. Regardless of the medium, Weeks leans into the process: namely, examining the materials, understanding the particular situation in which the designer finds himself, and making the best of what he has.

“I think Whiplash did it,” Weeks declares of the yield from his partnership with Sakano: a solid piece that is sincere, honest, and speaks to what they aspired to do in the first place. The Whiplash Collection is an electrifying dance between delicacy and dynamism, energy and poise; one that reflects the feminine coils and curves of the natural world. When compared with art, Weeks does not mince words: “Design is more disciplined, more calculated, and not as instinctual.” It is, according to Weeks, a more complete way of thinking.

—Hannah Van Sickle DAVIDWEEKSSTUDIO.COM upstate HOUSE

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THE S T U D IO CO U N T EREV

Double Z Console in khaki stain with inlaid black walnut arrows.

J

im Malone didn’t set out to be a furniture maker. Originally from the Jersey Shore, Malone moved to the Lower East Side in 1995 to make music. “I was working for a small music production company but business was a little slow, so we got into dubbing English language versions of anime,” he says, describing his early career. His company was contracted to dub Pokémon’s American incarnation, and Malone worked as a cartoon producer and voice director for several years. In 2007, however, “the company I was working for—the bottom sort of dropped out, and I was laid off.”

It was around this time that Malone turned to woodworking, a craft he had begun to hone while building a log cabin in Catskill in the early 2000s. “I needed to get some green in my life, which I think a lot more people are relating to these days,” Malone says, describing the process of constructing a retreat in the Hudson Valley.

That’s where I really cut my teeth in woodworking, and also learned about what at the time was [becoming more popular], which is the use of reclaimed wood.”

The inherent sustainability of repurposing wood—and utilizing non-toxic, zero-VOC oil finishes—is integral to the work Malone and his team do at Kingston-based CounterEv Home.

And they don’t just use any reclaimed wood: CounterEv’s products are largely made from reclaimed heart pine sourced from decommis-

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sioned bowling alleys. “I really fell in love with the wood,” says Malone, relating how heart pine was “used in almost all bowling lanes that were built before 1980 or the late `70s—various Southern old growth pine, stuff that’s not even around anymore.”

The minimalist beauty and long grain of the repurposed wood is at the center of the company’s approach. “The wood itself has suggested many of our designs,” Malone adds, which include two main furniture lines: Modern Rustic (all wood) and Splashups (wood and steel). Prices start at $295 for most small tables and stools, and continue upward for dining and kitchen tables, desks, easy chairs, benches, and a number of other products. Smaller items—cheeseboards, coasters, and other accessories—start around $30. All CounterEv Home items are viewable online.

“We take the lanes completely apart, clean everything up, and then we put it back together with the designs that we’ve created.” Malone says, describing the process of building from decommissioned lanes. He lists modernist and Japanese architecture as influences, noting his “goal as a designer is always [to pursue] minimalism by utilizing the strength of the materials— wood and steel—for support, rather than adding more structural elements.” A master woodworker and steelworker—whom Malone describes as the “cornerstones of the company,” and have been with him for over 10 years—assist him in

this work, along with a rotating crew of laborers that they train.

Malone emphasizes his previous career in the music industry as another source of inspiration: “I’m a firm believer that if you spend enough time pursuing some art, whatever medium or discipline it is, it’s going to inform whatever else you try to do. I feel like my experience as a musician [gave me] a perspective in design that was a little more informed than it would have been if I just decided all of the sudden I wanted to be a furniture designer.”

CounterEv has worked heavily in the commercial field—originally producing counters (hence the company name)—and has created tables for companies like Shake Shack, Starbucks, Sweetgreen, and others. The pandemic spurred a shift toward residential work—a change that Malone has eagerly embraced with CounterEv Home.

“The thing that I enjoy the most is making furniture for people’s homes,” he says. “It’s just much more interesting work. We’ve done some amazing commercial work, and we’ve had great commercial clients. But there’s really nothing more satisfying than when we hear from a customer from five or eight years ago who says, you know, their CounterEv table is their prized possession.”

“From a design perspective,” he continues, “I find the things that people want in their homes are a little more interesting and adventurous.”

Along with their standard lines of furniture—

all handmade—CounterEv Home offers and encourages customized orders from homeowners: countertops, shelving units, beds, banquettes, benches, and more. “We’re trying to encourage people to come to us with built-in or design ideas. Anybody with an idea—get in touch, ‘cause we’re open.”

Asked if he’s concerned about running out of bowling alley wood, Malone says no—for now, noting a network of countrywide contacts who alert him to newly available lanes. “That used to be the first question that people asked,” he says, laughing. “If it does happen, I feel like the designs will transfer to other wood species. For now, we’ve got a good supply, [and we’re] happy to continue using it.”

Malone particularly looks forward to connecting with more homeowners in the Hudson Valley: “For a long time we’ve been sort of a Brooklyn company that’s been manufacturing in Kingston, and I feel like now we’re a Kingston company. I feel much more rooted in the area.”

“Especially after the last year, I’ve spent a lot more time in Catskill at our cabin, and my family has as well,” he explains. “I’m definitely looking to continue that and hopefully make a lot more furniture for the people in the area.”

—Will Solomon

Above: Stacks of reclaimed bowling lane sections in CounterEv Home’s Kingston studio.

Below: The Squaresville 3-piece coffee table with arrow inlays in raw stain with a pebble gray powder-coated base.

COUNTEREVHOME.COM

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TH E M AK ER LIZ A PH ILLIPS DESIG N

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Treads from Liza Phillips Design’s Solar collection. Based in Narrowsburg, Phillips has all of her rug designs handmade in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal.

he best ideas arrive because you need something for yourself and it hasn’t been invented yet,” says Liza Phillips, founder of Liza Phillips Design, the Narrowsburg studio where she designs area rugs handmade in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal.

When Phillips removed an old rag runner from the steps of her upstate home, instead of installing another stair runner, she envisioned an individually bound rug on every tread.

“That could be a modular idea,” she thought at the time. And so “Alto Steps”—a collection of handmade tread rugs with designs ranging from textures to stripes to geometrics—was born.

An unexpected name for area rugs, Alto Steps is based on a musical concept, according to Phillips. “It’s a transition from one floor to the next like a musical scale, an octave.” The entrepreneur debuted the line in 2006 with just three patterns, but Alto Steps has grown steadily since.

These days, she offers 18 in-stock choices as well as countless custom options, with bespoke styles coming to fruition through her partnerships with interior designers and the public. upstate HOUSE

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“Most of my clients—designers and individuals—already like some of the designs and need an adaptation of the colors in my collection,” she says. “I create new designs, but they are based on my aesthetic.” And while Phillips doesn’t shy away from color, she is drawn to certain hues. “I steer clear of red and prefer orange and green and an earthier palette.”

From Consumer to Creator Originally from Washington, DC, Phillips spent much of her time in New York City before settling upstate in 2004, also when she launched Liza Phillips Design, which one could say was kismet. In 2001, the entrepreneur was living and working part-time in Manhattan, but purchased a Craftsman-style farmhouse in Narrowsburg. On the hunt for an area rug to brighten the home’s dim living room, she wandered into a Greenwich Village shop only to discover a rug she loved. But to her surprise, the store owner suggested she design her own rug. Thereafter, Phillips went on to create a multicolored Mondrian-themed carpet for her home upstate. “That was the first rug,” she recalls. “The owner invited me to design a few more rugs that he would put in his shop’s window, and so I started the business.”

Even though floor coverings were new territory for Phillips, creativity was not. She majored Art History at Vassar College before receiving her MFA from Chelsea College of Art and Design in London. As an artist, she had painted, sculpted, and made prints her entire life, but it was her art and decor-inspired upbringing that led her to the world of interiors. “My grandparents and parents collected a lot of modern furniture, and that was a huge influence for me,” she muses. “The shapes were fantastic! The way I design rugs and the way I go about paintings feels innate in many ways.”

Treads from Liza Phillips Design’s Solana collection.

Hitting the High Note Phillips gleans some of her inspiration from everyday life. For instance, she came up with one of her patterns while cross-country skiing, snapping a photo in the woods.

“Barberry bush branches against the snow were stark and beautifully graphic,” she remembers. ‘Barberry’ designs are based on that.”

All of her rugs are hand-knotted and most are constructed from Himalayan wool, as it’s the most resilient and sustainable fiber. But some are hemp or nettle (a weed plant growing throughout the country), and others include silk. As an importer, her company remains committed to environmental and fair trade practices and is a certified member of GoodWeave International (formerly Rugmark), a network of nonprofit organizations devoted to stopping child labor in the rug industry and encouraging education. A portion of her brand’s profits goes to schools in India and Nepal.

While the Alto Steps collection features unique motifs, showcases the natural beauty of wood, and blends aesthetically with myriad design styles, these individual carpet pieces are meant to be functional. Ultimately, they soften impact and noise, and prevent people and pets from slipping on the stairs. A special adhesive grips the textile to the wood tread without damaging it, holding it securely in place.

Phillips says carpet tape also works well. “We are concerned about making stairs safer than they were before,” she adds.

The designer treads are sold in sets of 12 or as individuals and can be mixed and matched to create unique combinations. The standard size is 26 inches by 9 inches with wider steps measuring 36 inches x 9.5 inches. Prices start at $97 for a single step and $1,112 for 12 treads and go up from there. Flatweaves are less expensive, starting at $45 per tread. Custom sizes and shapes, such as winders, are available, too. Standard sizes can ship as quickly as a week, with custom orders taking up to 14 weeks or longer.

To see her work in person or create a bespoke design, make an appointment to visit the Narrowsburg studio.

—Tracy Kaler LIZAPHILLIPSDESIGN.COM

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COM M U N IT Y

NEW PALTZ Village of Vitality

By Anne Pyburn Craig

W

ith its central village set on a hillside that rolls to the river and looks out past fertile fields to the Shawangunks and a still-rural town surrounding it, New Paltz inspires fierce love in lifetime residents, students and visitors alike. Squabbles arise, passions run high, work is done, solutions found, and civic life advances with better-than-average exuberance and grace.

Exhibit A: A neighborhood dustup lit the spark that has become Historic Huguenot Street.

Descendants of the original patentees cherished their pre-1750s ’hood by the river just the way it was, but Abraham Deyo Brodhead and his wife Gertrude wanted to turn their two-room stone farmhouse into a Queen Anne Revival.

The neighbors fussed. So the Brodheads helped cofound the Huguenot Patriotic, Historical, and Monumental Society in 1894, preempting future architectural shenanigans, and other houses remained as their colonial crafters intended.

Around that same time, Mohonk Mountain House builder/owner Albert Smiley was organizing international intellectual symposia in hopes of finding solutions to racism and war, believing that the beauty of his sky lake might inspire. A teachers’ college planted up 18

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the hill blossomed into an outstanding state university with a topnotch art museum, research foundation, and world-class 3-D print lab.

Smiley’s descendants are still inviting people to the mountaintop to reason together. And the eyepopping remodel Abe and Gertrude pulled off is vintage by now in its own right.

Historic Huguenot Street, heir to that early organization, has thrown its arms around the whole truth, networking with present-day Esopus Munsee, researching the lives of enslaved people, women, and poor folk, making a mind-bending prism of what, in lesser hands, would be a quaint collection of architecture.

“People use the space all the time,” says Historic Huguenot Street Marketing Director Frances Vigna. “It’s a beautiful park-like neighborhood, away from the hustle and bustle. Schools use it for music classes, parents nurse babies on our front porches, people walk dogs and ride bikes—it’s a communal backyard. Halloween is my personal favorite. We give out thousands of candies and then it turns into a big parade.”

Cornerstone organizations of this caliber, alongside generations of creatives, business folk, thinkers and lovers of all stripes, collaborate on the quirky work of art that is New Paltz.

The Scene Independent businesses flourish here. Some, like Handmade and More, P&G’s Restaurant, the Mark Gruber Gallery, and Kon Tiki Trading Post, have been thriving for decades.

People gather for outdoor movies, book discussions, open-air market days, fairgrounds events (besides the Ulster County Fair, the Woodstock New Paltz Arts and Crafts Fair happens here), protest marches, impassioned board meetings, and the annual Thanksgiving Turkey Trot 5K for Family of New Paltz. Downtown fills with live music and revelry on weekend nights.

It’s foodie paradise. “The hardest thing to let go of is the Park Slope Food Co-Op,” says Kristen Leonard, who moved from Brooklyn to the New Paltz area just last year. “But we’re about to cut the cord. We planted a big garden this year, and the Health and Nutrition Center is great. And Tops Market has a lot of organic items. It’s been a pleasant surprise.”

Leonard and her husband bought their upstate retreat as a second home, only to find themselves all in and loving it. “We weren’t even tired of the city,” Leonard says, “but the outdoor experience here is so rich. Our daughter’s a big hiker and she loves it here so much she’s moved into our accessory apartment.”

THE FACTS ZIP CODE: 12561 POPULATION: 14,214 MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME: $76,335 DISTANCE TO MAJOR CITY: New Paltz is 83.5 miles from Manhattan

TRANSPORTATION: Adirondack Trailways offers frequent bus service to Manhattan and Albany. UlsterPoughkeepsie LINK busses connect to Amtrak and Metro-North. New Paltz is located at Exit 18 off the Thruway, which feeds directly onto Main Street.

NEAREST HOSPITAL: Vassar Brothers Medical Center is 12 miles away in Poughkeepsie; HealthAlliance Hospital is 14 miles away in Kingston.

