The 3,500-square-foot vacation house, sitting on 45 acres atop a mountain, incorporated wood from trees canvassed on the property to beautify the interior and give it a distinct and sophisticated wilderness feel. A guest cabin once utilized during
The building process provides additional living space.
Seven years ago when Thomas J. Schwarz bought a parcel of land on this mountaintop—about 45 acres—he had no particular vision in mind; he just fell in love with the surrounding beauty and openness. As time went on, he decided the location would be the perfect place for a vacation home where he, his daughter and son, and their families could congregate on holidays and over the summer. From there, a home unique in both its “greenness” and aesthetics was born.
“I basically wanted to bring the outside in so that when you were in the house, you really felt a part of the land and you saw the views as if you were standing there before the house was built,” says Schwarz, who has served as president of Purchase College for eight years.
To accomplish this mission, he had the trees that were chopped down to clear the land sent to local mills so they could be used in as much of the construction as possible. The result is walls and floors almost completely devoid of paint or carpets and instead made striking by varying wood grains and color, all finished with non-toxic, sustainable finishes. The master suite has a cherry floor and hickory ceiling, the upstairs hall ceiling is black birch, the upstairs play loft has a maple wall and ceiling, and an upstairs bathroom got built-in embellishment with a patterned floor created from leftover wood.
Slate from ponds at the bottom of the hill was collected and used in the nearly half-mile access road built specifically for the property and all other construction materials were obtained locally.
“I’m a recycler and have been for years, so using green building techniques and recycling materials was very important to me. I used to have an antique store so I appreciate old things and like to reuse,” says Schwarz.
From day one, Schwarz knew exactly what he wanted and was actively involved from conception to completion. His desire to make an intergenerational home that his daughter, son, and their families could be comfortable in led to the home’s most distinguishing feature—an open staircase in the middle of the house.
“I wanted to be able to stand anywhere in the downstairs of the house and be able to see the rest of the downstairs. I didn’t want to put a staircase off in the back to the side because it would block views, so we decided to put the stairs in the middle and have it be an open stair you could see through,” says Schwarz. “You can stand in the kitchen and look through the stairs to the living room area, which is important with little kids.”
The open stair was perhaps the most crucial element of the house and allowed the building process to take on a life of its own. It was brainchild of architect Martin Rich, of New York City based architecture firm Martin E. Rich Architects, PC.
“There was a moment in time when I couldn’t get a feel for how it was all going to come together and then it just clicked. By code, you can’t have an open stair but I was able to come up with a kind of cage. It’s the anchor of the house and everything else spins off of it,” says Rich, who worked on Schwarz’s brownstone in New York City years before. “The staircase works visually and spatially because there are bookcases on the outside of it you can utilize.”
Ground was broken in Spring 2008 and resulted in a house with approximately 3,500 square feet of living space—three upstairs bedrooms, a separate master suite on the first floor joined by living room and kitchen and a basement. Rich says the design is reminiscent of New England architecture, which is characterized by its steep rooflines, large porches, and indigenous materials. The house is open and airy, with oversized windows and skylights to use maximum natural light and natural ventilation. Not only was the process eco-friendly but the finished product is energy-efficient to the max.
“The house is heated with hydronic radiant coils in the floor on all levels,” Rich explains. “This means that rooms are heated from the ground up so that only the comfort zone is heated, nothing higher than six feet. Water for the radiant heating is produced by a high efficiency gas boiler connected to a smart house remote system which allows them to operate it from New York City. Hot water is heated with a tankless hot water heater, which takes a bit longer but saves energy because it only heats water as it’s needed,” Rich says.
The house is also equipped with a wood stove in the master suite and Rumford fireplaces that provide efficient heating and move recaptured heat between rooms. Dual flush toilets are in every bathroom—for liquid waste you flush one side, which uses .09 gallons per flush and for solid you press the other side, which uses 1.8 gallons per flush. Recycled denim and Styrofoam provide two layers of insulation in most of the walls.
Builder Tom Hopkins says the house was a learning experience for him because while he’s created many custom houses, none of them included this magnitude of wood or recycling.
“I’ve done a lot of work with green elements and it’s much easier to do now because more products are available. Six years ago, when I started, it was nightmare because you couldn’t find products or if you did, it was 20 times the cost,” Hopkins says. “It’s getting better as time goes on. Working with the wood was a ton of work, just finding ways to ensure I used as much from the land I could.”
Schwarz’s family gathered at the home for the first time over the Christmas/New Year’s holiday. He couldn’t join them but saw pictures and says he is pleased with the outcome.
“It came out as I hoped it would and I think one of the hardest things to do was envision how all the different kinds of wood would work together,” Schwarz says.
More than how the compound turned out visually, Schwarz says he is perhaps most proud of its overall approach.
“I think it’s great when people are building a new house to use resources that are right there to their greatest extent. It’s a little more expensive but there’s something wonderful about incorporating into a house the very trees from the land,” said Schwarz. “Our forefathers did that when they cut down trees and made log cabins but mostly people don’t do that anymore. It’s much healthier for us all and I hope other people will take note and do it this way.”
For more photos check out our digital edition of this article. Resource List
ARCHITECT MARTIN E. RICH, AIA, LEED AP New York; (212) 880-2390
CONTRACTOR THOMAS C. HOPKINS INC. BUILDERS Valatie; (518) 392-3977
KITCHEN CABINETS SMITH & FONG CO.’S PLYBOO BAMBOO plyboo.com
WINDOWS AND DOORS PELLA web.pella.com
GAS BOILER PRESTIGE HIGH-EFFICIENCY GAS BOILER triangletube.com
WOOD STOVE JOTUL WOOD STOVES, GAS STOVES AND FIREPLACES jotul.fr/en/wwwjotulus
RADIANT HEATING TACO ZONE CONTROL taco-hvac.com
APPLIANCES KITCHEN AID REFRIGERATOR, MICROWAVE, DISHWASHER kitchenaid.com
BERTAZZONI GAS FOUR-BURNER RANGE bertazzoni-italia.com
TOILETS TOTO DUAL FLUSH TOILETS totousa.com
FIXTURES/FITTINGS LA TOSCANA paini-usa.com
MOEN moen.com
SPEAKMAN speakmancompany.com
STONE PRODUCTS JEREMY DEDATER OMI STONEWORK Ghent; (518) 828-4578
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