An impressive and considered house in New York state layered with a mixture of styles by Steven Gambrel
Steven Gambrel often says his most rewarding challenge is bringing the spirit and soul of an old building to an entirely new one, and there could be no finer example than this house. His clients, who were living in the Manhattan apartment he had designed for them, had bought 50 acres of woodland, meadow and stream in Westchester County, less than an hour’s drive from the city.
On the interior designer’s first site visit with the clients and his tried-and-trusted collaborators, the architects Andrew Cogar and Elizabeth Dillon of Historical Concepts, he noted the outcrops of granite at the top of the site. They all agreed that local stone must be the building material, with brick used around the openings for geometry. The landscape designer Kathryn Herman suggested the house could be made to feel established in the sloping site by making a clearing in the woods halfway up the hill, and surrounding the house with small gardens and low walls made of the same stone.
‘For the exterior, we took the ‘‘generational’’ approach, with changes of roofline, scale and fenestration, which made the house seem as if it had been added to over time by generations of the same family,’ explains Elizabeth. Light is brought in through tall clerestory windows, which reference the work of English architect Edwin Lutyens, who is a constant source of inspiration for Steven. Walking through the imposing wooden porch – painted, like the rest of the woodwork, in a subtle grey blue – you arrive in the main entrance hall, a fairly empty space with a distressed, almost rustic Fior di Bosco marble floor and a staircase that ends in a bravura scrolled baluster, which leads to the spare rooms.
Contrast this with another entrance – that of the mud room. It is small but no less elegant, with its open fire and comfortable seating. There is also a massive basin carved from a single block of marble, as grand as a cathedral font, which is intended for washing dirty boots (or a dog) after a walk. For those who might feel that this is all rather over-spec for a boot room, Steven vehemently upholds the principle that every room, no matter its size or purpose, should have the same consideration and handsome materials.
‘The beauty of building something new is that you are freer. You want to make something charming and appropriate, but you also have the chance to broaden the scale, with lots of intimate spaces, like this mud room, and one very large space. It is about compression and expansion,’ explains Steven, as he discusses the Great Room, a palatial 2,090-square-foot space with a soaring pitched ceiling. It takes your breath away.
Everything in this room is to the same imposing scale: the hanging lantern; the outsize skirting boards and cornices; and the two-metre-tall marble fireplace. Yet the feeling is one of calm relaxation rather than grandeur, thanks in part to the soft creams, pinks, oysters and blues that were chosen for the carpet and the upholstery on the furniture. The wood-lined pitched ceiling and the rough-coat plaster – an unpolished Venetian plaster that was mixed on site, which gives subtle variations of tone to the walls – add to the relaxed feel. ‘The owners are not out to impress, just to live their lives,’ says Steven. ‘They mostly invite family to visit them here and, for a couple who spend a lot of time in Manhattan, a space like this is a particular pleasure.’
A patterned rug defines the different sitting areas and, at the other end of the room, opposite the fireplace, an oval dining table in pale oak is surrounded by a buttoned banquette and some sturdy leather chairs from Rose Tarlow. ‘The owners wanted a more casual approach to dinner and no formal dining room,’ says Steven. The lower half of the Dutch doors near the dining table can be closed to keep the dogs out of (or in) the kitchen next door. Steven describes the kitchen as having ‘heft’, with a pair of handsome brass ceiling lamps above the quartzite countertop (‘more robust than marble’, he observes). Opposite the island, there is a table in an alcove with windows that open onto the garden.
A staircase with simple spindles – inspired by the back stairs for servants traditionally found in English country houses – leads from the Great Room to the main bedroom, which has windows on three sides. The entire house was designed so the couple would not feel as if they are rattling around when there are just two of them in it, but would also not feel cramped when they have 10 people staying. ‘It’s like a pavilion,’ says Steven of this bedroom. The blue palette found elsewhere in the house is reflected in the choice of woodwork, rugs and textiles. ‘I love the colour,’ he adds. Another of his loves is marble and he has dexterously combined different marble patterns, as witnessed in the main bathroom, which also features an imposing ceramic bath and a long counter.
Walking out to the garden, you might spy a lantern hanging from the eaves of the cedar shingle roof – a tribute to Lutyens – and can look back at the subtle limewash on the exterior walls, another Lutyens-style detail. A slurry of lime plaster was painted over stone and brick, thicker under the eaves and much thinner lower down the walls. It warms up the austere tones of the granite and completes the illusion of age. Spirit and soul are here indeed χ
SR Gambrel: srgambrel.com Historical Concepts: historicalconcepts.com Kathryn Herman Design: kathrynhermandesign.com
Eric Piasecki1/10‘Steven is the king of banquettes,’ says architect Elizabeth Dillon. ‘He sent us measurements for the perfect height and depth.’ The seat pads are in Rose Tarlow’s ‘Walloon’ and the cushions in ‘Oyo’ and ‘Sayat’ by Zak + Fox. The 1950s chandelier is attributed to Kaiser & Co.
Eric Piasecki2/10The granite and brick façade, washed in a lime-plaster slurry, is enhanced by windows in Benjamin Moore’s ‘Night Train’.
Eric Piasecki3/10A Fior di Pesco marble sink, sea grey roman antiqued limestone flooring from Artistic Tile and vintage pieces create a sophisticated yet practical scheme in the boot room.
Eric Piasecki4/10In the drinks area, walls in a red high-gloss oil finish from Fine Paints of Europe provide the backdrop for an artwork by Terry Winters.
Eric Piasecki5/10
Eric Piasecki6/10The study features shelves in Fine Paints of Europe’s gloss, which are backed by Schumacher’s ‘Florence’ carnelian wallcovering, toning with the leather on the Moreau desk and 1930s André Arbus chairs, arranged on a Mansour rug. The amber glass and rattan pendant light is 1930s Swedish.
Eric Piasecki7/10In the main bedroom, Betty Parsons painting enlivens the neutral hues of the limewashed walls, blinds in Zak + Fox’s ‘Pazuru’ and bespoke furniture.
Eric Piasecki8/10Mosaic House’s ‘Monaco’ tiles showcase The Water Monopoly bathtub.
Eric Piasecki9/10Phillip Jeffries’ ‘Amalfi Silk Como’ wallcovering and a Studio Four NYC carpet create an inviting feel in this spare room.
Eric Piasecki10/10Another spare room has a Swedish-style scheme with blinds in Walter G’s ‘Batik’ and a rug by Marc Phillips.
%252013.jpg)