SCHOOLS: Students attend Duzine Elementary through second grade and Lenape Elementary for grades three through five, then move on to New Paltz Middle School and New Paltz High School. Mountain Laurel Waldorf School serves children in grades pre-K through eight.

POINTS OF INTEREST: Mohonk Mountain House, Mohonk Preserve, Minnewaska State Park, Water Street Market, Denizen Theatre, SUNY at New Paltz, Historic Huguenot Street, Shawangunk Ridge, Samuel F. Dorsky Art Museum, Mark Gruber Gallery, D. M. Weil Gallery, John R. Kirk Planetarium, Imperial Guitar & Soundworks, Living Seed Yoga & Holistic Health Huckleberry is a relaxed bar/eatery hidden in plain sight on charming Church Street.

Photo by Roy Gumpel Opposite: The River-to-Ridge Trail connects downtown New Paltz with Mohonk Preserve.

Photo by Fionn Reilly

Center, Integrative Healing Arts, Coppersea Distillers, Shawangunk Wine Trail, Tuthilltown Distillery, New Paltz Rock Yoga, Twin Star Orchards/Brooklyn Cider House, Lagusta’s Luscious, Hokkaido, The Bakery, Rocking Horse Ranch, One EPIC Place, Dressel Farms,

Vigna loves it when Historic Huguenot Street visitors ask her for suggestions of what else to do. “The Empire State Trail connecting to the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail has opened up the possibilities for hiking and biking,” she says, “and meanwhile, we’re minutes from Water Street Market and downtown, with all kinds of choices. I’m fond of Lagusta’s Luscious Commissary and Mudd Puddle Coffee Roasters.

You can grab stuff and bring it back down to our outdoor tables. Or if you want a gourmet dinner and craft cocktails, you can go down the street to Garvin’s Gastropub and eat in yet another historic 18th-century stone house.”

Mixed-use development happening along North Chestnut Street, which runs parallel to Huguenot Street, will expand and enhance the village’s vitality.

The Market Finding the right New Paltz nest is a challenge right now, but it can be done. “We’ve had a rush of people all at once, and we’re dealing with the lowest inventory we’ve had in years,” says realtor Jaynie Marie Aristeo. “Things that had been sitting, in foreclosure—they’ve all been getting bought up. An especially desirable house might last three days; it’ll go on the market Thursday, have 50 people look at it, 20 will come in person, and it’s selling to the ‘highest and best’ offer by Monday. It’s challenging.”

On the market at press time for under $200,000: a scant handful of condos, about a dozen parcels of land, and a single 1,100-squarefoot farmhouse on just over two acres. An adorable, tiny, two-bedroom brick cottage in a coveted village location was offered for $279,000.

Between $300,000 and $400,000—mostly closer to $400,000—were ranch-style threeand four-bedroom homes and a smattering of Colonials around town. Larger, more elaborate homes with over 2,000 square feet of living space, a couple of farmhouses, and a lone contemporary were offered under $600,000.

Showing at $750,000 was a stylish fourbedroom Tudor beside the 200-acre Millbrook nature preserve, nearly 3,500 square feet with custom two-story staircase curving up from the entry hall, quartz countertops, and a pearshaped in-ground pool. At closer to a million were a handful of places with acreage and/or square footage.

Aristeo isn’t kidding—inventory is low, and listings are flipping from “for sale” to “pending” at a steady pace. “If you’re not in a rush, it can be fine, but if you have a deadline, it can be intensely frustrating,” says Aristeo. “Cash buyers have a huge advantage over anyone who needs an appraisal and a mortgage, and most buyers will experience more than one rejection.

It’s just plain difficult to buy a home here right now regardless of your price point.”

Wallkill View Farms, Wright’s Farms, Nyquist-Harcourt Wildlife Sanctuary, Bicycle Depot, Handmade & More, Bacchus, P&Gs, Snug Harbor Bar and Grill, Garvin’s Gastropub, New Paltz Golf Course, Fuschia Tiki Bar, Schatzi’s Pub, A Tavola Trattoria, Main Course Catering, Huckleberry, Wallkill Valley Rail Trail.

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COM M U N N IT Y

KINGSTON

K

ingston’s a place where many divergent forces come together, starting with the Catskills, the Rondout Creek, and the mighty Hudson. The Dutch established a trading post here in 1614, trading with the locals and (no doubt unwittingly) positioning the city perfectly for a lot of drama that followed.

Forty years later, Europeans introduced the notion of buying and selling land, and trouble erupted. Tensions over trade and land use grew and New Amsterdam Director-General Peter Stuyvesant commanded a move up the hill and inland and built a fort, and the big fences did not make better neighbors. The bloody Esopus Wars that followed the building of the Stockade lasted until 1663, when the Dutch declared victory.

The fortified zone was renamed Kingston when the Brits took over. In 1777, Kingston was deemed the safest spot for the capital of the emerging state of New York, and so the state’s constitution and early governance emerged from a public house within the Stockade, which British forces attacked and burned later that year. Buildings and wheat were destroyed, but the humans survived to rebuild.

In the 1820s, the D&H Canal transformed the Rondout settlement into a bustling port, moving 20

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Hottest Hot Spot

By Anne Pyburn Craig Photos by Anna Sirota

tons of coal, cement, bricks, bluestone, and ice. You can still find chunks of Kingston-made brick mixed with the sand of Kingston Point Beach; uptown, traces of the outline of the fortification remain along with a wealth of preserved stone buildings.

Over many decades, the area between the Stockade and the Rondout port grew into a neighborhood full of factories, schools, and hospitals amid low-slung narrow streets of mostly Victorian-style homes. Kingston spent 40 years of the 20th century as an IBM town, and when the company left in the early ’90s, the city’s economy took a body blow. Gradually, art and hospitality and indie commerce have arisen to fill the void. In today’s Kingston, factories have been repurposed as housing and studio space for creatives, and facades are seasoned with gorgeous murals from the innovative O+ Festival. Where dock workers once toiled there are restaurants and tour boats— including the Solaris, a 100 percent-solar-powered vessel created right here at the Hudson River Maritime Museum.

The Scene Artist Anne Sanger found her dream house in Hurley and moved north from Brooklyn in 2018; in 2019, the corporate-world refugee opened

Pinkwater Gallery on North Front Street. “I just felt like Kingston had so much to offer, and I’m loving it,” she says. “Best decision I ever made besides getting my dog.”

She’s found loads to eat within walking distance.

“Le Canard Enchaine is just like being in Paris,” she says. “Boitson’s is my favorite place for a martini, and the Stockade Tavern is always great.

For lunch I love Board and Lola Pizza. Then there’s Rough Draft Bar and Books, kinda the gold standard in my world.”

Sanger loves the curation and finds at Upstate Capital Market and Lovefield Vintage. “Then for dressy stuff, there’s River Mint Finery for gorgeous designer things. I also love the Conscious Co. Boutique,” she says. “And North Front Gallery has wonderfully inspiring high-end artwork.”

Midtown, where revitalization lagged as the Stockade and Rondout neighborhoods rose, has become the city’s preeminent arts district, a natural consequence of the conversions of the Lace Mill and three former factories into artist-friendly housing and studio space, and a plethora of new eateries there have joined stalwarts like Frank Guido’s Little Italy and Monkey Joe Roasting Company; communityforward establishments like Seasoned Delicious

THE FACTS ZIP CODE: 12401 POPULATION: 22,479 MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME: $51,299 PROXIMITY TO MAJOR CITY: 100 miles from New York City; 56 miles from Albany

TRANSPORTATION: Kingston is accessible by Exit 19 on Interstate 87. Adirondack Trailways buses stop in Kingston. The nearest Amtrak station is 11 miles away in Rhinecliff. Nineteen miles away in Poughkeepsie, both Amtrak and Metro-North stop. Ulster County Area Transit (UCAT) buses run throughout Kingston and to New Paltz and Saugerties.

NEAREST HOSPITAL: HealthAlliance Hudson Valley operates hospital campuses on Broadway and on Mary’s Avenue.

SCHOOLS: The Kingston City School District includes seven elementary schools, two middle schools, and a high school. Private schools include John A. Coleman Catholic High School, Kingston Catholic School, St. Joseph’s Elementary, Good Shepherd Christian, Immaculate Conception, and Top Taste Caribbean restaurant in Midtown Kingston Opposite: Mariner’s Harbor restaurant on the Roundout Creek

Wiltwyck Montessori.

POINTS OF INTEREST: Ulster Performing Arts Center, Senate House State Historic Site, Kingston Maritime Museum, Rondout Lighthouse, Pine Street African Burial Ground, Reher Center for Immigrant Culture and History, Stockade District,

Foods and Tilda’s Kitchen and Market bring globally inspired and locally crafted fare to the table. The Ulster Performing Arts Center has a relatively new neighbor in Energy Square, a deep-green mixed-income apartment building that’s also home to the Center for Creative Education.

Down the hill by the Rondout you’ll find more art, food, and fun, including the Hudson River Maritime Museum and Kingston Trolley Museum, in addition to luxury cabin lodging and dining on the river at Hutton Brickyards.

The Market “Kingston’s on a roll,” says Hayes Clement, a realtor with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services. “It was a seller’s market even before COVID, and now it’s on fire. My advice would be to come prepared to make an aggressive offer and have your ducks in a row as far as financing.

And if you buy something that needs work, be prepared for a bit of a wait to get a contractor— depending on the scale of the reno, you might wait six months to a year.”

Move-in-ready homes are being snapped up almost overnight. “They’re at a premium,” says Clement. “We’re seeing six figures over

the asking price on ones that are done-donedone. Overall, inventory is low given the level of demand. There may be a few more properties this fall, but still not enough, really. Four or five years ago, $500,000 for a house in Kingston was unusual; now it’s commonplace, and we’re starting to get into the 800s.”

At press time, there were a few foreclosures and fixer-uppers and some building sites priced at under $200,000. Between there and $450,000, there were some three- and four-bedroom midtown Colonials and a few ranch-style homes on the outskirts. Between $400,000 and $600,000, one begins to encounter architecturally significant homes in better shape, on larger lots. A pristine Queen Anne Victorian in the Rondout district, priced at $834,900, features four bedrooms with gobs of original oak and cherry, stained glass, original moldings, and a balcony along with fully modernized kitchen and a wine cave.

And for $1,190,000 (or somewhere near it), someone will become the proud owner of a five-bedroom tastefully constructed palace on 9.5 acres atop a hill, featuring a gourmet chef’s kitchen, 1,000 square foot entertainment and fitness space, and in-ground pool.

Forsyth Nature Center, Matthewis Persen House Museum, Kingston Point Beach, Old Dutch Church, Rondout-West Strand Historic District, Kingston Point Rail Trail.

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GA RD EN PRO FILE

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The 1906 home sits high on a mountainous slope in Greene County. The large, east-facing raised beds are easily accessed from the home’s kitchen.

Opposite: Dean Riddle at the entrance of the thriving 12-acre garden he designed and planted a decade ago.

Purple ornamental alliums flower at the entrance.

BOXES OF LATE SUMMER LIGHT A Master Gardener’s High Catskills Creation Photos by Winona Barton-Ballentine

D

ean Riddle is reveling in the last of the summer phlox. The five-foot-tall semi-wild plants, bursting with ample pink blossoms, cover the Catskills through the second half of summer, graciously offering their nectar to butterflies and their beauty to anyone who will pause long enough to notice. This year, Riddle observes, has been a great year for the plant. “It’s been the best summer phlox to come along in forever,” he says. “Its spicy fragrance is intoxicating and its blue-pink color is stunning, particularly at dawn or dusk—it’s been heart-stopping.”

For Riddle, a master gardener who has been creating and tending landscapes in the Catskills for three decades, this heightened awareness for natural detail is more than an occupational hazard—it’s an outgrowth of his living artistry.

Born in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Riddle was raised in South Carolina, where he took to cultivating his parents’ flowerbeds at a young age. After working at a plant nursery in high school, he went on to study horticulture in North Carolina and then completed a year-long internship at Hillier Nurseries in the UK. He made his way to the Catskills in the late `80s and developed an almost instant affinity for the mountainous region so similar to his birthplace. “Its rocky and hardscrabble but also lush and beautiful,” Riddle explains. “Rather like life itself.” He soon moved to the area full-time and began tending local gardens professionally. “Once I settled here and put down roots, and began a garden of my own, the place really found me,” Riddle says. “I like to say, ‘Home is where the garden is.’”

Riddle’s current infatuation with phlox notwithstanding, he doesn’t really have favorite plants. “Context is everything,” he explains. “It all depends on what the situation, the garden—be it meadow, a woodland, or even a flower pot—calls for.” Rather,

it’s the act of creating and tending to the natural world that serves as his muse. “The tactile and deeply emotional and spiritual connection to nature and flora and all the physical world—sound, scent, light, movement, the cycle of the seasons—is gained through my personal creativity,” he explains.

Case in point: this 12-acre garden property nestled on the high slopes of Greene County. The owner first approached Riddle 10 years ago, wanting a planted screen to separate the property’s long entrance from the main lawn, as well as a planned garden for the eastern side of the 1906 home. For the entrance drive, Riddle planted 30 Amelanchier trees, locally known as serviceberry, mixed with a few native redbud trees.

Ten years on, the native trees now form a canopy above the entrance way, with a shrub layer of Clethras, or summer-sweet, hydrangeas, and Fothergillas beneath.

