When our clients, a stylish family with teenage children, decided to leave Manhattan for the country, they naturally gravitated to the Hudson Valley, where the husband is originally from. The wife, a prominent lifestyle journalist and editor known for her creative entertaining, immediately saw the potential in this unexpected property, although it is distinctly different from the Greek Revival farmhouses the area is known for. The house was originally a 1940s dairy building, part of a larger farm that was split off and sold in the 1960s. The rest of the renovation also honors the building’s origins and we maintained many of the original details, although it required a complete overhaul to transform what had been an agrarian, industrial compound replete with concrete floors and a warren-like layout, into a warm, light-filled residence. In addition to reconfiguring the floor plan to create a more natural flow throughout the interior spaces, we lifted roof lines and added a primary suite. Our client led the interior decoration, designing chic, flexible spaces that function well for daily family life and easily morph into rooms that suit her famed “the-more-the-merrier” dinner parties and cocktail gatherings.
There’s a coziness, a don’t-take-your-shoes-off casualness to this home, but touches of elegance and grandeur as well that elevate it. By Schafer Buccellato Architects.
