A woodland retreat gets a very modern makeover by SOON Architecture Studio
This private woodland retreat set in a forest clearing in the Catskills has been carved from the excellent bone structure of an existing traditional house
This striking contemporary woodland retreat, set deep within the rolling woods of the Catskills, about 100 miles north-west of Manhattan, is an extensive renovation that transformed an original house on site. Something Out of Nothing Architecture Studio (SOON) took on the project with an eye to overhauling the finishes and layout, a brief that saw a radically reorganised façade that makes better use of the site.
The Rowley House: a contemporary woodland retreat
The Rowley House is set within a forest clearing, a striking, black-painted presence that is integrated directly into the landscape. The architects describe the house as having ‘good bones’, structurally sound but not making any engagement to the forest on its doorstep.
‘The finishes on the building were in bad shape. The basement was completely unused. And the house sat within a beautiful forested lot but showed no interest in connecting with its surroundings,’ says SOON principal Chad Murphy. By rearranging the fenestration across all four façades, the house becomes open to the pine, oak, and maple trees that surround it.
A new main living space sits on the upper floor, with the ceilings raised up to meet the pitch of the traditional roof. Modern creature comforts have been added, including a sauna, a fitness room and a guest suite on the ground floor, previously a dark and disused basement area.
The upper levels are reached via a staircase that leads to a large deck up at tree level. This opens off the double-height kitchen, dining and living space, spectacularly lit by large frameless square windows. An additional two bedrooms also share this floor, with their own bespoke views. ‘We relocated and enlarged the windows,’ Murphy explains, ‘playfully locating them to frame different views in the surrounding forest.’ At the very top of the house is a family room, set under the peak of the sloping roof, clad entirely in wood and with treetop views.
The house is clad in traditional lap siding made from local white pine, coated in blackened pine tar to create a strong silhouette that is both contemporary-feeling and a nod to the region’s vernacular, with a cabin-like aesthetic. ‘It’s a real success,’ Murphy says. ‘Visitors from all walks of life really like it; visitors from the city tend to like it for its novelty and dark colour, while locals tend to like the fact that a modern renovation uses a familiar wood finish in a respectful way.’
The effect is particularly striking at dawn and dusk, when the silhouette looms out of the woods, framing a cascade of ‘golden shapes’, according to Murphy.
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Something Out Of Nothing (SOON) Architecture Studio is based in Brooklyn and upstate NY. Specialising in restoration and renewal, the firm places an emphasis on craft and context.
Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
The Mercury Prize nominees for 2024 have been revealed
Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons are amongst this year's nominees
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
IM Pei's Everson Museum of Art gets a modern makeover
The East Wing of the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, NY has been given a contemporary refresh by emerging Los Angeles studio MILLIØNS
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Black Modernism’s lesser-known, at-risk architecture gems gain a lifeline
Conserving Black Modernism announces vital funding to save and preserve overlooked and endangered buildings by African American architects and designers
By Bridget Downing Published
-
Step into the Blanton Museum of Art's reimagined public realm by Snøhetta in Austin
Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, Texas is completed and reveals its reimagined public realm and plaza designed by Snøhetta
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
This New York Townhouse renovation is a lesson in contemporary minimalism
TenBerke’s carefully considered New York townhouse is the reimagining of a century-old Manhattan structure that reframes vertical living
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Visit The Frost House, a lesser-known modernist architecture marvel in Michigan City
The Frost House is a lesser-known midcentury architecture gem in Michigan City, Indiana; we took the tour as the property goes on the market
By Audrey Henderson Published
-
Broadway designer Scott Pask’s Arizona retreat is a scene-stealing discovery
Scott Pask invites us inside his Arizona retreat, nestled in the foothills overlooking Tucson – a place to reboot, recharge and commune with nature
By Michael Webb Published
-
Upstate New York retreat Ridge House evokes land art
Ridge House in upstate New York, the work of Brooklyn-based studio Worrell Yeung, is at one with the surrounding countryside
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Rafael de Cárdenas’ first ground-up project is a forever home with waterfront views and hidden treasures
Rafael de Cárdenas reveals his latest completed project in the Pacific Northwest, a family home of calming spaces that bleed the outside in, and ten years in the making
By Ellie Stathaki Published