At the eastern edge of the house, Riddle planted a full-sun garden on two levels. The upper raised bed garden is enclosed with a picket fence crafted from vertically arranged saplings collected from the nearby woods. “The raised beds have a semi-formal layout filled to overflowing with a loose, very informal mix of herbaceous plants in mauve, purple, blue, and white,” Riddle explains. “All of it peaks in the high summer.”

Three steps down, the second garden “is a sprawling bluestone terrace laced through with creeping thyme,” says Riddle. “It’s the perfect place for dining and entertaining or just taking in the splendid mountain views.” When pondering the passage of time and the growth of his creation, Riddle draws from the words of the philosopher-gardener Fernando Caruncho. “He calls gardens caja de luz, or boxes of light,” says Riddle. “For me, that says everything.”

—Mary Angeles Armstrong upstate HOUSE

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Purple poppies burst from the flower mix in the English-style garden.

Below: Riddle divided the garden with wide gravel pathways for easy access and plenty of space for strolling among the plants.

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Riddle planted creeping thyme between the pavers and steps of the lower garden.

The thyme complements the weathered bluestone and smells heavenly when crushed underfoot.

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The rustic picket fence was made with black locust wood.

The fence also does double duty as a trellis for flowering vines.

Above: A modern take on an Adirondack chair is partially hidden in a corner of the garden.

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SP O NSO R E D

VIEWS FOR YEARS 4 Questions to Ask Before Replacing Your Windows

I

f you’ve been dreaming of replacing your windows, you may already know that it can be quite an undertaking.

Whether you’re looking to start a major renovation or want to upgrade your windows for increased comfort and a more modern look, there’s an array of choices that go into any replacement project.

To learn more about the process, we turned to the pros at Williams Lumber and Home Centers, the Hudson Valley’s premier dealer of Marvin windows and doors. With seven locations, including two design centers in Pleasant Valley and Rhinebeck, Williams has been a go-to for home improvement in the Hudson Valley since 1946.

Here are four questions from the experts at Williams that will help you determine the scope and scale of your project, and ensure you get the maximum return on your investment.

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Should I repair or replace my windows?

When it comes to window replacement, the first question you should ask is how extensive the job needs to be. Knowing what’s repairable and what needs replacement can be a tough call.

If your issues are limited to painted-shut upper sashes, a few broken panes, worn sash cords and weatherstripping, or outdated hardware, you can probably limit your project to repairs. Other issues, like persistent draftiness or damage to the frames and sashes may indicate a full replacement project is on the horizon.

Need help deciding what’s right for you? Consult with the experienced team at Williams, who can help you navigate the process and provide priorities based on your specific issues.

Should I choose insert or full-frame window replacement?

If your windows definitely need to be replaced, the next step is to choose between insert and fullframe replacement.

Insert replacement, also known as “frame-inframe replacement” or a “pocket window,” is when new windows are installed within the existing frames. It’s a simpler project, but only an option

if your existing window frames are structurally sound. To complete the replacement, the existing sash, hardware, and cover are removed and the new window unit is inserted right into the old frame, where it’s then anchored, insulated, and sealed.

An insert replacement is a great option when you’re happy with the size, shape, and operating style of your existing windows. It also generally has a lower cost, so if budget is a priority and your frames are in good condition, this might be the choice for you.

Your other option is a full-frame replacement.

That’s when the existing window is completely removed down to the studs—including interior and exterior trim, and occasionally siding—and the new window is installed in the opening.

Full-frame replacement is often necessary if your frames have sustained damage over the years or you’re remodeling your home. It’s a more extensive project, but also offers you more flexibility to replace your old window with a new style or size. It’s the perfect opportunity to replace hard-to-reach double hung windows with easy-toopen awning or casement windows, or to opt for a style that extends your view of the outdoors and lets more light into a room.

An insert window replacement is a great option if you’re looking to preserve your home’s historic details and your existing window frames are still in good shape.

You can find examples of Marvin’s three premium product collections and range of customization options on display at the Williams Design Centers in Rhinebeck and Pleasant Valley.

Are energy-efficient windows right for my home?

Energy efficiency is a hot topic when it comes to windows—and for good reason. Energy efficient windows can make your home more comfortable, help save money on your utilities, and better meet the needs of your particular climate.

While it might be tempting to opt for windows sporting the newest technology, it’s important to know that your home’s overall existing energy efficiency will affect how much your windows can contribute to the equation. If your walls aren’t well insulated, even premier energy-efficient windows with insulating gas or triple-pane glass might not make much of a difference, especially in colder climates like the Northeast.

As an industry leader in energy efficiency, Marvin’s wide variety of flexible and customizable window options can help balance your initial investment with long-term performance and energy cost savings. Conducting a home energy audit can also help you decide if an investment in energy-efficient windows will be worth it over time.

What materials should I use?

While the materials used in your replacement windows may seem like decisions linked to aesthetic or cost decisions alone, each material type comes with its own list of pros and cons.

A classic, all-wood window offers a warm look and customization and design versatility, but requires more maintenance to upkeep. If your home is rich with historic or rustic details, however, wood might be the best choice for you.

If you’re looking for a lower-maintenance alternative, Marvin’s extruded aluminum or fiberglass windows are known for their exceptional strength and durability. Extruded aluminum is lightweight yet strong, which allows for large panes and thin window frames that let in copious amounts of light. Fiberglass can easily echo the look of wood, while maintaining its shape and insulating performance even in the most demanding climates.

It’s easier than you think to get started on replacing your windows. The expert team at Williams can help you understand and weigh the benefits of various window replacement options and provide the perfect match for your individual budget, maintenance needs, and personal style.

WILLIAMSLUMBER.COM

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PRO FIL E

HOW SWEDE IT IS A family farmhouse in Sullivan County gets some Scandinavian style

By Peter Aaron

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A cozy, serene living room with Scandanavian accents like the Finn Juhl-inspired boucle chair.

Opposite: A custom-made games table is paired with colorful cannister stools in the library, where visitors can lounge, read, or play.

I

nside: fresh white walls and ceilings. Sleek, simple modern furniture. Custom-made blond wood fixtures. Bursts of colorful texture from carefully chosen accent pieces. Outside: vast, open farmland ringed by thick green forests with towering mountains looming beyond.

A picture-perfect scene of a house in the region of Sweden where the central lowland meets the Norrland terrain.

Except it’s not Sweden. The home in question, a renovated 1890s farmhouse, is actually in the Catskills—Roscoe, a microscopic hamlet in Sullivan County, to be exact. But, given the cozy, clean-lined feel of its newly remade interior and the starkly beautiful natural landscape that surrounds it, you’d be forgiven for the confusion. Even the young family who owns it would agree.

“Parts of the Catskills definitely remind me of the countryside in Sweden,” says Naomi HerssonRingskog, a Swedish-American who immigrated to the US as a small child, and regularly visits her parents in the Scandinavian nation with her

husband, Sam Ottendorf. “You’re surrounded by a lot of nature and wildlife that are very similar to the nature and wildlife here.”

Ottendorf, who grew up in Michigan, concurs. “In Sweden there’s a great love of cabin culture—being outside in nature and exploring—which is also a big part of what we love about living here,” he says.

Looking for Space The couple, who welcomed their first child, Emilia, in March 2020, met during a Cedar Walton concert in 2010 at New York jazz club the Village Vanguard and were married six years later in Stockholm.

Ottendorf is a developer and cofounder of highereducation software firm Longsight. In 2009, Hersson-Ringskog, who earned a master’s degree in urban planning from Columbia University, cofounded No Longer Empty, a New York nonprofit that revives underutilized properties and sites with large, community-responsive art exhibitions, cultural collaborations, and educational programming. upstate HOUSE

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The kitchen was redesigned to enhance flow throughout the downstairs spaces, including opening up the wall between the kitchen and library­—with plans to entertain and host large family dinners.

The simple design of the principle bedroom’s wooden box bed reflects the house’s newfound Scandanavian style.

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A view of the first floor prior to renovation: The original dividing wall between the kitchen and the other rooms downstairs impeded the flow of natural light. The original wood-burning stove was preserved.

After 10 years in Brooklyn, the pair relocated to Newburgh, where in 2016 Hersson-Ringskog launched community sustainability organization Dept. of Small Interventions, which, as explained on the group’s website, “launches place-based projects to amplify cultural assets, galvanize collaborations, and build social infrastructure. The organic participatory approach integrates arts, culture, history into community development and planning goals. Projects are simple, resourceful, and creative solutions that can ultimately lead to increased capacity and meaningful change.”

Although they were happy with their new home, Ottendorf and Hersson-Ringskog loved visiting Sullivan County, just over an hour northwest, to decompress from the hubbub of Newburgh. In 2018, they decided to put down permanent roots in Roscoe, where they purchased the four-bedroom, 2,052-square-foot house and lush, 88-acre property. But although the historic home had tons of charm, inside it felt a little dark and seemed to lack the space to accommodate their visiting—and growing—family.

Local Connection Enter multidisciplinary design company Studio Den Den, established in Brooklyn circa 2017 by Rhode Island School of Design graduates Jillian Wiedenmayer and George Coffin to specialize in creating unique spaces and objects. Now based in Newburgh, the firm was an easy choice for Ottendorf and Hersson-Ringskog: Besides Studio Den Den’s exceptional portfolio and its being locally accessible to the couple and their project, the company’s focus on working with local artisans and small businesses dovetailed flawlessly with its new clients’ sustainability-oriented mindset and goals for the renovation.

“It’s a beautiful, old farmhouse, and Naomi and Sam wanted to keep a little of that design in there while working in the Swedish and Danish Modern design styles that they love,” says Wiedenmayer, who chose a combination of Midcentury acquisitions, farmhouse-style fabrics and textures, and more modern components to bring a sense of timeless balance to the home. “The main idea was to open things up more inside while adding warmer woods and textures that integrated well with the original elements that were kept, while also adding more playful pieces to brighten things up.”

Ottendorf and Hersson-Ringskog signed on with Studio Den Den in September 2019 and construction started in January 2020, but work slowed to a frustrating grind with the onset of the pandemic. “One of our millworkers got COVID,” recalls Wiedenmayer about what was undoubtedly a scary interlude for the worker and all of those around him. “He recovered and is doing well now, thankfully. While he was sick, we adapted and by summer 2020 we were able to pick up the pace again.”

Opening Act The most dramatic phase of the renovation, executed by Bethel’s Pat Murtaugh Construction, involved the reworking of the first floor into an open-plan interior that connects the remodeled dine-in kitchen, library/game room, and living room spaces with a seamless flow that fits perfectly with the expanding family’s lifestyle. The structure’s original country kitchen cabinetry was replaced by sleek concealedbase cabinets and counters from Affordable Granite & Cabinetry Outlet (AKA the Granite Shop) in Fishkill, while the gracefully curved modern dining chairs that complement the farmhouse table were produced by Germantown furnituremaker Michael Robbins. Coffin, whose specialty upstate HOUSE

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Custom shelving throughout the library and the kitchen was designed by Studio Den Den to create a cohesive aesthetic throughout the first floor.

is making custom furniture and built-in elements, created the library’s window seats and generous built-in shelving, which holds children’s and work-related books, family photos, and other treasured items. Also occupying the space is a newly made games table—backgammon and other classics are big in this household—complete with whimsical, colorful, canister stools. Nearly all of the home’s ceilings and remaining interior walls were repainted a cool white to maximize the airy cohesion between rooms. The kitchen’s original ceiling beams remain exposed to preserve a piece of the room’s rustic allure, while a pair of Japanese lanternstyle lighting fixtures hang above the dining table to add a bit of worldly exoticism.

“One of the big reasons for the remodeling was that we really wanted to bring more sunlight into the house and to let us better see the views of the surrounding landscape 38

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from wherever we happen to be in the house, which the open plan really does,” Ottendorf explains. “And we both have big families, so having the added space here for family and friends to spread out and be more comfortable when they come to visit was important to us, too.”

Upstairs the comfort continues with the residence’s redone full bath and refashioned bedrooms, which by day are flooded with natural sunlight. The latter rooms feature futuristic, wall-mounted bedside lighting fixtures for nighttime reading. Their minimalist furnishings, sparsely accented by the occasional piece of framed abstract art, maintain the Nordic aesthetic and are suitably clean-lined; the dark wood of the master bedroom’s queen-sized box bed and the blond construction of the twin beds in the one of the current guest rooms are pure Swedish style. A stillunfinished guest bunkroom, complete with a high-beamed, cathedral-style ceiling, will soon as well be ready to welcome visitors to the homestead. Indeed, welcome is the operative word when it comes to what the owners—and Studio Den Den—most want the home’s guests to feel when they visit. And, judging by the sublimely inviting results of the collaboration, it’s easy to see how accomodated they’ll feel.

“We love the warmth, the casual comfort, and the fluidity [of the redesign], and we’re looking forward to our family and friends enjoying it, too,” says Hersson-Ringskog. “And we also want the people who come here to feel like they can enjoy being within nature and being able to explore it,” adds Ottendorf. “Right from our house.”

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MADE FOR THE MARKET CATSKILL FARMS IS REVERSE-ENGINEERING ITS HOMES TO MATCH BUYERS’ NEEDS

E

verywhere you turn, the message from the real estate market is clear: The pickings are slim this year. With last year’s run on houses, homeowners’ hesitancy to sell, and many builders’ schedules full-up for the next year, inventory has reached historically low levels.

Where many saw obstacles, however, Chuck Petersheim, founder of Sullivan County-based design/build firm Catskill Farms, saw opportunity.

