Scarsdale, NY

The residence sits on a beautiful 3.5 acre lot in a modestly-scaled section of the village. The project challenge was to provide a home large enough to accommodate the clients’ active five-person household while remaining respectful of the neighboring properties and of the site itself.

The apparent size of the home is reduced by concealing much of the bulk underneath broad roofs and featuring a few projected volumes. The house has a low profile on the site, reinforced by the custom banding of the wood siding – aligning with the horizontal mullions of the windows – and by the wide, shallow-pitched eaves. This gives the house an aesthetic that is reminiscent of the Arts + Crafts movement. The restrained palette of natural materials – the split ledge stonework, the clear red cedar roof and siding, and the bluestone paving – helps to integrate the structure into its surroundings. These materials recur on the inside, and this, along with broad expanses of window, serves to bring outdoor awareness into every room. The design further respects the environment by utilizing geothermal heating and cooling, employing a full bank of solar panels on the south-facing slope of the cabana roof, and using only energy-efficient LED lighting.

Designed with an open flow between spaces, the building is organized along two major axes; one more public, one more private. Both axes converge at the corner family room, used for all types of entertainment, where a wall of French doors, shaded by a stone-pillared pergola, allows access to the generous outdoor terrace with a view to the poolhouse beyond.