With high ceilings, an open kitchen, and rustic wood everywhere, the upstate abode charms from every angle.
By Nora Burba Trulsson, Houzz
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Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: An owner and operator of a clothing line, an internet entrepreneur, and their two young children
Location: Sullivan County, New York
Size: 2,800 square feet (260 square meters); five bedrooms, three bathrooms
Designer: Armin Zomorodi of Material Design Build
After a Manhattan couple scooped up a 50-acre property in rural New York state, they envisioned building an easygoing barnlike structure that would serve as a bunkhouse for woodsy adventures with friends and family.
For help with the design and construction of their dream vacation home, the couple turned to Armin Zomorodi, who helped them create a simple house that could accommodate big groups.
The house sits on a poured-concrete foundation on a steeply sloped site overlooking a stream. Reclaimed timbers from a 19th-century Pennsylvania barn forms the framing, while structural insulated panels make up the walls. Cypress boards clad the exterior.
The Cor-Ten steel roof over the house will develop a patina with age. A deck cantilevers over the steep slope, creating storage space beneath.
A low-key entry marks the front of the house, where its barnlike shape becomes apparent. “The homeowners showed us images of rustic, modern and Scandinavian-influenced designs, but what they basically wanted was a simple gabled form,” Zomorodi says.
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Reclaimed hemlock and pine framing sets the rustic-meets-modern tone of the interiors. An eye-level Rumford fireplace with wood storage below warms the dining and living areas, as does radiant-heat concrete flooring. A built-in Douglas fir bookcase occupies the opposite wall.
To furnish the home, the owners mixed family heirlooms with new pieces. They improvised others, such as the dining table made from leftover boards set on steel sawhorses.
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In the airy kitchen, near the dining area, custom aluminum-trimmed yellow pine cabinetry and countertops crafted by Pennsylvania cabinetmaker Larry Braverman give the kitchen a solid, rustic ambience.
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A hanging steel staircase — built in several pieces and craned into the house — serves as a focal point in the living room, and leads to the second- and third-floor bedrooms. Zomorodi used reclaimed yellow pine beams from a Brooklyn warehouse for the treads. The stairs below lead to the basement.
The second-floor room with the open windows seen here was originally designed to be a home office but serves as one of the five bedrooms.
Keystone Vintage Lumber planed one side of the reclaimed flooring for the upper levels, smoothing it for use as floors and leaving the bottom side rough for the ceilings below.
The timber framing serves as a sculptural element in the living room’s two-story volume, accenting large windows that overlook the wooded site.
The owners opted not to use window coverings because of the home’s secluded locale.
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Pine shiplap-clad walls, painted white, form a backdrop for one of the spare upstairs bedrooms. Barn doors hide the closet. “There really is no master bedroom,” Zomorodi says. “The owners wanted all of the bedrooms to be of the same small size or to fit bunk beds so that everyone would be encouraged to socialize.”
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A mezzanine landing creates an extra seating and hangout space. The adjacent loft provides room for more beds.
Loft beds can add to the guest count on any given weekend. “This home has slept more than 20 people comfortably,” Zomorodi says.