With over 275 homes completed in the Hudson Valley and Catskills since 2002, Petersheim has been correctly guessing the direction of the region’s real estate trends and homebuyers’ needs for two decades. “You talk to enough people—building inspectors, potential clients, real estate agents—and you combine that information to come up with a guess as to where the market is heading,” he says.

After kicking off 2020 with a conservative plan to bring more small homes to the market, Petersheim and his team quickly pivoted during the pandemic to reverse-engineering homes for what the market was newly clamoring for: more space. “You didn’t have to have superhero hearing strength to hear the changing client wishlist. You didn’t need X-ray vision to see the writing on the wall,” Petersheim says. “We quickly but incrementally started offering bigger homes as we gained more information and market insights from the potential clients we were meeting with.”

The firm currently has 23 homes in progress across three counties—a curated mix of farmhouse, cottage, modern ranch, and barn designs that offer features tailor-made for today’s market.

functioned well as a sometimes-primary home, and that is a bit different than a lightly used second home getaway.”

The average size of Catskill Farms’s homes is currently 2,500 square feet—almost three times the average of early 2020 offerings. Whereas the firm’s small homes have room for sleeping a small family or a couple of friends—a coziness that weekenders enjoy—now the standard is three bedrooms and two baths with finished basements and plenty of room to roam. For example, Barn 43, going up in the Ulster County hamlet of Olivebridge, is a spacious 4,000-square-foot, four-bedroom, four-bath on eight acres.

All About the Amenities Buyers don’t just want extra space for space’s sake.

Propelled in part by the need to create a home upstate that supports rest and relaxation alongside new remote work schedules, buyers want homes designed to support a robust slate of activities. Many

of Catskill Farms’s new homes provide just that.

Screened-in porches and decks with ample space for al fresco entertaining and enjoying nature are a must. Many of the new home designs also feature finished basements, which offer additional square footage and flexibility to create a media room, home gym, or office. At a time when pool builders are booked out years in advance, Petersheim’s connections with the region’s tradespeople also means that three new homes in progress in Olivebridge come complete with inground pools perfect for whiling away those picturesque Catskill summers.

“We try to make it hard to say ‘No,’ by really listening to the desires and priorities of the marketplace,” Petersheim says. “It’s rewarding to take that raw information, filter and evaluate it, create a strategic plan based on it, build it, and see if they come. It’s risky, but so far so good.”

Thecatskillfarms.com

Room to Grow With so many families looking to move full-time into the Hudson Valley and Catskills during the pandemic, Catskill Farms began expanding its homes’ square footage and offering more acreage.

“Smaller homes got harder to sell, not because they didn’t ring the right budget bell, but because people needed more space than they offered,” says Petersheim. “People started to want homes that upstate HOUSE

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PRO FIL E

A LE SSON I N COL L A B O R AT I O N The Mullane Residence

By Joan Vos MacDonald Photos by Caroline LeFevre

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Sliding panels of high-tech glass not only maximize the stunning Hudson Valley view but also provide passive solar heating.

Overhangs are strategically placed to help control the effects of the sunlight.

T

he house that architect Richard Pedranti designed for his friend Lawrence Mullane was in every sense a collaboration, as Mullane is not only the homeowner, but also the contractor who realized Pedranti’s design. It was a joint effort that employed Pedranti’s penchant for distinctive modern design while fulfilling Mullane’s wish for a traditional form of construction.

Despite the contemporary glass-and-aluminum facade, the Mullane residence has the structural geometry of a barn.

“That’s what Lawrence asked for,” says Pedranti. “A barn.”

To create the structure, the home’s pine timber frame was handcrafted by a father-and-son team of barn builders in New Hampshire. Posts and beams were then disassembled, transported on a trailer and reassembled onsite. As a complement to these traditional elements, the sides of the glass-fronted house were clad with cedar clapboard, left unfinished to weather to a soft gray. The house sits on a foundation of locally sourced bluestone and, from the clapboard sides, looks so traditional, that it’s tempting to think the building has been there for a century.

A zinc standing-seam roof tops the structure, visually referencing both the home’s glossy aluminum elements and the native bluestone foundation.

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Tufted velvet and leather furnishings provide comfortable seating on which to socialize and enjoy the view. They were chosen in colors that harmonize with the natural surroundings.

Opposite: The home’s interior spaces are defined by the type of pine timber framing usually found in a barn. A simple wooden table seems right at home.

An Opening in the Forest Before starting any design, Pedranti likes to visit building sites with his clients. It’s important to him that a home’s design elements reference the immediate environment. In this case, the site was a decommissioned bluestone quarry near Woodstock, with expansive views of the Catskills.

“We spent a lot of time on the site together before we started construction,” says Pedranti. “It was covered in forest and there was no road there. So, that required quite a bit of thought as to how to get up to that point and how to create the opening in the forest to take advantage of the views and maintain privacy and also create spaces that are outside that connect to the inside.”

Glass walls seemed the best way to make the most of the incredible vistas. “When you get up there the views are extraordinary,” says Pedranti. “The sunlight is perfect. It quickly became clear that we wanted to keep the geometry of a barn and just have a glass wall open to the view and the sunlight.”

The single-family residence is 1,800 square feet and features three bedrooms, plus an attic that provides additional sleeping space. Yet, given its location and floor plan, the home feels as open and as one with its surroundings as an aerie.

“It’s a wonderful place, just the feeling of being there on the side of this mountain and the views,” says Pedranti. “It’s a small house but it really doesn’t feel like that.”

Aluminum balcony supports, rails and facings neatly frame the home’s reflective front surface. It’s a material not usually employed so freely in home design, because fabricating elements from aluminum can be prohibitively expensive.

Mullane, whose company, Bronze, Inc., builds high-end New York City apartments, was able to access building materials for below market price. Mullane also knew how to make much of what he wanted in the house.

“Whereas in a typical project for a homeowner, who is not doing things like that, we have to draw and specify all the parts, down to the screws,” says Pedranti. “With Lawrence, it’s more like working with a custom fabricator. On everything.”

Solar Gain The interior open floor plan features design elements made from steel, another uncommon and usually cost-prohibitive material for home design. Since the stairs feature steel components, Mullane decided he wanted to also have steel panels between the wood framing, creating a singular design feature.

Interior floors were crafted from locally sourced wood and the walls are mushroom-colored plaster, rather than sheetrock.

Tufted velvet and leather furnishings provide comfortable seating on which to enjoy the view and were chosen in colors such as stone gray, russet brown, and a deep summer-sky blue that reference the surrounding natural environment.

Energy efficiency was a priority for both the architect and the homeowner, so Pedranti used Passive House principles to reduce the building’s ecological footprint. For example, extra insulation was used inside the plaster walls and under the roof.

“The walls of the house are super insulated,” says Pedranti, “Which fulfills my desire to create a very comfortable energyefficient home.” upstate HOUSE

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The home has three bedrooms, but an attic room adds additional sleeping space for guests.

A mirror placed strategically over the dresser reflects and expands the view of the Catskill Mountains that can be seen through the home’s glass walls.

upstate HOUSE

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MICHAEL PURYEAR FURNITURE MAKER Michael Puryear, a world-renowned furniture-maker, combines contrasting colors and textures with a fusion of linear and curved forms, accentuating the wood’s natural character. michaelpuryear.com

STUDI

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N o w o p e n i n R h i n e b e c k @ M o n t g o m e r y Ro w A n e w d e s i g n s h o p f ro m t h e t e a m at S t u d i o S F W O p e n W-S u n o r b y a p p o i n t m e n t [ e ] h o u s e @ s t u d i o s f w. c o m [ p ] 8 4 5 . 5 1 6 . 5 1 6 2 Fo l l o w u s @ H O U S E S F W o r @ ST U D I O S F W w w w. s t u d i o s f w. c o m 48

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PART OF THE

FAMILY

Although the kitchen is neatly tucked into a corner of the open floor plan, a work island offers the opportunity to talk to guests while preparing food.

The residence features an energy-efficient ground-source heat pump system and a solar system designed to make the home net-zero energy. Beyond their capacity for maximizing views, the sliding panels of the high tech glass walls provide passive solar heating. The overhangs on the home’s glass side were strategically placed to help control the incoming sunlight and inside window treatments help with any glare.

“The house is heated and cooled with a geothermal system and obviously there’s a big passive solar component to that,” says Pedranti. “It’s got radiant heating in the floors through that geothermal system. And then the cooling is via ductless mini-splits. There’s a nice European wood stove by a company called Rais. Lawrence tells me that there are a lot of times during the year that the heating never comes on, even in the winter because of the solar gain, but also because he’s got a wood stove which can really heat the whole house very easily.”

Modern Mood Pedranti specializes in Passive House and high performance buildings. Licensed in eight states, he’s worked on homes from Maine to Florida. After earning a graduate degree in design at Harvard University, he worked for Rafael Vinoly Architects and Steven Tilly before opening his own firm, Richard Pedranti Architect, now located in Milford, Pennsylvania. A lot has changed since Pedranti became a certified Passive House consultant in 2012.

According to Pedranti, energy-conserving materials that were difficult to get a few years ago are now easier to find and

more affordable. Also, more homebuyers are aware of Passive House principles. Whereas Pedranti remembers having to explain and sell the concept only a few years ago, he now gets regular calls from clients who want to have a passive home.

“I was trained as a modernist at Harvard University and I have always been interested in modern architecture,” says Pedranti. “What was always missing from my education as an architect is the science part of it. When I discovered Passive House, I knew this was what was missing from my education. It’s the building science, the understanding of how to make very comfortable, healthy, and energy-efficient indoor environments by using the building enclosure itself and understanding the transfer of heat, moisture, water, and air through the building enclosure and managing those things through good design. Lawrence’s house in many ways was my first real opportunity to exercise those desires, combining modern architecture with modern building science.”

The house continues to evolve. “When we finished the house, there was no meadow in front,” says Pedranti, “So that happened over a few years and it was really a big enhancement to have this grassy area next to the bluestone quarry.” The meadow provides a good vantage point for watching the colors of the sunset mirrored in the home’s glass facade. “It looks beautiful in the evening,” says Pedranti. After the sun sets and the interior glows with light, the house looks less like a swath of reflected sky and more like an elegant piece of modern sculpture designed to harmonize with the rocky outcroppings that surround it. upstate HOUSE

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architects & designers

Dream House A Survey of Unbuilt Architectural Designs

By Brian K. Mahoney

O

A drawing for an art studio that was never realized

by Grigori Fateyev of Art Forms Architecture.

ver the course of a career, an architect may have dozens of their designs turned into buildings. This is the nuts and bolts of the craft, working with clients to translate dreams into constructed reality. There are plans and drafts and redrafts and visions and revisions along the way. But not all designs get turned into structures.

Sometimes designs that an architect has spent much time and creative work on just go unbuilt.

“So much work goes into these things that when it doesn’t get built, it can be a bit disheartening,” says Ben Albury of Amalgam Studio.

“It goes into the attic loft of unbuilt designs, which has piled up a bit over 35 years of being an architect,” says Brad Will of Ashokan Architecture.

There’s a lot that goes unbuilt. Ones that you don’t feel a lot of connection with, others that you put a lot of time and creative energy into and you think, ‘That kind of hurt.’”

There’s a variety of reasons for designs ending up on the dust heap of architectural history, but according to the people I spoke to for this article, there are two main categories of project killers:

cost and relationship problems. (A third option: Designs that act as creative exercises, as in Grigori Fateyev’s Cantilevered Live/Work Space on page 53.)

Kevin Conklin of Conklin Architecture has acted as a therapist to numerous couples who’ve come to him to build a dream home. “They don’t teach you relationship counseling in architecture school,” he says with a laugh, “but it’s part of the job.” The trickiest part can be when clients aren’t in agreement to begin with and launch a design process with divergent concepts. “Sometimes it’s clear the couple haven’t communicated with each other and you can see the tension in the air,” he says. “They have different ideas and things can fall apart pretty quickly.”

In this feature, we take a look at some designs by regional architects that have not (yet) seen the light of day. “This is kind of therapeutic for me,” says Will. “I don’t have to keep it packed it away.”

Happy to help. And who knows? Perhaps a clientto-be will find their dream home among these designs! upstate HOUSE

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architects & designers

A Stone Unturned Amalgam Studio Modern Stone House | Rhinebeck | 2,347 square feet

A

malgam Studio founder Ben Albury owns a piece of land outside Rhinebeck that he’s been wanting to build on and sell for a couple years. The design is ready to go, and he’s come to close to a deal a few times, but something always trips it up. Part of the problem, Albury believes, is that people want to spend time in an actual, physical house before they buy it. “It’s very difficult for people to visualize, even with renderings, the space and the overall look and feel of a house,” he says. “It’s hard to see it and appreciate it without walking through it. It’s difficult to understand the height, scale, and materiality.”

Unlike many of the other projects in this feature, the Manhattan-based architect’s design hasn’t been abandoned—it just hasn’t been built yet. He’s still searching for the right client for his vision.

Albury’s Modern Stone House is a threebedroom, three-bath, single-family residence with attached two-car garage and loft/studio space above. With rooftop solar panels, the house can be self-sufficient and off-grid. The site is on 17 acres in eastern Dutchess County, where there’s a lot of rock and stone in the ground. “The house is contextual, it makes sense in the historic nature of the area,” says Albury. “I also wanted to create something that is of stone, of the place. There are not a lot of modern homes that have the traditional gable shape that use stone. It’s a contemporary, energy-efficient version of an old stone house.”

