Creek Views Star at a Modern New York Home

Creek Views Star at a Modern New York Home

Typically architects function for a customer, be it a family. For the Creek House in upstate New York, Marica McKeel acted as architect and as programmer, having picked up some land on which to construct weekend houses. This scenario meant that the customer was speculative, so McKeel spoke with friends and coworkers, some of whom had second houses, to create a plan that would serve various family types and uses. As she puts it, “Any home needs to be able to accommodate several tasks, from a quiet getaway for 2 to inviting friends up for the weekend to enjoy the open space”

A few suggestions from her inquiries were nearly unanimous: a view of the neighboring creek, a direct physical link to the outside and simple interiors with an open program. Since the focus is about the outdoors (it is a weekend house( after all), the outside design uses natural materials to match the site, and the inside is predominantly white, to put the trees and creek on display.

Let’s have a peek of the Creek House from outside to inside, bottom to top.

in a Glance
Who lives here: This really is a weekend getaway for a family from Manhattan.
Location:
Ulster County, New York
Size:
2,600 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms
That’s intriguing:
Architect Marica McKeel purchased 38 acres to layout and construct five custom houses on; this is the first home completed.

Studio MM Architect, pllc

The split-level house opens up toward the south west with big windows on both floors. Plenty of sunlight leads some passive solar heating in the winter, while the trees keep the house from overheating and relying on air conditioning by blocking the high sunlight.

Studio MM Architect, pllc

The house is T-shaped, and also a deck occupies an interior corner off the living area on the lower level. The bedrooms are all upstairs.

Pllc, studio MM Architect

The left side of the deck is fairly high over the floor, requiring a guardrail. The tensioned wire rails make it possible for views from the deck and from interior. At right, toward the house, the step down to the ground is briefer, providing direct access from the deck into the remainder of the house’s 7 acres.

Studio MM Architect, pllc

The split-level temperament of the house is clear as you approach it. In the warmer months, the house is barely visible through the trees.

Pllc, studio MM Architect

The north-facing entrance elevation does not really hint in the willingness that lies beyond. Just a few small windows — for a hall along with a bedroom — can be found here, optimizing the insulation on the cold side of the house.

Studio MM Architect, pllc

The only other opening on this aspect is the entrance, carved into the northwest corner. The vertical tongue and groove cedar siding is treated with a transparent coating that protects against sun and rain. After the coating’s five-year life length is up, the customers can continue the exact same treatment or depart the cedar bare, so allowing it to naturally weather and grow brown and grey with time.

Studio MM Architect, pllc

Assuming the house has bedrooms over the living space, one enters on the top and either ends left to head up a couple of actions into the master bedroom and second bedroom, or descends the stairs into the living area and guest bedroom.

Studio MM Architect, pllc

From the entrance one instantly grasps the open-plan layout of the lower floor. The living room juts into the south in 1 leg of the “T,” the kitchen and dining room back up against the solid ground to the north, and the guest bedroom lies through the hallway beyond.

Like the cedar out, the wood floor is treated for security; these floors are solid oak with linseed oil. The deck’s hardwood flooring allows it look like a literal continuation of the floor from inside to outside.

Studio MM Architect, pllc

Looking out of the dining table toward the stair, we can observe how important the kitchen is, particularly the island. This was intentional; the architect thought of it as the main gathering space for family members and guests. McKeel given a slab of Statuarietto marble for the kitchen counters, among the main features of the house.

Pllc, studio MM Architect

The kitchen has been given more particular treatment in the kind of back-painted glass on the wall behind the stove and range hood. As McKeel describes it, “The reflections in the glass by the indirect light over and the trees from the living room windows reverse create the feeling of a window even though the kitchen is combined the walls which backs up to the ground.”

Studio MM Architect, pllc

If this were my weekend house, I know precisely where I would plant myself at the lounge chair next to the window wall and its magnificent view.

The narrow widths of glass (the opening could feasibly be one or two pieces of glass) and vertical frames replicate the trunks of these trees beyond.

Studio MM Architect, pllc

Let’s head upstairs to look at the bedrooms. The entrance door is on axis with the narrow window next to the bench for carrying off one’s shoes.

Studio MM Architect, pllc

The master bedroom sits right over the living room, the leg of the “T” that reaches toward the south. We see vertically oriented windows, but this time they’re in separate openings rather than one big one. 1 reason for this may be that it will make it easier to set up curtains to block out the sun when its existence isn’t desirable.

Studio MM Architect, pllc

The second bedroom upstairs is on the east side of the house, and 2 of its own windows face this direction (those flanking the bed). The wide window into the south perfectly frames the treetops if you are lying in the bed.

Studio MM Architect, pllc

Our final look at the house is of the master bathroom, which consists of 2 vanities opposite a bathtub, an enclosed bathroom and a shower supporting a fixed glass panel. Natural light comes in through a narrow window, placed so someone taking a shower can see outdoors without being seen.

More: Private Access: 12 Toilet Windows Which Reveal Just the Views

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