Designed with sustainable living and passive house principles in mind, this Catskills home enables it’s inhabitants to reside in harmony with nature. The Brooklyn Home Company thoughtfully outfitted this home in elements that further uphold these values, while creating a social place to gather. Learn about the design that made this possible in the story below.
From the designer… This home in the Catskills was designed by LANG Architecture with interiors by The Brooklyn Home Company (TBHCo). Specially located in Hudson Woods, the compound belongs to a 130-acre sustainable community imagined by Manhattan-based architect Drew Lang that is focused on sustainable living through passive house principles.
The Hudson Woods home was designed for the family of TBHCo’s co-founder Bill Caleo as a year-round escape. The retreat is situated on several acres and the grounds were landscaped by Earth Designs Cooperative, based in Rosendale, New York. The estate includes a two-story home, a pool and poolhouse in addition to a playhouse, 40-foot bluestone swimming pond, and a guest house. A sustainable vegetable garden is also on site where the family sources many of their meals. Outfitted with solar panels, the residence is oriented to maximize solar gain and receive cross-ventilation to avoid heating and cooling. With heavily insulated walls and triple-glazed windows, the home is able to operate at net-zero, a like minded priority shared by LANG and TBHCo.
The interiors of all spaces were executed by Bill’s sister, co-founder and creative director of The Brooklyn Home Company, Lyndsay Caleo Karol. The airy interiors complement the home’s connection to nature with white oak, regionally sourced from a Pennsylvania mill, used throughout for ceilings, floors, and millwork. The resulting design is rustic camp meets modernist barn. A Noguchi lantern in the living room hangs above white Montauk sofas and a Hans Wegner chair. Large windows allow the surrounding nature to enter into the space, complemented by additional wood elements such as the end tables that mimic tree stumps and the custom coffee table by TBHCo and Grandwood.
For the kitchen, Lyndsay worked with fabricators to create a bespoke cafeteria-style, marble-top table that accommodates twelve on swing arm seats. Just as many can comfortably sleep at the home, thanks to a bunk room in the garage outfitted in Intiearth and Annie Selkie textiles. The pavilion is also used for dining throughout three seasons with the help of an indoor grill. James Perse director-style dining chairs surround a dining table by Lyndsay’s husband, Fitzhugh Karol, the firm’s co-founder and artist-in-residence. James Perse sofas are positioned at the opposite end with an RH wicker pendant for light and a fireplace for warmth in the colder months. The bluestone surrounding the pool was quarried from a deposit on site which is now a pond. Artwork throughout the home is by BDDW’s Taylor Hayes, Drew Doggett, Tamar Mogendorff and historical tribal artifacts, with lighting by Apparatus, Workstead, Schoolhouse Electric, Circa, Norman Copenhagen and Isamu Noguchi.
Like what you see? Take a peek at the talent behind the story… Interior Design: The Brooklyn Home Company · Photography: Matthew Williams · Architect: LANG Architecture · Landscape Design: Earth Designs Cooperative