One of the advantages of stone is its ease of care. There’s no need for maintenance—it never needs painting, staining, or sealing, and it can build up a gorgeous weathered patina over time. There’s also the durability factor.

“Stone will last a long time,” says Albury. “I was in Rome recently and saw 2,000-year-old stone structures. That’s resilience. We need to think hard about the longevity of the structures we make. I’m hoping to build something that lasts a long time and touches the earth lightly.”

The design is adaptable to a degree, and Albury conceived of the project as potentially replicable. “I wanted it to be a prototype that could be built in different locations and site orientations,” says Albury. The house is made up of four same-sized modules that sit next to each other and can be prefabricated or built with structural insulated panels (SIPs).

“On a recent project, my eyes were opened to the possibility of using more prefabricated elements in a smart way, which is ultimately more affordable,” says Albury.

“It may get built or get built somewhere else,” says Albury. “It’s been on the drawing board for over two years. It’s getting to a point where I might want to keep it for myself.”

Amalgam Studio’s Modern Stone House was designed as a prototype for a line of affordable, modular dwellings.

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architects & designers

Solving an Artist’s Conundrum Art Forms Architecture Cantilevered Live/Work Space | No Site Selected | 2,400 square feet

O

nce I feel like I’ve absorbed the priorities of the client, then I try and capture it in a loose form, like watercolor pencil,” says Grigori Fateyev.

“That’s the freest, most direct way of documenting my thoughts. The sketches exist as research and become a manifesto for the project.” Fateyev, owner and principal of Hillsdale-based Art Forms Architecture, has a tendency to talk deeply and philosophically about his profession. “Architecture is a funny field: What we’re designing doesn’t exist.

We design what buildings contain, not the buildings themselves—we design the volume.”

The Cantilevered Live/Work Space featured here is a long-term passion project of Fateyev’s and not one that was specifically commissioned. He has designed several homes/studios for artists, and he’s wrestled with the demands of meshing creative and domestic space in one building. “There’s a great amount of activity in an artist’s studio and the need to respond to very practical demands,” says Fateyev. “When it becomes a living space, there’s an entirely different set of demands.”

The Cantilevered Live/Work Space is a meditation on the nature of creative labor and its relationship to the rest of the artist’s life.

Fateyev’s answer to the live/work question was to separate the house into two perpendicular volumes. The upper volume topped with series of “factory” skylights (“an homage to Le Corbusier’s studio for Amedee Ozenfant, mother of all modernist studios,” says Fateyev) is where the creative work gets done, with little outside input beyond the natural light. “I don’t want the exterior to invade the studio,” says Fateyev. “I want the artist to be surrounded by this white envelope and confronted by the possibilities of their own work.”

The studio is cantilevered over the lower residential volume that directly connects to the landscape. The design of the domestic area is simple, with a primary bedroom, guest bedroom, and living/dining area all in connection with the outdoors, unlike the inward-focused studio space. “The residential space has an open-ended continuum between the interior and exterior,” Fateyev says.

Unlike most of the other projects in this feature, Fateyev hopes to see this building realized for his old friend Anton Ginzburg, a multi-disciplinary artist. This project will be featured in an exhibit of Fateyev’s work at UMass Amherst this November.

Art Forms Architecture’s Cantilevered Live/Work Space was designed to provide an artist with two distinct spaces: working above, living below.

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architects & designers

Secluded in the Heart of Woodstock Ashokan Architecture & Planning Modern Cottage | Woodstock | 800 square feet

W

oodstock can be bustling place, buzzing with activity, especially at the Village Green, where Tinker Street and Mill Hill Road meet. But just a few blocks away is a peaceful oasis along the Tannery Brook, set back from the hurly-burly of weekend throngs of tourists. This is where Brad Will, founder and principal of Kingstonbased Ashokan Architects, was tasked with designing a compact guesthouse along the gentle waterway that passes through the center of town.

The structure had to be 800 square feet or less because it was a replacement dwelling for a dilapidated cabin that was torn down.

“These types of buildings still exist along the creek,” says Will. “Old-timey cabins that hang over the brook with a single metal post lunging right down in the water.” After Will steered the client away from building an actual log cabin, the architect, looked to the town’s stylistic vernacular for inspiration. “It’s a bit of an homage to the Woodstock style,” he says, combining a native bluestone chimney with a stylized artist’s shed, (“very prevalent in Woodstock” says Will), and made famous in David Haney and Robert Ballantine’s 1974 book Woodstock Handmade Houses.

Make no mistake, however, Will’s design is contemporary. “To me, having a modern style, modern layout, lots of glass, an open plan, it hit all the bells that I like,” says Will. Because of its seclusion, the two-story structure is sheathed in glass while not feeling exposed. “There’s real communication with the outdoors. You know where you are, there’s a sense of place,” he says.

The outdoor spaces are as important as the interior ones, with three levels of outdoor porches and decks—some covered, some exposed. “The outdoor spaces were key to the experience of the zone between inside and outside,” says Will. The roof deck is accessible via a circular staircase from the loft-like single bedroom on the second floor. “There are lots of different options for enjoying the connection between house, land, and water,” he says. There’s even a suspension bridge over the creek, a nod to the client, a world traveler who’s spent time in East Asia on much dodgier suspension bridges.

Working with the constraints of the site zoning—a building no more than 800 square feet—Ashokan Architecture designed Modern Cottage as a creekside treehouse.

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architects & designers

Breaking the Box Kalesis Design Studio Courtyard House | Bearsville | 3,400 square feet

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wanted to create a sense of arrival,” says Constantin Kalesis of his design for the Courtyard House in Bearsville. “I wanted there to be a progression as you perceive the house. The first thing you see is the portecochere as a gate house, then you enter into the courtyard. It’s a process of discovery.” Sited on 19 acres, the Courtyard House is part of an architectural grammar the Queens-based architect began with an earlier project, Zena Highwoods.

Since building the Zena Highwoods house in 2020, Kalesis has been fascinated by the possibilities of designing homes not as a one building but as a series of structures. “The classic house is one large building with a symmetrical exterior. You draw that and carve up the interior,” he says. By separating the home into separate structures in this way, especially when there’s room to spread out instead of having one building, wings of a home can be skewed toward site features like a rock outcropping, a copse of trees, or a mountain view. “It allows you to break the box and start moving the pieces around the site in a way you wouldn’t think of in a classic building,” he says.

For this design, the living room is a separate structure from the bedroom wing. “Breaking the box in this way means that the bedroom can be at a quiet part of the property and the living are can be in a separate building, directed toward a specific view,” says Kalesis.

Connecting the two wings is an all-glass library at angles between the living spaces and entertaining spaces. The room is big enough that it wasn’t just a walk-through space but one that existed on its own terms and enticed visitors to linger.

The kitchen features large glass doors that face the pool on the south side of the house, making the most of the sunlight from the southern exposure. Kalesis loves designing homes for the expansive home sites of the Hudson Valley. “I’ve started to take into account the movement of the sun in my designs,” he says.

By separating the building into a series of connected boxes, Kalesis Design Studio was able to achieve a degree of freedom in the design of Courtyard House that would be impossible with a single-box structure.

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architects & designers

Living Without the Pizza Oven Conklin Architecture Contemporary Rustic Barn | Chatham | 3,500 square feet

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’ve designed one or two houses that didn’t come into fruition,” says Catskill-based architect Kevin Conklin, whose practice consists of building high-end homes—mostly secondary residences before the pandemic— in Ulster and Columbia counties. He notes that the obstacle is often sticker shock once the construction estimate come in. “Nobody believes the cost of what it takes to build something today,” he says, adding that the recent price spike in materials costs has only exacerbated the problem.

The Contemporary Rustic Barn featured here falls into the above category. The client pumped the brakes once the contracting estimates started to roll in. What’s left are Conklin’s renderings for an open and airy house, sited on land in central Columbia County, that took full advantage of sweeping Catskill views with near floor-to-ceiling westfacing windows in the great room.

The design of the house itself is a mixture of modern materials like glass and steel and polished concrete floors along with the use of traditional wood and stones. One of the architect’s favorite flourishes is a wood-fired pizza oven in the large kitchen with a massive, butcher-block topped island.

The good news: The client is still working with Conklin, and a new design is in progress.

“This is the first time we’ve ever had a whole house not work out and roll right into the design of a second house,” Conklin says. “It was a matter of weeks between stopping one and starting another and we dove right into it.” The revised design is a mini version of the 3,500 square-foot house house (2,000 square feet this time) that will incorporate many of the structural elements of the original house, but without the large footprint and some of the costly amenities. “All the large and grandiose spaces in original plan became more realistic budget-wise. We took the parts of the of the bigger house that he really loved and trimmed the fat,” says Conklin. Just no pizza oven.

While the original design estimate came in too high for Kevin Conklin’s client, the architect redesigned the structure as a miniature version of the original project, which is currently under development.

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architects & designers

Your Bluff Is Calling Grandberg & Associates Architects Bluff House | Cold Spring | 9,500 square feet

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espite being almost 10,000 square feet, Bluff House was designed in the spirit of a tree house, according to Ira Grandberg, principal of Grandberg & Associates Architects in Mount Kisco. The residence was designed so that all four levels would open up onto a common atrium with external views and visual connection to the other internal spaces. “I started with the trunk of the house, the atrium,” Grandberg says. “The rooms are the different branches, attached to the atrium/trunk while perched and looking out over the land. You could also look up into the atrium and see art, like in the Guggenheim.” The atrium also has the benefit of letting in natural light from above.

Situated on the crest of a steep hill, the 12-acre site has commanding unobstructed views of the Hudson River and the Hudson Highlands as well as the Bear Mountain Bridge. The design was to replace an existing, smaller modern home on the site that was to be knocked down. The clients requested the following design considerations, among others: exhibition and storage space for an antique car collection (which was designed to open up into the family room through a glass wall system); large wall surfaces for a modern art collection; a roof that could also serve as a garden due to limited flat ground onsite; use of alternative energy sources.

“I wanted the design to be as environmentally conscious as possible [the original plans are from 2011], but also to have drama,” says Grandberg, perhaps understating the spectacle of a four-level home of this size, with a disappearing-edge pool, perched on the edge of a cliff, and 270-degree views. “All my designs focus around sight lines and axes, open interiors so you feel that you’re not living in a box,” says Grandberg. “You don’t just put window in a room and say that’s your view. There needs to be a sculptural fabric to the home.”

“It’s most the fun I’ve had designing a project. The clients let me interpret the site in the way I wanted. It was really a dream for me,” says Grandberg. “It was exciting for me to solve some professional challenges in the design while serving the clients’ needs.”

Although the house seems massive at 9,500 square feet, IRa Grandberg and Associates Bluff House has an open atrium that runs through multiple floors in the middle of the structure, providing abundant light and sculpting space.

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architects & designers

Art House River Architects Private Art Gallery | Garrison | 1,776 square feet

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PRIVATE ART GALLERY EXTERIOR PERSPECTIVE

PRIVATE ART GALLERY EXTERIOR PERSPECTIVE

hen a prominent Manhattan gallery owner bought a castle in Putnam County, it only made sense that he should build himself a private art gallery to house his collection, which included a couple of paintings by Jackson Pollock. Enter architect James Hartford of River Architects, headquartered just down the road in Cold Spring. “The client wanted to view his personal art collection in his own space,” says Hartford.

“It would have been a private home for art.”

Taking inspiration from renowned Italian architect Carlo Scarpa’s fusion of coarse and elegant materials, Hartford designed a twolevel space (storage below, gallery above) that would work in the same vocabulary as the site’s abundant stone but with a different outcome intended. “We were taking the stone from the castle design and working with those references in a modern rendering,” says Hartford. “It connects visually but breaks out into new ground.”

Given the constraints of the site, the gallery was to be tucked behind the stables.

“We were nestling it into a tight spot on the property,” says Hartford. “The space had a compressed, charged feeling.”

The exterior stone walls of the gallery were to be topped by a green roof, and the whole structure designed according to Passive House principles—River Architects specializes in sustainable building techniques. The rigid atmospheric controls of Passive House construction suited the project well as the client’s art collection required tight climate controls.

But even when projects don’t get built, ideas carry forward into future work. “Looking at this design now, I see how I had developed some ideas that came up later in other projects, such as the peek-out window here that was incorporated later in the cidery project,” says Hartford, referring to the recently completed Seminary Hill Orchard in Callicoon, a 9,300-square-foot production facility and tasting room built according to Passive House principles. “In both cases, the window was used on a west-facing wall to reduce the amount of heat gain and glare in the space, while making it more dynamic and fun— and framing views.”

Even when designs are not executed, all is not lost. Aspects of this gallery design influenced River Architects’ design of a Passive House cidery in Callicoon.

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PRIVATE ART GALLERY

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KALESIS DESIGN STUDIO Nils Schlebusch 360°

A TIMELESS APPROACH TO DESIGN

Nils Schlebusch 360°

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rchitect Constantine Kalesis’s favorite building material? Natural light. “No other material do we have such an emotional connection with,” says the principal of Kalesis Design Studio. “On each project we study the path of the sun and devise clever ways to bring it into the space.”

It’s this kind of elemental, site-specific approach that defines much of his work. “The timeless architectural principles of form, space, and most importantly, light, are what we are striving to master,” says the Parsons-educated architect with over 20 years of experience practicing in New York City and five as the principal of his own firm.

