HE ARCHITECT’S PLANS WERE COMPLETE, THE CREW HIRED,
the contracts drawn. But Sloane Klevin hesitated to give the green
light to renovations to her weekend home when she realized the
cottage-style renovation suited the area’s vernacular but not her taste. “I
didn’t want to offend the neighbors,” she says of the predominantly 19th-
century architecture in Gallatin, New York. “But that traditional style
isn’t me—I like modern design.”
Sloane wanted to scrap the plans and start over. “I wanted something
contemporary,” she says. “Something different from—yet respectful to—
the historic vibe of this area.”
Being the pro he is, architect Doug Larson responded with a cool “no
problem.” But there was more than just professionalism behind his
conviction: Two years prior, Larson had pulled off a makeover to his own
Dutchess County farmhouse that cleverly combined contemporary and
cottage elements into one residence. And it worked. “What ties modern
and traditional styles together is a simplicity of form,” Larson says.
“Whether it’s a 19th-century farmhouse or a contemporary barn-style
home, they’re both born of economy and necessity.”
Larson’s farmhouse, as a matter of fact, had been Sloane’s first choice
in New York real estate. The Brooklyn-based film editor had regularly
rented the place as a retreat for nearly two years and grew smitten with
its humble A-frame skeleton and quaint custom details. “It was that
house that made me want to own property in the area,” she says.
Too bad Larson wasn’t selling. “We love that little place,” he says on
behalf of his wife and son. “So,” Sloane says, “I hired Doug to build me one
just like it.” The pair embarked on an arduous journey of house hunting
and plan sketching before finally settling on a 1939 Arts and Crafts-style
cottage just two hamlets away.
Sloane submitted an eleventh-hour request for a second set of
renovation plans that pushed the modern aesthetic further. “We
essentially attached three flat-roofed boxes to the cottage’s existing
core,” Larson says. “It’s the combination of the modern flat roof with the
cottage’s traditional gabled roof that integrates the two styles.”
Larson’s ultimate design replaced the house’s dark, awkward layout
with an open floor plan that invited in the views. All of the original
three-over-three windows removed during main-level demolitions were
reused upstairs. Elsewhere, Larson incorporated an indulgent number
of supersize windows and sliding doors. The windows, plus the house’s
new roofline and 1,000 square feet of deck space, direct eyes to tall-grass
meadows, spring-fed pond, and rolling woods beyond.t