In 2016, a New York–based couple purchased an aging estate on a majestic woodland property so they could raise their children in a more rustic environment. The Colonial Revival–era house commanded over fieldstone walls and a rolling lawn from a leveled site just beneath a granite-strewn hilltop. Although the two-story house originally stood apart from a one-story garage to the north, a previous owner had connected the two structures in a remodeling project that had also transformed the garage into a caretaker’s apartment. At some point, the ground floor of the house also was expanded southward to include a study, bedroom suite, and sun-room. Our clients hoped this sprawling residence could be modified to better suit their family and reflect their modern taste.
Considering whether the house should be torn down or kept and remodeled, we consulted with local builders on budget and other parameters and decided upon a hybrid approach. We would demolish the single-story south wing and reuse the foundation for a new structure containing primary active spaces oriented to sunlight and views. The house’s two-story section would be partially reconfigured to encompass three bedrooms and bathrooms, an office, and library, with cellar-level play and utility rooms. Finally, we planned to gut the former garage and refashion it into a large master suite that looks up the hill to the granite outcroppings.
The original house’s formal entrance faced downhill, but the access drive directed users to the uphill elevation and back door. Rather than reuse this muddled entry sequence, we redesigned it to terminate in the active spaces of the south wing. A new hallway, designed in the manner of an enclosed porch, stretches across the up-hill, two-story facade to encourage movement from the new entry into the house’s more private realms. A new terrace makes use of the existing fieldstone walls, and sliding glass doors across the down-hill facade allow interior activities to spill onto the terrace.
To improve the comfort of the interior, we designed layers of insulation and cladding that would also aesthetically tie new and old together in a modernized way: open-joint timber battens wrap the building at the ground floor; the upper story and various roof lines are finished in zinc standing-seam panels. The wood joinery’s subtle rhythm is echoed in the standing seams of the zinc panels, and both are reminiscent of the interplay of light and shadow in the glen located at the lawn’s edge. Both cladding materials will develop patina that imbue the house with further character over time, and integrate it even more fully with the landscape and climate.