With any project, regardless of type or scale, Kalesis always starts with hand sketches and

drawings that allow him to intuitively explore the possibilities of a site. “It’s a process of discovery,” he says. “Drawing by hand allows for the continuous flow of ideas via the mind/eye/hand connection where multiple concepts and ideas can quickly be explored in a way that the computer interferes with.”

This purity of practice is what drives Kalesis’s firm to create spaces that are a dynamic response to their particular environments and clients’ needs. It’s what also drew him to the Woodstock area, where he began working on residences in 2012.

In contrast to his projects in the city, which almost always have a predetermined footprint, the Hudson Valley has offered him room to explore his practice as an architect and to build relationships

with the region’s many talented builders and craftsmen. “It’s a very challenging design exercise to be given carte blanche on a raw site,” he says. “I take cues from the surroundings when developing a floor plan. Where the sun rises and sets, the vistas, and any variation in topography.”

Many of his residences feature strategically placed oversized panes of glass that connect the architecture with the natural beauty of its site.

Such was the case with the Zena Highwoods House, a 2,500-square-foot house in Saugerties with soaring views of Overlook Mountain that was completed in 2020. Like all his residences, the experience of the space is at times monumental, but also intimate in a way that feels like home.

Kalesisdesignstudio.com upstate HOUSE

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Beautiful, sustainable homes that reflect the landscape surrounding them and those living within them jameswagman.com New York, NY Hillsdale, NY

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R E S I D E N T I A L | PA S S I V E H O U S E | I N S T I T U T I O N A L | C O M M E R C I A L

| DEVELOPMENTS

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LV WOOD

BESPOKE FLOORS AND SURFACES FOR THE MODERN HOME

Photography: Joe Fletcher Designer: General Assembly Studio NYC

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rank Lloyd Wright wrote: “Wood is universally beautiful to man. It is the most humanly intimate of all materials.” “This has been our guiding principle as a company since day one,” says James Caroll II, principal of LV Wood, the high-end wood flooring and surfaces company he co-founded with his father in Buffalo, and which has been based in New York City since 2008.

From floors to walls, counters, bars, and trim, today LV Wood’s beautifully designed products can be found in residential, commercial, and institutional settings worldwide, including the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC. Upstate, you can spot its materials at the Rivertown Lodge in Hudson, where its lighthued Euro Oak contributes to the hotel’s refined

minimalist vibes, as well as at Old Souls and Barber & Brew in Cold Spring, which Caroll and his wife Tara have also owned and operated since moving to the quaint Hudson Valley village in 2012.

The company places strong emphasis on sourcing North American varieties like walnut, white oak, hickory, and maple, which are all finished in the US. The only exception is its Euro Oak line, a nod to the company’s roots as an importer of Italian wood flooring. Its seven product lines currently run the gamut from reclaimed agricultural and industrial oak to highly customizable and handmade solid wood planks, as well as engineered wood flooring.

While LV Wood has many products in stock and readily available, the company’s more curated offerings—the Bespoke and Patina lines—are ready to head out into the world after a lead time of about

six to eight weeks. These highly customizable lines allow clients to make refinements to everything from the wood’s color, grain, and finish to its sizing, surface texture, and pattern. Herringbone and chevron floors, Caroll notes, are quite popular right now.

In addition to the architecture and design trades, LV Wood works directly with home and business owners to supply its high-end materials for any project. “We aim to be approachable to every budget and make the process as simple as possible from start to finish,” says Caroll. “And we believe that natural materials like wood flooring are a major part of health and wellness in your home, as well as an organic connection to the home itself.”

Lvwood.com upstate HOUSE

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Interior Design Kitchens | Baths Additions & Decks Finished Basements Saunas, Steamrooms & Outside Showers Cabinetry | Countertops Sinks & Faucets Hardware & Lighting Tile, Hardwood, Carpet & Wall Coverings EvolvedInteriors.com • 86-88 Mill Hill Rd, Woodstock, NY • 845.679.9979

Celebrating the best of rural life in Berkshire, Columbia, northern Dutchess and northern Litchfield counties

ruralintelligence.com PART OF THE

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FAMILY

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TALO ARCHITECT

FROM THE ROOF DOWN WHEN MAKING ENERGY EFFICIENT UPGRADES TO YOUR HOME, STAGING IS KEY

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p to 95 percent of the energy used to heat and cool homes is wasted,” says Tapani Talo, a Westchester-based architect who has specialized in energy-efficient technologies since the 1970s, when green architecture was still considered a radical idea. Buying or building a more efficient home, however, is not the only path to reclaim all that lost energy.

According to Talo, applying Passive House principles—the rigorous set of building standards just now catching on in the US—during a renovation can be a cost-efficient way to make efficiency upgrades that reduce your energy footprint.

Take, for example, his renovation of a one-anda-half story ranch in Greenburgh. By incorporating Passive House standards he was able to more than double the home’s square footage and achieve a 90 percent reduction in energy bills. To do so, Talo started by upgrading the roof and insulation to above-code standards, then replacing the mechanical heating and cooling system with geothermal energy and installing solar panels on the roof.

“Staging upgrades in the right order is the most important part,” Talo says. “If you invest in energy-efficiency upgrades before full professional analysis, it will be very expensive to redo the work and achieve all the benefits and energy savings.”

For example, installing new ‘regular’ double glazed windows prior to correcting your insulation can

lead to a host of knock-on effects that can halt financial, health, and comfort benefits that a truly efficient home provides.

Renovating in this way also allows homeowners to achieve greater savings from the work they were already planning to do and implement complementary measures at the same time. That’s why Talo always recommends starting with the roof. “People don’t realize how much you can achieve with just the roof,” he says. If the insulation in the roof is above code, every room beneath it will benefit from consistent temperatures and require less heating and cooling. For several of his other clients whose renovations incorporated Passive House upgrades to their roofs, the results carry the same impact—a more cost-effective path to energy efficiency and a faster payoff.

With the renovation of the Greenburgh house, the efficiency upgrades also resulted in a better design and layout than they could have achieved without them. The changes to the roof allowed Talo to create 35-foot lofted ceilings in the owner’s new bedroom and open work area, which feels bright and airy thanks to the added height and multiple windows and skylights. “Some people think that if you have a lofted ceiling the space will be too hot or too cold,” Talo says. “With the upgrades we did to the roof, everything is just right.”

To view Talo’s other renovations that incorporate Passive House principles, visit Taloarchitect.com. upstate HOUSE

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S PO N S O R E D HOUS E FE ATURE

HOME IS WHERE THE ART IS THIS DUTCHESS COUNTY HOME IS A PAINTER’S LIVE, WORK, AND EXHIBITION DREAM

At every cross-axis where the main gallery hall and pavilion intersect are vignettes that provide curated views.

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hen the owners of 30 acres of woodland property near Rhinebeck approached architect Ira Grandberg about designing their new home, they had a few key requirements.

One of the owners, a prolific abstract artist, wanted ample room for displaying her art and a spacious studio for painting. Her husband, an avid swimmer, wanted an indoor pool where they could both continue to exercise daily. Both he and their children recorded music, so they also wanted a professional-quality recording studio.

As for the design of those elements and the rest of the house, that was up to Grandberg. “They wanted a contemporary house, but gave me no specific style,” he says. Completed in the spring of last year by Grandberg & Associates Architects and builder Gatehouse Partners, the resulting home—a respite for art, recreation, and daily living—is a studied synthesis of the owners’ combined interests, living habits, and personal tastes.

These are the kinds of projects that Grandberg relishes. The Columbia-educated architect who has 43 years’ experience running his own firm in New York City and now Westchester, only takes on three or fewer projects a year, so he can devote himself to the process of creating a space that feels true to his clients.

“Design is just problem solving, and if you’re well-educated in the different approaches and historical backgrounds, you should be able to respond to all your clients’ needs,” he says. “With me, every project is completely different. We’re non-formulaic, and we’re not trying to push our design idiom on anyone.”

Let There Be Art From a distance, the home’s neutral, earthy exterior palette and materials—stucco facade and a bronze-clad copper roof that will develop a patina over time—strike an almost-traditional pose. Upon closer inspection, however, it’s clear the house is also modern and sculptural, with large expanses of glass that draw you into a lively, contemporary interior world.

Once inside, Grandberg’s elegant organizing structure is revealed: The home is made up of individual pavilions that are interconnected by a long north-south gallery on both levels. At every cross-axis where the main gallery hall and a pavilion intersect are vignettes that provide dozens of curated views—from the gallery into the pavilions, from one pavilion to another, and to the quiet, wooded landscape outside. The daytime living spaces face west, dining areas face east, and bedrooms face south, providing vistas that are timed with the sun’s progression and natural cadence of living. (The home’s orientation also provides efficient use of geothermal energy for heating and cooling and its solar field.)

With a one-of-a-kind composition around virtually every corner, the effect of the home is that of a sprawling, airy modern art gallery, which Grandberg designed as such to let the owner’s artwork truly shine.

Located on the north side of the main living level, the art studio is awash in natural light, and a large window picture frames the woods beyond—a painter’s dream.

The house comes complete with a light-filled artist’s studio on the north side of the upper level, a dedicated storage facility on the lower level, and curated spots for more than 100 of the owner’s colorful abstract paintings to hang in the house at any given time. With the use of museum-grade hangers, she can easily rotate out her artwork.

The Design Is in the Details As with all his projects, Grandberg was the singular design voice for the home, which allowed him to create a cohesive aesthetic vision. “What was unique about this project is that because the client is an artist, she considers architecture an art, so there was a wonderful symbiotic relationship between us,” he says.

Crisp white walls, wide-plank ash floors throughout, and plentiful natural light from large picture windows and five-by-five-foot skylights at every cross-axis work in tandem to amplify the gallery effect. Splashes of bold, saturated color here and there help enhance the curation of the art.

The kitchen, for example, is a coordinated symphony of sophisticated colors. The spacious, seven-by-seven-foot island is a combination of slate blue base cabinets from Leicht Kitchen, the German cabinet manufacturer, and a swirling blue quartz countertop from Cambria. On one wall, ochre-hued Leicht built-ins house the stainless

steel Sub-Zero refrigerator and double Wolf ovens. The scarlet red of the cabinets in the larder complete the simple, striking palette.

Those same three colors continue to make appearances in the furniture and textiles throughout, many of which were selected specifically for the new home. In the living room, three quilted Ligne Roset couches echo their bright hues, as do several teak chairs the owners acquired at an art fair and lacquered to match. “There are all of these nice surprises as you walk through the house,” Grandberg says.

The architect’s love of symmetry is also apparent in many parts of the house—but nowhere more than the owner’s ensuite bathroom. His-and-hers vanities are positioned on either side of the room with a six-foot soaking tub in the center, and a glass-walled shower room at the far end. The arrangement allows for woodland views on three sides of the room, with a skylight above the tub that bathes the room in natural light.

In another precise design move, one of the glass shower walls features an exposed showerhead from Sonoma Forge that Grandberg specifically selected to ensure uninterrupted views to the outside. The vanity counters, shower bench, and tub are all topped in Fantasy Brown quartzite, which lends an earthiness that contrasts the stark white of the room and beautifully echoes the trees beyond. upstate HOUSE

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From a distance, the home’s neutral, earthy exterior palette and materials—stucco facade and a bronze-tone copper roof that will develop a patina over time—strike an almosttraditional pose. Its large expanses of glass draw you into a lively, contemporary interior world.

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Where Vocation and Avocation Mix When it came to the owners’ requirements for work and play, Grandberg went to great lengths to create thoughtful spaces that would be used every day. Located on the north side of the main living level, the art studio is awash in natural light on three sides and a large window picture frames the woods beyond—a painter’s dream.

On the north wall is a five-by-ten-foot span of windows, sized exactly to match one of the artist’s existing work tables that Grandberg knew would sit below. In the center of the room, a five-byten-foot skylight shines light onto a second work table taken from the owners’ previous home. On another wall is a dedicated space for hanging larger works-in-progress like triptychs, which require distance to view the complete effect. The architect also combined the open studio space with the owner’s office, making it easy for her to transition between tasks.

The lower level is home to the professional recording studio, the design of which Grandberg collaborated on with a renowned acoustical engineer. There’s also an entire wellness complex, including a 14-by-36-foot indoor lap pool, a gym, and a spa room, which comes complete with serene views to an outdoor patio and the woods beyond.

The pool room’s 40-foot length and identically sized wall of windows also provided the architect with the perfect opportunity to create yet another gallery—this time for large-scale works. With climate control for paintings, the room can now elegantly display any site-specific works the owner wants to create. “The area was also designed with glass windows as the interior partition, so no matter where you are you’re aware of the home’s north-south axis and its ever-changing display of art,” says Grandberg.

An Authentic Place to Call Home With so much thought put into the way the owners would use the space, it’s easy to see why the completed home is a haven where work, play, and daily life can seamlessly coexist. “The goal was that the architecture should not overpower its lived experience,” says Grandberg. “There are many moments that might seem accidental, but are very planned out.”

From the orientation of the site that provides each part of the day its own orchestrated views of the country, to an interior composition that brings the grand experience of a gallery closer to home, every aspect of Grandberg’s design feels intentional and custom-fit to the people that were going to live there. “The home is responsive to both the land it was built on and the preferences of the clients,” he says. “It’s a total living experience.”

From top: The pool room’s 40-foot length provides yet another gallery—this time for the owner’s site-specific, large-scale works.

