Catskills - Sullivan County - Ulster County Real Estate -- Catskill Farms Journal

No one can touch our quality, quickness or creativity. They might, on a good day, be able to achieve 2 of the three, but never, as far as I have seen, can they hit on all notes all the time - and up here in the Sticks, hitting any of the three criteria consistently seems like a far-fetched goal. The Mountains have a way of humbling us ambitious business people, and good plans go awry more often than you would think possible. Things just get screwed up, over and over and over, and make even the builder's trying hard look a little foolish at times. That said, Catskill Farms is firing on all cylinders, like a suped-up, mag-wheeled, '67 Corvette. You could even say we have it down to a science - this country construction, dream-weaving business plan of ours. Who would think that a business idea that centers around great design at great prices on great land with great service would be hit? Oh, and did I mention we pay for the entire house, architecture, interest, taxes, architecture and land until the day we close the deal when the house is finished? Our vertically integrated cost conscious approach to quality and creativity (no middleman, none of the time) perplexes those who try to emulate us affordably Here are the steps going up to the 2nd floor at Cottage 7. Yes, it's true, Cottage 7 only started back in April, and here she is, rounding the final final bend in it's glorious conception. This is a real hot picture in my opinion - and it's all in slight contrasts of materials and colors. Cedar plank hand rail with a clear coat, white painted stair kickers, 1x6 beveled cedar siding with clear coat, Special Walnut floor stain, and wild red wainscotting in the dining room. More subtley, the horizontal handrail and siding contrasts with the vertical wainscotting.

Bad picture quality of the kitchen, but a selection by the owners that I never used before that looks fantastic. The window above the apron sink looks out at the forest.

And our famous barn door leading into the main bath on the 2nd floor.

Double door closets with wrought iron hinges and latches.

Now for the new stuff - we just finished building a 1/2 mile of roads and driveways for our 6 new building lots coming to market (and already spoken for). Not super easy terrain, but it will be majestic when it is all said and done.

And turning the corner to Cottage 9 , with the excavation complete, and the mason to begin shortly. I actually stopped by the job site last night at 7pm, and mason was there working, which of course warms my hard little heart.

and the McInnes Cottage moving along better than really anyone could hope or expect. It's sort of like magic - close your eyes for a few moments and the house is up - close them a few minutes more, and the house is finished. Pinch yourself once and your are sitting on your new sofa, in your new country cottage in the middle of the Catskill Mountains, cooling it bigtime.

Interestingly, this framer likes to build his window and door headers, prefab almost, and then really zoom around installing them.

To be honest, this is a lot to handle, but what makes it possible is our access to great help facilitated by a slow economy. The economic slowdown is really separating the men from the boys, and it seems to be turning out that a lot of those moustaches were fake.

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Big ole bear somewhere between Bethel and Highland. This one hung out a while while James and I fumbled with the camera - "Where's the camera? Shit, how do you turn it on? Where's the zoom? there it goes!!" - type of thing. This was a big bear, and they say bears don't show up on photos but this one did for some reason - or am I getting my old wise tales backwards?

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More progress - More progress - More progress. And that's the name of this home-building game. Any time you are not making progress, it's definitely not good on the wallet. Here is the beginning of the McInnes Cottage.

And the kitchen at 67 Crawford. Country shelves, plywood countertop, and a dash of red lighting.

Here's the bathroom, which we left nearly completely intact with the original 6'6" tin ceiling and old school wallpaper.

And the exterior. Maybe some shutters?

Simple white shale fireplace at Cottage 8, complimented by a hand hewn beam and some local bluestone.

The cedar shake siding and stone chimney looks pretty good to me.

And then onto Cottage 7. This dining room has a flash of red on the wainscotting, contrasting the off white walls and stained floors and doors. Pretty bold but I love it - it really works.

And we bring the inside in with some beveled cedar siding under the staircase. This is a sharp look - clean staircase, cedar siding, and the red wainscotting in the background.

And the hulking fireplace catching one's attention upon entering the room.

And the little brook.

Cottage 7, Cottage 8 and the old farm on Crawford Road all commenced construction in March, and all will be tied up tightly in August. It's not easy to keep things rolling like this, but it is our primary focus and we do do a pretty good job considering what we have to work with (now, I'm sure you all noticed I wrote 'do do' in that last sentence.).

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Like the show Flipping Out, I'm moving again to my new international headquarters, pictured below, probably leaving me without phones, internet, computer and whatever else we need to function anymore.

Here she is - don't judge the book by the cover - soon to be a happening artists' and professional hangout and gallery, anchored by Catskill Farms. Catch you on the back side of the 4th of July Holiday. I'm going to Lancaster Pa, where my 130 first cousins live. My dad had 8 brothers and sisters, and my mom 11, and each of them had a half dozen kids. During the reunions, we could field entire baseball leagues.

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