Tour a Hudson Valley Estate With Lakefront Views From Nearly Every Window

Leilani Marie Labong
·9 min read

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Nature in the time of climate change is a perilous thing, making land stewardship paramount for the owner of a 170-acre Hudson Valley, New York, estate, where a private lake and four stone-and-wood cottages from the 1930s are set in a storybook forest of white pine and hemlock. “Sustainability makes good long-term sense, economically and environmentally,” says the homeowner. “Our family leads a healthy lifestyle and we wanted our home to reflect that.”

So it only made sense for the residents to call on their neighbor Brigid Walsh, founder of environmental design studio 100 Miles North, to help reimagine the retreat through a lens of longevity. “Environmental design puts an earth-first focus on everything from the landscape to the interiors and beyond,” Walsh, a former Vogue executive, says. “But within that, we make choices that are very specific to each project and lifestyle—this isn’t a cookie-cutter process.”

Refreshing the cottage interiors was also fitting, since they were crammed with “stuff” that held no meaning for the family. A mindful decluttering was in order: Once auction houses had their pick of the cast-offs, the rest was donated to Habitat for Humanity, keeping as much out of landfill as possible. Walsh then commissioned the design studio and AD PRO Directory member MK Workshop, specialists in creating highly intentional interiors that eschew objects of mass production, who came in to align the newly unencumbered spaces to the restored landscape and nearly century-old architecture.

In the living room of the main house, the designers from AD PRO Directory firm MK Workshop refinished the worse-for-wear wood paneling in Raisin by Sherwin-Williams, a hue akin to the original mahogany. The space is appointed with a combination of vintage objects and eco-friendly purchases. The chandelier was existing and “perfect for the moody atmosphere,” says Kilday. A bentwood cane rocking chair, two black leather Danish lounge chairs, and Maison Regain elm coffee table are vintage.
Among the major shifts that Walsh, a permaculture expert, has implemented on the estate is an ongoing restoration of the forest. Better tree diversity—in this case, rooting more oak, maple, and pecan—creates a welcoming habitat for local wildlife like black bears, red squirrels, and bald eagles. It also prevents erosion from hampering the 37-acre lake, the heart of the property and the view from almost every room. “Sometimes it feels like you’re on a boat because all you can see is water,” says the homeowner. The custom upholstered bench in the upstairs lounge of the main house features a striped textile from Lee Jofa.

“The aging of the original stone and wood is quite beautiful,” says MK Workshop’s Brooklyn-based cofounder Jonah Kilday. “The existing structures and finishes inspired everything that we did.” Partly owing to this patina, the spaces were cinematically moody. “We really leaned into all of that natural ambiance,” says MK Workshop’s other cofounder Petra McKenzie, who is based in Austin. As such, low-VOC paint revitalized some of the worse-for-wear wood paneling, but not necessarily to brightening effect. The living room of the main house, for example, was finished in a rich Sherwin-Williams shade called Raisin, which echoes the color of the original mahogany walls.

Environmental designer and founder of 100 Miles North, Brigid Walsh (left); MK Workshop cofounders Petra McKenzie (center) and Jonah Kilday
Environmental designer and founder of 100 Miles North, Brigid Walsh (left); MK Workshop cofounders Petra McKenzie (center) and Jonah Kilday
Walsh invited MK Workshop, a design studio with offices in Brooklyn and Austin, to refresh the formerly crammed cottage interiors with an eye toward sustainability, which included a responsible redistribution of possessions that no longer sparked joy to auction houses and Habitat for Humanity, and then mindful sourcing of vintage and custom pieces. In this pursuit, the designers Petra McKenzie and Jonah Kilday were inspired by the original stone and wood of the buildings, which bore a beautiful patina.
Inspired by a childhood summer camp set on a forested lake, the current homeowner’s father embarked on a yearslong search for a nature retreat with similar scenery. “I remember my dad ripping out ads in the paper and me going on dial-up internet searching for properties,” says the homeowner. Wilderness is in full effect on the 170-acre property in the Hudson Valley, where the New York–based family has been vacationing since, well, at least the dawn of the internet.

The designers appointed the original spaces primarily with vintage items, giving old objects new purpose. “It felt like designing in a different century,” McKenzie says. “About 80% of what we brought in was either vintage or custom made.” Sourcing from Texas-based artisans and vintage showrooms, plus the famous Round Top Antiques Fair, the designers filled an entire truckload before making one fell journey to New York rather than wastefully shipping individual items. They also mined for treasures closer to the estate at The Antique Warehouse in Hudson.

The custom bar-height table in this informal dining room in the main house was determined by the position of the window, ensuring a view to the lake for all. Custom chandelier.
The custom bar-height table in this informal dining room in the main house was determined by the position of the window, ensuring a view to the lake for all. Custom chandelier.
The kitchen in the main house features locally sourced vintage pottery, bar stools, and lighting.
The kitchen in the main house features locally sourced vintage pottery, bar stools, and lighting.
The formal dining room in the main house is the site of a massive existing wooden table, a family keepsake by default since its sheer size prevents its removal. The designers draped it in a linen drop cloth and painted the room in Silver Satin by Benjamin Moore.

