With its gently rolling pastures and colorful woodland vistas, the Hudson Valley has long been a refuge for world-weary New Yorkers, from the Dutch settlers who followed Henry Hudson up the river and made it their home to the seminal 19th-century plein-air painters who romanticized its landscapes. In more recent years, the region’s bucolic charms have lured another batch of visitors: well-to-do weekenders who are as discerning as they are discreet.
So when a Brooklyn-based couple with a toddler began house shopping for a place to spend holidays and spare time, Silo Ridge—a notoriously posh gated community in Amenia, New York—offered an idyllic choice. “It’s like adult summer camp,” says the wife, pointing to the golf tournaments, pool parties, concerts and cookouts that enliven the community calendar. Shares the husband, “It’s a year-round destination. You can ski. You can go apple picking. There’s a great culinary scene.” But, best of all, “It’s down to earth,” he adds.
Once the opportunity struck to purchase an already-framed home designed by Hart Howerton and built by Stoneleaf Construction, the couple didn’t hesitate. Their next move: hiring Anna Baraness and Kristin Tarsi of Studio AK to coax the interior architecture into a thoroughly custom confection and bring a fittingly upscale—yet laidback—ethos to the decoration.
“We wanted a seamless transition between indoors and out, and to make the house feel casual and comfortable in the spirit of the area,” notes Baraness. The rainbow of pine, birch and maple trees that blanket the surrounding hilltops and ebb with the seasons provided a natural jump-off point. The designers started with devising a palette of earthy greens, tans and browns in a range of tones and mediums.
“We went with this idea that when you look out at the landscape, there are all of these different visual textures, such as the freshly cut grass on the golf course, rocky outcroppings, ripples of water on the lake, and the bark and leaves of the trees,” says Tarsi. The designer points, for instance, to furnishings like the living room side tables composed of smooth wood and inset concrete. Such textural juxtapositions abound throughout the home. See: the shearling-clad armchairs next to gauzy sheer linen curtains (the better to soak in the view) in the primary suite; or the arms of the family room sofa, which are upholstered in sleek leather while the seat and cushions are covered in a tactile chenille.
Likewise, the designers honored a sense of place—specifically, the agricultural vernacular of the region—in their emphasis on simple furnishings with clean lines. “Part of what we drew inspiration from was a softer take on modern minimal furniture,” notes Tarsi. To that end, the dining table is quietly compelling with its updated farmhouse style. The pair of decorative sconces above the kitchen’s open shelving, itself a traditional design element, are a riff on gooseneck barn lighting. And the effect extends to the millwork they specified as well, including the entry’s classic beadboard wall paneling and the stairwell’s painted wood paneling.
Instead, dramatic flourishes come from subverting expectations. Take the primary suite, where a thin ribbon of dark-wood grain in the tray ceiling puts a modern spin on cove molding. “It gives definition without being heavy or loud,” says Baraness. Or the lighting program, whose surprisingly playful spirit shines through in choices like the great room’s grid of minimal black flush-mounts. “We love anything that’s going to add another layer,” Baraness continues. “Since there’s no true center of the room, the contrast and placement activate the whole space.”
The finished product lends itself perfectly to quiet family weekends and entertaining alike. “We wanted a place to host friends and family, and to build new memories and traditions,” shares the wife. “There’s a level of coziness here that makes you take a deep breath and relax. It has felt like home since the day we moved in.”