The kitchen is a coordinated symphony of sophisticated colors that enhance the curation of the owner’s ever-changing art. upstate HOUSE

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$1,469,000 | Pine Plains | Beautiful Building Site pastoral beauty of your Plains own waterfall on this 101 acreSite property featuring pine $1,469,000 | Pine | Beautiful Building forests, open meadows, gorgeous vistas and a lovely pond. Venture into the pastoral beauty of your own this 101 acre property featuring ows on foot or horseback and waterfall return to on your custom designed home tailoredpine for forests, open meadows, gorgeous vistas and a lovely pond.

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$1,469,000 | Pine Plains | Beautiful Building Site Picnic beside the pastoral beauty of your own waterfall on this 101 acre property featuring pine groves, hardwood forests, open meadows, gorgeous vistas and a lovely pond. Venture into the woods and meadows on foot or horseback and return to your custom designed home tailored for the country lifestyle you deserve. An additional 106 acres are also available if your desire is for an even larger private estate. MLS#401639. George Langa m: 845.242.6314 | o: 845.677.3525

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George Langa m:of 845.242.6314 | o: 845.677.3525 beyond your own tranquil pond on this idyllic property. An additional 101 available. MLS#401637. George Langa m: 845.242.6314 | o: 845.677.3525

$1,545,000 | Pine Plains | 106 Acres of Natural Beauty Plenty of room to roam on this gently sloping 106 acre property with several magnificent building locations. Wander through the incomparable beauty of open fields, lush pine woods and hardwood forests that open to far-reaching views of the surrounding farmlands and hills. Watch the sunset beyond your own tranquil pond on this idyllic property. An additional 101 acre parcel is also available. MLS#401637. George Langa m: 845.242.6314 | o: 845.677.3525

$1,245,000 | Clinton Corners | Fine Country Living Beautifully updated$1,245,000 1700s farmhouse on 60-plus acres|offers outdoor | Clinton Corners Fine endless Country Livinge 4-bedroom, 4-bath home provides a choice of two owner’s bedroom suites: a s Beautifully 1700s on 60-plus acres endless outdoor second floorupdated suite with full farmhouse bath; or, a stunning first flooroffers bedroom suite with fire 4-bedroom, 4-bath home provides a choice of two owner’s bedroom suites: as suite bath and plenty of closet space. A granite chef’s kitchen, dining room, libra second floor suite with full bath; or, a stunning first floor bedroom suite with fir spaces complete this elegant home. MLS#390191. George Langa m: 845.242.6314 suite bath and plenty of closet space. A granite chef’s kitchen, dining room, libra spaces complete this elegant home. MLS#390191. George Langa m: 845.242.6314

$1,245,000 | Clinton Corners | Fine Country Living Beautifully updated 1700s farmhouse on 60-plus acres offers endless outdoor enjoyment. Gracious 4-bedroom, 4-bath home provides a choice of two owner’s bedroom suites: a spacious and private second floor suite with full bath; or, a stunning first floor bedroom suite with fireplace, luxurious en suite bath and plenty of closet space. A granite chef’s kitchen, dining room, library and entertaining spaces complete this elegant home. MLS#390191. George Langa m: 845.242.6314 | o: 845.677.3525

$889,000 | T/Poughkeepsie | Architecturally Designed Custom C The $889,000 stunning Catskill Mountain views will leave you breathless!

Open floor concept | T/Poughkeepsie | Architecturally Designed Custom C first floor master suite, great room with stone fireplace and internal private court The stunning Catskill Mountain will leave youinto breathless!

Open floorSecond concept space with light.

The kitchen fits views every convenience a luxurious space. fl first floor master suite, great room with stone fireplace and internal private courtg $889,000 | T/Poughkeepsie | Architecturally Designed Custom Contemporary and 2 baths; lower level with library, sitting room and bath opening to patio and The stunning Catskill Mountain views will fits leaveevery you breathless!

Open floorinto concept features a sprawling space with light.

The kitchen convenience a luxurious space.

Second fl space is parklike withroom gardens and trees.

MLS#400887.

Brian Woolsey m:the845.797.672 first floor master suite, great with stone fireplace and internal private courtyard that floods and 2 baths; lower level with library, sitting room and bath opening to patio and g space with light. The kitchen fits every convenience into a luxurious space. Second floor with 3 bedrooms space is lower parklike withlibrary, gardens and and trees.

Brian Woolsey m: 845.797.672 and 2 baths; level with sitting room bathMLS#400887. opening to patio and gunite pool. Outdoor

space is parklike with gardens and trees. MLS#400887. Brian Woolsey m: 845.797.6720 | o: 845.905.8744 BHHSHUDSONVALLEY.COM BHHSHUDSONVALLEY.COM BHHSHUDSONVALLEY.COM

more information and your private viewing. MLS#398766. Joan Sanford m: 914.475.2090 | o: 845.244.2118

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$1,545,000 Pine Plains | 106 Acres of Natural Beaut $2,795,000 | Clinton|Corners Road | 215+ Acres This property has it all: views, pasture, forest, water, wildlife galore and an orchard, all bordering on several m Plenty of room to $1,545,000 roam on this gently sloping 106 acre property with | Pine Plains Acres ofconcept Natural Beaut Wappinger Creek. Falling within the Millbrook Post Office district, there|is 106 a site development for locations.

Wander through the incomparable beauty of open fields, lush pine wo cluster housing along with aroam larger parcel division.

Property crosses the Clinton/Washington line with several m Plenty of room to on this gently sloping 106 acre property with forests open to far-reaching views oftothe surrounding farmlands quick accessthat to surrounding towns and easy commuter access Taconic State Parkway and Route 82. and hill locations.

Wander through thepond incomparable beauty of open fields, lush pine101 wo Perfect for subdivision orown private estate. MLS#398262.

Diana Wiemer m: 845.234.0038 | o: 845.677.3525 beyond your tranquil on this idyllic property.

An additional

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A PICTURESQUE DRIVE

through the woods, back from traffic & noise, leads to a clearing where, surrounded by 26.94 acres, this wonderful Contemporary home is idyllically sited overlooking a pond. Updated by a master builder, this home has a large, vaulted LR w/a floor to ceiling stone FPL. Huge picture windows here overlook the scenic view.

There’s a modern K, vaulted bath w/a skylight & 2 bedrooms.

Perfect as is or easily expanded, everything you need for modern living is here in a setting that cannot be beat! $400,000.

THIS 3 BR, 2.5 BATH TOWNHOUSE

in Red Hook, is on the Green at the 18-hole golf course. No mowing & plowing here as this is all included for a low fee. This unit has CA, an open floor plan with a K, DR, breakfast rm, LR & powder room down. Up is a fabulous vaulted MBR suite w/a 5-piece

bath & a huge closet + 2 guest BRs & a 2nd full bath. There’s a nice deck, garage, & a full basement. Move in ready, this home is perfect for full time or weekend living. $349,900.

PAU L HALLENB EC K R E A L E S TAT E , I N C .

A HEATED POOL & GUEST HSE

THE RUSHING SAW KILL Creek creates a special environment @ this 4 BR, 2.5 bath, WATER FRONT one story home in Red Hook w/large, light filled & gracious rooms. Relax or entertain from the 1200 ft deck.

Enjoy the scenic view through huge windows. There’s CA, an Arts & Crafts inspired FPL, a huge redone K w/a island, an 18 x 21 MBR w/5 double closets & a redone tiled bath w/multiple shower heads. Red Hook’s rec park w/a pool, playground & ball fields is a short bike ride away. $499,000.

6 3 7 0 M I LL S T R E E T • R H I N E B E C K , N EW YO R K • 1 2 5 7 2 P H O N E : 8 4 5 - 8 7 6 - 1 6 6 0 • FAX : 8 4 5 - 8 7 6 - 5 9 5 1

1.5 MILES FROM RHINEBECK V, this 3 BR, 2 bath, 1992 SF Cape is the perfect retreat. Here there’s AC, a great EIK, an open DR & LR w/beams & a wood ceiling, a vaulted den w/3 exposures, glass all around, & as FPL. There’s a BR & bath down, 2 BRs & a bath up, wood floors up & down, & also a 24 ft. FR. There are 1300 SF of wraparound decks, a garage & carport, plus a stone waterfall that rushes into a large pond. There’s privacy here, raised bed & rock gardens, & serenity. $459,000.

THIS 1830S EYEBROW COLONIAL has charm, modern amenities, & can be easily expanded. On 2 acres, there’s privacy & greenery. Inside, there’s a redone EIK w/ lots of cabinetry & a gas range. The DR/LR is large & open w/3 exposures. There’s an office & ½ bath. Up are two nice BRs, a full redone bath, & large closets. The lower level is walk out, has exposed stone, & can be easily finished into what you need.

Close to the TSP, this home is a perfect, affordable retreat. $295,000.

WITH 2462 SF OF FLEXIBLE SPACES, this 3 BR, 2.5 bath Red Hook home is updated & move in ready. There’s new CA, new propane heat, a new K, new deck, new flooring (no carpeting here). The vaulted LR, DR, & K are open, the FR is 22 x 25, there’s a marvelous, large MBR suite w/a new bath & walk in closet. Guest BRs are 12 x 16 & share another full bath. There’s a 2-car garage, laundry room, full basement, & fenced yard. There is nothing to do here but move right in! $469,000.

w w w. h a l l e n b e c k r e a l e s t a t e . c o m • i n f o @ h a l l e n b e c k r e a l e s t a t e . c o m

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WHERE EXPERIENCE AND HARD WORK MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE

online at upstatehouse.com

WOODSTOCK $2,200,000

home, and we can make that dream a reality. Our team of leading agents will give you access to more distinguished listings and the individual attention you deserve. Give us a call to get started! >

Rendering 3 BR Primary House and Garage

GALLATIN $1,450,000 GLENFORD $999,000

NEW CONSTRUCTION

HIGHLAND $950,000

STONE RIDGE

$965,000

FLEISCHMANNS $799,900

WOODSTOCK $724,900

WOODSTOCK $2,200,000

PHOENICIA $695,000

WOODSTOCK $699,000

MARBLETOWN $495,000

WOODSTOCK 845 679-2010 I KINGSTON 845 331-3110 I HALTERASSOCIATESREALTY.COM

upstate HOUSE

| FALL 2021 • 7 1

Hudson Homestead

$645,000

Restored 19th circa eyebrow 3 BR/2 BA farmhouse with light-filled rooms, original details & fireplace. Private 31+ acre park-like setting. Barn & pole barn.

New mechanicals, roof, exterior paint, and appliances. Large kitchen, pantry, screened front & back porches, & flag stone patio. Fieldstone walls, trails and woods. Berkshire views and room for a pool. In Greenport, 5 minutes from Hudson (Amtrak).

❚ Pamela Belfor 917.734.7142

5 Willard Pl., Hudson $1,325,000

They may be selling quickly, but we keep restocking the finest properties on garydimauro.com.

One-of-a-kind 1870s home on a cul-desac. Historic gem with modern touches walking distance to all that Hudson has to offer. 5 BR/5.5 BA. Original details like mahogany pocket doors, inlaid hardwood floors & sweeping staircase. Large living room & library with fireplaces, 11’ ceilings. Multi-jet spa showers, gas fireplaces in 2 bedrooms and on-demand hot water system. Shaded front and rear porches, bluestone patio with fountain & well-maintained gardens.

❚ Pamela Belfor 917.734.7142

Germantown 1897 Farmhouse

$695,000

4 BR/2.5 BA farmhouse on 8 acre apple orchard in Germantown. Open plan kitchen, dining room, living room w/ wood stove FP insert. Original pocket doors open to large sunny parlor. Walkup attic with original stained glass windows. Wide plank wood floors preserved beneath carpeting. Catskill mountain views from the wraparound porch! Slate roof and new Buderus boiler. Outbuildings: 3-story 1897 overshot barn, 2 more barns, detached garage & potting shed.

❚ Oliver Helden 518.444.2109

The Edgerley House Rhinebeck $2,550,000

Stunning circa 1860 historic Colonial revival home offering luxury country living in Rhinebeck Village. Facade distinguished by beautifully ornate columns, stately 4-on-4 design with 6-over6 windows creating light-filled rooms.

Beautifully modern, large open kitchen with coffered ceiling & marble & Italian glass tile backsplash. It flows easily to the back porch, fenced backyard and Gunite heated pool. Formal dining room, study, side entry foyer, media room with gorgeous woodwork, gas fireplace.

4 BR/4.5 BA, including primary ensuite bathroom with handsome clawfoot tub, and designed walk-in closet. Large laundry area. Separate 3-bay garage with one bay dedicated to pilates studio, full bath, sitting area & kitchenette which provides and additional 600sf of finished space and serves as the ‘pool house.’

