Contemporary Home - Ancram, NY

In the countryside of southern Columbia County, a distant view of the foothills east of the Berkshire Mountains brings a new residence into your site line. Its roofline echoes the existing natural horizon of trees and crop fields. Truly built into and of the landscape, surrounded by established natural corn and hay buffers, the design of this +/- 3,500 square foot contemporary home was inspired by the vernacular bank barns seen on hillside farms throughout the northeast.

Sun and light move through the house, bringing the contour lines of the elevations together with the soft angles of the outdoor porches and stone chimneys to create a seamless blend of living with the land. Windows wrapping corners allow the vast, sweeping quality of the outdoor views to come into the house. Deep, bracketed eaves provide late afternoon shade.

Inside, the sunken entry terrace opens into a double-heighted space lit with clerestory windows that flood the home with ambient light.  An open tread staircase brings volume into the living space and appears to float to the second floor. The expansive wood terrace wraps three sides of the home, connecting the main entry and pool to a large screened entertaining porch with its own fireplace, seamlessly blending interior with exterior.