Knapp Hollow Lane

These houses were designed to be weekend retreats from New York City - a woodland escape from a concrete jungle. The dwellings sit on a low hill in the midst of maple trees. As good homes, they embody the character of the countryside they celebrate.

The great outdoors is an endless space with few well-defined boundaries, and this sense of unobstructed openness is achieved in the interiors of these homes through the picturesque technique of transparency. Just as a walk through the landscape reveals a series of ever-changing, continuously open spaces, a walk through a good house finds one space opening to another and then another and yet another. There are times when a person turns the corner in a good house and finds a perfect combination - an enfilade of rooms terminating with a fantastic focal point, much like the times when a hiker discovers a breathtaking vista in the middle of long trek. Enfilades with windows at each end encourage cross-breezes to waft through in a house; the occupant can stay indoors and yet enjoy an atmosphere of fresh air. Such bright, airy spaces with vistas that encourage activity and an adventurous spirit are picturesque. The outdoors is picturesque by nature; the indoors can be picturesque only by design.