❚ Rachel Hyman-Rouse 917.686.4906 ❚ Sheri Sceroler 845.546.1714

Tivoli NY • Hudson NY • Catskill NY Rhinebeck NY • Kingston NY 72

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garydimauro.com

INCREDIBLE 90-ACRE MAGICAL NATURAL PARADISE This property has it all: spectacular panoramic Catskill mountain views and sunsets; a beautiful, serene deep spring-fed lake; and miles of roads and trails all within minutes of thriving Hudson. Proposed as a housing development that was approved in 1989, valuable initial infrastructure has been constructed including mile-long engineered roads with 15 house sites (each with its own tax map number), plus three drilled wells. Adjoins 500 acres of Won Dharma conservation land and additional walking trails. Near shopping, fine dining, culture, services, and transportation, and only two hours to NYC… $1,895,000

RURAL GREEK REVIVAL FARMSTEAD Built 1847, the Van-Rensselaer-Kipp House looks like a little temple in the countryside and features front pediment with handsome fan-light and portico columns with unusual lattice grillwork. Light-filled interior includes original details. Eligible for listing on the National Register, it is a pristine highly intact example of rural Greek Revival architecture with a number of remarkable outbuildings that provide an important agricultural context. Minutes from thriving Hudson, the 43 acre property includes prime farmland, great for the modern farmer… $995,000

TWO ARTS AND CRAFTS BUNGALOWS Live in one, rent the other – long term or AirBnB – or share a family compound. Both well-built, charming homes circa 1930 have light-filled rooms with wood floors. The primary residence is 1,500 sf with two bedrooms and two baths, open porch and expansive sunroom. The second 1,250 sf home was completely renovated in 2018 with all new kitchen, two bedrooms and bath. Each house has a detached garage: one is an insulated four-car with wood-burning stove and studio potential. Deep lots back up to dead-end lane – great for walking. Just minutes to Hudson, in historic Claverack… $485,000

CONSERVANCY PROTECTED FOX HILL FARM, ANCRAMDALE Two spectacular private building sites and prime farmland – much of it “Statewide Significant Farm Soils” – with Berkshire Mountain views, including Mt. Alander. One building site includes an ancient oak tree, the other a view of Old Croken. In an area encompassing some of the most intact agricultural communities, over 2000 acres are protected by Columbia Land Conservancy, including the Drowned Lands Swamp Conservation Area (home to rare, threatened bog turtles) owned and operated by the Conservancy – 130 acres… $1,300,000

CONSERVANCY PROTECTED ROE JAN MEADOWS: AVAILABLE THREE WAYS 1. Beautiful private open building site with stunning views of the Berkshires including Mt Alander, picturesque hills and valleys, and Tom’s Hill in Copake – 32 acres… $450,000 2. Greek Revival farmhouse (in need of total renovation) and fertile farmland of statewide significance, and wetlands bordering the Roeliff Jansen Kill – 71 acres… $495,000 3. All of the above – private building site, Greek Revival farmhouse, natural wetlands, and prime agricultural farmland along the Roeliff Jansen Kill – 103 acres… $895,000 RANCH WITH SPARKLING POOL Privately fenced 43’ x 16’ heated, inground pool with computerized equipment and salt generator, gazebo, and small barn on nearly an acre of landscaped grounds. The three bedroom, two bath home includes large living room with stone fireplace, dining room, and kitchen, plus a year round sunroom and a deck with seasonal Catskill views. Includes a small orchard, minutes to Hudson… $449,000 upstate HOUSE | FALL 2021 • 7 3

KINGSTON 845-339-1144 KINGSTON COMMERCIAL 845-339-9999 • CATSKILL 518-800-9999 SAUGERTIES 845-246-3300 • WOODSTOCK TINKER ST. 845-679-9444 WOODSTOCK OLD FORGE 845-679-2929 • PHOENICIA 845-688-2929

We’re Everywhere You Need Us! - www.WinMorrisonRealty.com 26 Hamburg Road, Catskill, NY Totally incredible estate covering over 17 magnificent acres with one quarter of a mile Hudson River frontage. The views are breathtaking! This 12,000 sq. ft., 6-bedroom, 5 bath, 6 fi replace, brick mansion has been meticulously renovated from top to bottom over the years. There are also 5 outbuildings including a high end log home. The current owner has traveled the world and has brought that appreciation of various schools of woodworking and architecture with him to complete this massive project. Top European craftsmen were brought in for their superb expertise and taste.

Everything is top of the line in materials and workmanship. $8,500,000.

For more information, contact Richard Miller, Associate Broker – 845-389-7286 264 Cypert Road, Woodbourne, NY Luxurious home and equine estate on 17 bucolic acres with a lovely, small lake. The house is an exquisite blend of old and new. It was built in 1940, but the den, with hand hewn beams, dates back to 1872. Construction in 1980 added many modern amenities. The current owner renovated in 1994 to add all new floors, windows, doors, and ceramic tile.

In 2012 every bathroom was renovated as well as the gourmet kitchen with granite counters, center island/ breakfast bar, radiant heat and ceramic tile floors.

Good size bedrooms with plenty of closet space and a laundry chute, provide a very comfortable feel to this sophisticated home. Hardwood floors, crown moldings, stylish open stairway and extensive oak trim dress out this cozy home. $799,999.

For more information, contact William “Chris” St. John, RES – 845-802-3638 or William Carey, RES – 845-389-9008 5008 State Route 23, Windham, NY Unique 3 bedroom + two bath country house nestled on a hillside overlooking the Windham Valley in the Catskill Mountains of New York.

Built by owner 5 years ago, a gardener’s home surrounded by well-manicured perennials beds, rock walls, stone patios, and includes a small pond, sitting on 2 acres. House boasts steel reinforced poured concrete construction with stone accents and additional 6 inches of close cell spray foam insulation making the structure extremely durable and efficient. Radiant heat throughout the cement and wood floors, high quality argon gas fi lled double glazed windows, stone chimney, and wood stove. $879,000.

For more information, contact Win Morrison, Broker/Owner – 914-388-3334 74

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RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL • LAND • INVESTMENT • MULTI-FAMILY

See Hudson Valley's Best Properties Representing the Best of The Hudson Valley for Over 20 Years

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Exquisite c1775 White Bridge Farm On 160 Acres Old Chatham NY. 7BR. 8 Bath. $15,000,000. Web# 21112461 Nancy Felcetto & Robin Horowitz 917-626-6755

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Waterfront On Hillside Lake Wappinger NY. 4BR. 2 Bath. $325,000. Web # to come Joseph Lorino 917-340-0431

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Catskill Mountain Dreaming Tannersville NY. 2BR. 2BTH ski chalet. $649,000. Web# 20852994 Stephan Delventhal 646-761-3633

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Great Outdoors – 200 Glorious Acres Norwich NY. 3BR. 2 Bath. $645,000. Web# 20445725 Michael Stasi 732-241-1723

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Mountain View Micro Farm! c1900 on 40 Protected Acres Windham NY. 5BR. 3 Bath. $499,000. Web# 21031346 Stephan Delventhal 646-761-3633

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High On Hudson on .5 Acres Hudson NY. 3BR. 2 Bath. $735,000. Web# 21084163 Nancy Felcetto & Robin Horowitz 917-626-6755

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Invest in Your Dream in Hudson Hudson NY. Commercial. $849,000. Web# 20631441 Michael Stasi 732-241-1723

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Prime Hudson 5 Shops / 8 Res + & 8000SF Yard Hudson NY. Commercial / Residential $3,245,000. Web# 20740891 Nancy Felcetto & Robin Horowitz 917-626-6755

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West Wind Hill Estate Panoramic Views - 360 Acres Wassaic NY. 6BR. 8 Bath. $8,995,000. Web# 21197812 Joseph Lorino 917-340-0431

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Rare Hudson 19th Carriage House Hudson NY. Mixed Use $1,048,000. Web# 20240609 Nancy Felcetto & Robin Horowitz 917-626-6755

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All information is from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, prior sale or withdrawal without notice. All rights to content, photographs and graphics reserved to Broker. Equal Broker. upstateHousing HOUSEOpportunity | FALL 2021 • 75

BETHEL • NY

Beautiful building lot on Swinging Bridge Reservoir in the Chapin Estate. This lot was part of the original buildout of Chapin and has 660’ of lake frontage at one of the widest points on the reservoir. The property should be viewed to be truly appreciated; there is no driveway, so the buyer has complete flexibility. Chapin Estate is just minutes from Bethel Woods Performing Arts Center, the Eldred Preserve & the Monticello Motor Club. $595,000

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Jack Drapkin, RES

Mobile: (845) 807-1641 jackdrapkin@gmail.com

Detail of The Theia Hypothesis by Dustin Yellin

35 Church St., Claverack, NY Multi-unit investment property, live in one and rent the other, continuing renting both apartments, or airbnb, vrbo, etc. The options are endless when it comes to an investment. Both units are approx 1, 300 sq ft, 3 beds, 1 bath with a full kitchen, living room and dining room. The entire house has been recently renovated, turn key and ready. Walk to the pubs, restaurants, and shops the village has to offer. $275,000.

davalarealestate.com • philmont, ny • 518-755-2385

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The Barbara Carter Team

Your resource for residential, commercial, and new construction Hudson Valley Real Estate

BarbaraCarterTeam.com BarbaraCarterTeam@gmail.com

CENTURY 21 ALLIANCE REALTY GROUP Fine Homes and Estates and Commercial 1136 Route 9, Wappingers Falls, NY | 203 Main Street, New Paltz, NY

CHARMING HIGHLAND HAMLET Located in the Hamlet of Highland and a stone’s throw to the Walkway over the Hudson • 1840s colonial • 3 BR, 1.5 bath • 1820 (sq.ft.)

• barn • 1 acre Stefan Bolz Associate Real Estate Broker ABR, CRS

NOW is a GREAT time to sell.

A curated guide to Hudson Valley homes

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FAMILY

If you’re thinking about selling your home, call Stefan Bolz for a free consultation.

25 years of experience in residential real estate.

Serving Ulster, Dutchess, and Orange Counties. m. 845.633.5223 | o. 845.255.9400 sbolz@bhhshudsonvalley.com | E @stefanbolzrealtor

upstate HOUSE

| FALL 2021 • 7 7

INDEX O F ADVERT IS ERS INDEX O F A DVERTI S E R S Adirondack Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Grandberg & Associates Architects . . . . . . . . . . cover, 64-67

Murray Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Alfandre Architecture, PC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Halter Associates Realty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

New Energy Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Amalgam Studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Hammertown Barn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

NYSERDA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Art Forms Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Herrington’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Ogawa-Depardon Architects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Augustine Landscaping & Nursery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Herzog’s True Value Home Center . . . . . . inside back cover

Paul Hallenbeck Real Estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Barbara Carter Real Estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Historic Decorative Materials,

Peggy Lampman Real Estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

a Division of Pave Tile, Wood & Stone, Inc. . . . . . . . . . 35

Phinney Design Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Hudson Valley Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68, 77

Hudson Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Pinkwater Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Brown Harris Stevens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Hudson River Valley Gardens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Pioneer Millworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Cabinet Designers, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Hudson Valley Agents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Quatrefoil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Catskill Farms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41, 69

Hudson Valley Construction Group Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

River Architects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Central Hudson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Hudson Valley House Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Roman Professional Engineering / Roman Driveways . . 28

Conklin Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

James Wagman Architect, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Scott Swimming Pools Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . back cover

Country House Realty & Red Cottage Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Janson Scuro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Stinemire Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Davala Real Estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Jeff Wilkinson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Stone Ridge Electric Co., Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Deer Ridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Kalesis Design Studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Studio Cicetti Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

English & Harms Specialty Painting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Kate Aubrey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Studio SFW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

EvolveD Interiors & Design Showroom LLC . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Keller Williams Realty Hudson Valley United . . . . . . . . . . 76

Talo Architect, P.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Exposures Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Kimlin Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Trillium Architects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Finch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Larson Architecture Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

vonDalwig Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Foster Flooring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

L. Browe Asphalt Services Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

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LV Wood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Williams Lumber & Home Center . inside front cover, 30-31

Gary DiMauro Real Estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Michael Puryear Furniture Maker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

William Wallace Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Glenn’s Wood Sheds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

ModCraft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Win Morrison Realty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

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B ACK PO RCH Renovat ed Writ er’ s Wo rkspace

Architect David Burke turned a detached garage in Beacon into a library/workspace for writer Sam Anderson.

W

e are designing places that are close to people’s family, that are close to their community, yet [are] isolated enough to bring focus and creativity,” says David Burke, creative director and founder of Beacon-based architecture firm DBA. Burke is referring to the changed focus of home renovations that emerged in response to the pandemic, what he dubs “the evolving home.” Burke recently helped New York Times Magazine staff writer Sam Anderson create a custom workspace of his own in Beacon, transforming a detached garage from the 1920s into a 400-square-foot library/workspace.

“Libraries have always been special places to me—I grew up going to them, I got jobs at them in college, I taught myself to write by sitting in the stacks and reading book after book after book. I’ve always dreamed of having a library of my own,” says Anderson. And in collaboration with Burke and his team and associated contractors, he was able to make his dream a reality. Over the span of a few months, the uninsulated space covered in moss was renovated and recast as a writer’s paradise.

The Library, as Burke titled the renovation, boasts full heating and cooling, a bespoke sliding ladder against custom-

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made bookshelves, a wall-to-wall desk accompanying the floor-to-ceiling window, and pendant overhead lighting with threaded rod structural bracings that blend into the background. The intricate custom-designed woodwork, including a plywood interior with seams that match up at each turn, is courtesy of DBA’s joint work with Hudson Handcrafted LLC contractor Marko Andric.

Burke credits the collaborative process between Anderson, Andric, and himself in creating the Library’s impressive final outcome. “Marko being so good with timber and wood construction, Sam wanting a high, open space and a lot of room for his books, and my experience putting all this together really brought the space to bear on what it is now,” says Burke.

The trio’s meticulous attention to the smallest detail yielded a warm, bright room perfectly conducive to a writer’s need for creativity and focus. “I think my favorite detail—which was another of David’s ideas—is the built-in desk. It’s 19 feet long, so I can spread out multiple projects on it at once,” Anderson says, pleased with the final result. “My wife said that if we’d hired a psychologist to design a perfect space for me, they could not have come up with anything better.”

—Jacqueline Gill DAVIDBURKEARCHITECTS.COM

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