Now offered at $3,750,000

The Site

The site couldn’t get much better than this.   It is a wide open cornfield on a hill with a spectacular view to the southeast as well as a southern exposure.  A great place to start your own vineyard.

House is distant from other properties for maximum privacy.  Surrounding lands are owned by neighbor who purchased land to maintain natural landcape and privacy.  Other neighboring properties have been placed in the Land Conservancy Program.  Large open expanses provide ample alert of guests arriving.

Watch the beautiful sunrises over the mountain and the clearing mist from the lower valley.

The Exterior

The house was designed in the local barn vernacular with a standing seam metal roof that is seen on numerous farm buildings in the area.  The siding is clear, no knots, Western Red Cedar.  The large expanses of windows are all custom made Marvin Windows to allow for 180 degree views.  The materials are modern yet blend in to the shapes and colors of the surrounding landscape.

The deck is Ipe, a denser, richer colored wood, than Mahogany.  The merging of the hill oriented deck with the angles of the house creates multiple separate outdoor spaces.

The pool is gunite with a gray interior for subtlety and to blend in with the surroundings.  The area around the pool is paved with Belgard Pavers.  The lit pergola is cedar and ready for vines.

The Interior

The interior is a warm white with natural White Birch trim at all windows and doors.  The Living and Dining Room floor is Red Birch.  The Living Room, Dining Area and Hall ceiling is White Birch and the doors are Douglas Fir.  The Main Hallway all is natural Bluestone.  Continuous White Birch window benches provide seating for social gatherings.  The monolithic “floating” staircase is steel and White Birch.

The Layout and Design

We wanted most of the rooms to take advantage of the view as well as the exposure.  Natural light fills all rooms and opens the vista to the surrounding beauty of the Hudson Valley and Lower Berkshires.  Windows provide a framed view at the termination of every axis.

One enters the porch under a lower eave and upon entering the house immediately expands into a grand volume which then is carried throughout the main areas.

The public areas such as the Kitchen, Dining Area and Living Room have been separated from the private areas of theBedrooms and Den to provide quiet.

The wide Main Hall, with numerous windows, feels like a space that one wants to linger in and provides large expanses of wall for art placement.

At parties, many people end up in or near the kitchen.  When not entertaining, a major chunk of time is spent in meal preparation so the kitchen was designed to be open to the Living Room and Dining Area.  The height of the bar was made to obscure the working counter and sink while Dining.  The Kitchen has a cork floor which is beautiful, soft underfoot and forgiving to falling tableware.  The pantry, common in stately homes, has been reintroduced and extremely useful for storage of food, large serving pieces and appliances such as standing mixers. 

The cabinets are natural Cherry,   handles are Linnea.

The appliances are top of the line;   SubZero refrigerator,   Thermador oven, Viking rangetop,   Wolf hood,   Asko dishwasher and undercounter SubZero freezer. 

Refrigerator, freezer and dishwasher fronts have full Cherry panels. 

Kitchen ceiling height allowed for additional row of upper cabinets.  Great for storing less frequently used items.

The Master Bedroom is on the first floor for frequent easy access and for any issues for which stairs may provide a challenge.

The Den created for privacy and quiet working is on the side of the house at a distance from where the kids would be playing.  The volume above the Den bath and closet was taken advantage of to maximize the use of all space.  It has become a playspace for kids with a  climbing wall and a ship-like netted partition.  Climbing wall and partition are easily removable and the area can be used as a storage space.

There is a Playspace/Library adjoining the upstairs bedrooms so the kids could be near with toys out and the Living Room could be maintained as the social gathering place as well as the end of day relaxation.  The Playspace/Library can be closed off as well to provide an extra room for guests.

The laundry room is conveniently located near the Kitchen, Master Bedroom and just below the kids bedrooms.  Laundry room has a deep utility sink as well.

Mudroom has bench, mirror, hooks and cubbies for shoes and hats.

The Screened in Porch has a fireplace and is on the side of the house where one can view the sun setting.  It is a great place to lounge, eat or even sleep in during the summer or on cool Autumn evenings with a roaring fire.

Additional Notes

Large windows, operable windows for cross ventilation, and planned directional opening of casements, provide passive heating and cooling.  This design reduces the need for mechanical heating and cooling and thereby lowering costs and is environmentally conscious.

All closets have been custom designed to provide practical and best use of space.

All showers are built to allow for extra height adjustment with handheld shower attachment.

Interior partition walls are insulated which allow the bedrooms to be quiet even when guests are socializing in the main areas.

Zoned heating allows heat savings for when some rooms are not in use.  Programmable thermostats in all areas.

Programmable hot water recirculation pump provides warm water rapidly to all faucets to reduce water waste.

The basement is extremely large with walk-out double doors.  Ceiling height is 8ft in most areas to allow for various play such as table tennis and pool.

Future wine cellar room is insulated from the rest of the house and has a keyed lock.

Water room has double doors and space for water storage tank in case needs of home increase.

Heating is provided by top of the line oil burning furnace with two oil storage tanks.

The garage holds two cars plus areas for lawn equipment and bicycles and outdoor gear.

House is alarmed with dial in on/off capability.  Cameras viewable from remote locations online.  Driveway has sensor that can send a text message when tripped.  Sensor has mild tone that also rings in house when tripped.

 Enjoyment

In the summer, one can easily live in one’s bathing suit... early morning swims in the heated pool, lunch under the pergola, dinner in the screened in porch while watching the sunset.   The exterior railings become the place to hold the drying beach towels in the summer and if it rains, the interior railings will do just fine.

The wide open sky provides unmatched stargazing at night.

In the autumn, he hills seem to change color every hour with the sun angles playing on the gold, orange and red leaves.  Have dinner in the screened in porch with a fire to warm you.

After gazing at the snow on the distant hills during winter, the spring begins to tinge the hills with green and wildflowers are abundant in the fields near the house.

Flat play areas allow for great soccer, croquet, or football games and are visible from the Kitchen and Living Room/Dining Area.

Saplings planted to provide other defined outdoor spaces and will only add to the beauty of the hill as they grow.

 Designer

Designer/Owner received her B.S. in Architecture from CCNY in 1989.  Her client/ Owner/husband and she have traveled extensively and collected ideas from all over the world as well as newspaper and magazine clippings of things that they wanted in their home.  It was incredibly fun, difficult and educational and they can’t wait to do it again.

 Architect

Michael Sloan of Sloan Architects, Millbrook, NY provided the technical and construction support and added his knowledge and experience to the design of the home.