Old kilim blankets dress the beds across the cottages, while antique Oushak rugs add coziness underfoot. Evocative of far-flung journeys past, the patterned textiles are uniquely synergistic with the custom headboards covered in modern Lee Jofa stripes. The vintage furnishings throughout the cottages tend to have a quiet presence: classic or unassuming silhouettes that seem to retreat into hushed corners or cloak inside shadows. Like how a bentwood rocking chair, the designers’ favorite vintage score, sits incognito in a dark nook of the main house, or how the wall sconces in almost any of the spaces have the modest appearance of task lighting.

Heavy wood paneling in the primary bedroom of the main house is offset by light-colored furnishings, from a custom Moroccan rug by MK Objects for MK Workshop to the chandelier from Arteriors.
The shape of the tub matches the circular window in the primary bath. Bath mats by MK Objects for MK Workshop.
The shape of the tub matches the circular window in the primary bath. Bath mats by MK Objects for MK Workshop.
The guest bath vanity in the main house is repurposed and refinished.
The guest bath vanity in the main house is repurposed and refinished.

The decor’s biggest statement pieces, literally and figuratively, are either repurposed from salvage or reimagined family heirlooms. For instance, a nearly five-foot-tall scrap metal custom pendant by Austin-based Reworks Home looms in the entryway of the main house like some kind of cubist cloud, while an artful swathing of a simple linen drop cloth around an existing wood table in the formal dining room softens the keepsake’s sheer immensity. Also in that space, a fresh coat of Silver Satin by Benjamin Moore on the walls invites an infusion of natural light—a luminous deviation from the highly atmospheric estate, or as the homeowner calls it, “the most peaceful place in the world.”

“Everything was about the lake for us,” the homeowner says. Coffee on the lake, drinks on the lake, hot tub on the lake—it’s all about enjoying the lake.”
“Everything was about the lake for us,” the homeowner says. Coffee on the lake, drinks on the lake, hot tub on the lake—it’s all about enjoying the lake.”
This guest bedroom in the main house features a custom headboard in a Lee Jofa stripe. “This is a thread we pulled through all the cottages,” Kilday says.
The lighting throughout the property is also thematic: task-style sconces and bowl-shaped chandeliers.
The lighting throughout the property is also thematic: task-style sconces and bowl-shaped chandeliers.
One of the designers’s most prized discoveries was a pair of vintage Kem Weber chairs, found at the Round Top Antiques Fair. They flank the fireplace in the lake house living room.
About 20% of the furnishings were sourced new, like the seating in the living room in the lake house. The tables and lighting are vintage, though.
About 20% of the furnishings were sourced new, like the seating in the living room in the lake house. The tables and lighting are vintage, though.
Hanging in the lake house’s primary bedroom are prints of old textile patterns from Point Paper Company, which specializes in commemorating historic textiles by printing their patterns on paper.
A guest bedroom in the lake house features a natural fiber rug, vintage chair and lamp, and a vintage kilim bedspread. The latter is another decorative through line of the project.
A guest bedroom in the lake house features a natural fiber rug, vintage chair and lamp, and a vintage kilim bedspread. The latter is another decorative through line of the project.
This lakeside guest bedroom showcases the rustic textures of the original building materials that were so inspiring to MK Workshop.
This lakeside guest bedroom showcases the rustic textures of the original building materials that were so inspiring to MK Workshop.
McKenzie detects a bit of Craftsman heritage in the architecture of the cottages on account of the wooden shingles. This is the lake house sunroom, appointed with a midcentury paper cord chair and ottoman found at Round Top Antiques Fair, a vintage brass flushmount saucer, and a vintage Danish floor lamp by Svend Aage Holm Sørensen.
The stone-and-wood cottages date back to the 1930s and exhibit elements of Dutch Colonial and Craftsman architecture styles.
A vintage Moroccan Beni M’guild rug, midcentury slatted coffee table, and made-to-order sleeper sofa in the poolhouse living room
Also in the poolhouse living room, a white vintage slipper chair and a few examples of vintage pottery
Also in the poolhouse living room, a white vintage slipper chair and a few examples of vintage pottery
Environmental designer Brigid Walsh, founder of sustainable design studio 100 Miles North, was tasked with reimagining the retreat through a lens of longevity. In this case, the strategy includes a full restoration of the forest since more tree diversity not only creates a welcoming habitat for native wildlife, but also prevents erosion from hampering the otherwise healthy lake.
The spa house living room anchored by a vintage table found at the Hudson Antique Warehouse
The spa house living room anchored by a vintage table found at the Hudson Antique Warehouse
The heart of the property is the lake, which is the view from every room, including this guest bedroom in the spa house. Pillows in Pierre Frey fabric, vintage kilim bedspread and sconces.

Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

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