Barn V - SOLD
Barn V - super hot, super finished, super sold. That's right, that's our 2nd this month, with 2 more to go.
It's funny how the house starts - with one design, then a few quick revisions later we have something totally different. Something new, fresh and theirs. And then we keep tweaking that design and come up with 5 iterations of it.
Galvanized metal roof and the deep bluish/grey siding. Even a small thing like posts 45ing back into the house instead of posts coming down on the front porch. A subtle but defining feature.
The Modern ManShed.
Back of the house with a part covered and a part open with doors into the dining area. It also has a walk-out basement with lots of windows.
Bill and Veronica and James keep in the interior palette pretty clean. The open stairs allow for a see-thru space. This home has 3 beds, 2 baths, dining area, living room area and the kitchen.
From the front door looking at the back of the house.
Baby gate, powder coated hinged barn door, radiator, open chunky treads and cable rail and some hand-hewn posts and even a jelly jar sconce.
Again looking through the house to the back porch and yard.
2 baths and kitchen. This bath has a separate bath and shower.
A lot of our homes start with a vision of the kitchen - a few exceptions like Matthew's vision of the camp bunk beds and designed a house around them.
This is one of my favorite shots of the house. It's a good corner with a great light.
And pics of Bill and Veronica and their son. I'm trying to think - I'm not sure if he was born when we started looking for land - or if he was, he was just a little guy, not like now where he's totally a big boy.
I thought this was pretty good light for sure.
Nothing explains and details our process and success with our process better than our clients - here's the followup, when we got it done for them.
"Hey Guys
Would like to say thanks for all the hard work from u and team on putting this project together. The house looks amazing with a lot of small details that were very important to us and decisive in giving the house a unique look like we wanted. James was very patient and professional during the whole process and made everything super easy for us - honestly it was easier to build a house upstate than any renovation we've did in the city.
Chuck, on your end the business model really works - we have a house ready in 8 months having to visit 5/6 times. I am recommending to friends already and I am pretty sure that once they spend some weekends in our place you will have new costumers!!
Once we are settled you are invited to some caipirinhas at our place!!"
We have a lot of happy customers and I think it's a real testament to how hard we try.
Weekender
Lots to do up here in the Catskills on a nice sunny weekend. This is the scene outside of the Whistle Stop in Narrowsburg, NY.
Then Lucas catching a few zzzzz's before our next adventure...
Which took the form of some kayaking on the Mongaup Reservior. What a day for that today, with hardly a breeze and the temps hitting 81. Yesterday my sister and did 23 miles on a bicycle so not bad for staying active in the month of May.
Last year I bought a single rider canoe with a little extra space so Lucas and I can travel the waters together up here this summer.
He likes going shirtless and shoeless after seeing the Avengers last weekend (yes, his Mom said the same thing - "he's too young to see that!!:")
So now he wants to be called Bruce Banner and has this whole 'change in the Hulk" routine thing down pretty good, not to be confused with his tiger roar or other personalities.
After the kayak ride, waiting to catch a ride to the pizza shop.
Earlier in the day we went out to York Lake and where Farm 20 is gonna be built. Had to meet the solar guy so we can position the barn/garage in a true south position to maximize sun exposure. Also had to evaluate the shading because positioning it well doesn't well matter much if you got trees in the way. So we got that done - as you see Norm has done a pretty good job clearing the site.
Lucas is with me a bunch on Saturdays and Sundays and I'm always wondering what he is picking up at these construction and sales meetings and general hanging out with the big guy doing deals. I forget he's in the back seat half the time as I'm on the phone dealing with something. I'm sure it's not all lost on him for sure.
And then Art from Cake Boss was up to check out our houses with his fiancee. He asked if there were a lot of black people in the area and I said not really but there are a lot of gay people if that is any solace.
Farm 19 in Narrowsburg is up and by the end of the week should be just about ready for the roof.
And then a real tragedy - where Bryan's (from Cottage 34) dog ate the arm off Captain America, instigating a real drama until lucas got convinced that a one-armed superhero was even more super.
And his pals.
And Barn V closed on Friday (yep, another one down). That post will come tomorrow.
Random Sunset Migrations
There she is - The Rock House. My first house in Sullivan County that I bought on a credit card in 2001, two months after 9-11. All 400 sq ft, unfinished, no plumbing, knew no one, didn't even have a car. A few miles outside of Jeffersonville. it's where it all started - with the wood stove, the privations, the dreaming and the defeats. It's a tremendous property where I raised a dog, a couple of kittens, started a little family, and got Catskill Farms off the ground.
The story is so base it is best told in small examples like storing my food outside during the mild winter of '01-'02, or the fact that the family wouldn't come up to visit for Thanksgiving (the holiday I traditionally hosted) unless I put a driveway in and replaced my camping two burner with a working stove and my exterior cooler with a refrigerator.
Of course, the $2m barn and garage is only taking the concept of simplicity, so well honed at the Rock House, a little further. Nothing we do is overly complicated. It's just not our thing - and to be honest, restraint and simplicity is a lot hard to achieve than most design ambitions anyway.
The siding job photo from a week ago would be further along if the siding guy didn't take a vacation in the Dominican Republic for a week+, god bless him not.
Some fun open cable rail steps...
Old School, with the subway and the gravity tank and I love the black toilet seat.
The nest thermostat which takes our homes up a notch...
And a funky wine cellar with stone and wood and shelves.
The lap pool is up and running and ready for the first biathlon trainee, or lead in to a great porn scene, no plot necessary.
Farm 19 is rolling with dog and all. Since this photo was taken, the house is nearly built.
And Sweet Barn V, where Bill & Veronica from Brazil knocked it out of the Park with subtlety and taste.
And this lot clearing is just an example of the tens of thousands, actually the hundreds of thousands of dollars that our customers spend locally in their assorted projects and home improvements.
The clients of Catskill Farms have injected Sullivan County with a real jolt of dollars over the last 6 years, in small and large ways.
Ranch V - Sold
We hung on to this little baby for awhile in what I suspect was a two-fold issue of a strengthening economy (homes got bigger) and the fact that it was a niche product. 1 bedroom (though with the manshed it's now a one bedroom with a sleeping cottage), concrete floor (which means no basement) and a pretty modern design approach. In the end it took us about 9 months to sell which is far below the standard time to sell a home in this market, but longer than our typical 'sold before we finish' process.
It's a real sharp house with a ton of personality. Catherine unloaded her London flat to buy this place. I've said it before that I'm really complimented when women buy our homes cause I think there is typically a higher level of skepticism and caution among these buyers and the fact that they trust us to respectfully deliver on our promises is validating.
We carried a grayish stone motif through the home, starting with the floors, segueing through the cabinets and the walls, and complimented with the fireplace stone and hearth.
Radiant heat, wood burning fireplace, super high-efficiency gas wall-hung boiler, spray foam insulation and a small footprint results in a very high-performing home.
Like in most of homes, a touch of whimsy, of not taking ourselves too seriously, comes through loud and clear.
The covered entrance with the retro door helps define the house and the space.
I personally liked the apple green paint in the bath but Catherine decided to tone it down a little with a new coat of English white.
The carport, like I've said before, is one of my favorite spaces. It's like no party will ever be rained out because you comfortably duck into the carport area. Easily screened, and actually easily turned into a bedroom if the circumstances demand.
The Ranch sits on 5+ acres outside of Barryville and borders state land of 1300 acres - so it's like having a big piece of usable land right behind you.
We staged it nicely - a retro couch, ikea chair from way back and a few other simple touches.
All in all, great little house. It's a welcome addition to the architectural landscape of Sullivan County.
