{"id":267800,"date":"2025-11-18T17:27:46","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T22:27:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/?post_type=id_project&p=267800"},"modified":"2025-11-21T11:13:21","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T16:13:21","slug":"hudson-valley-new-york-home-by-forma","status":"publish","type":"id_project","link":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/projects\/hudson-valley-new-york-home-by-forma\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside A Cedar-Clad Retreat With Views Of The Berkshires"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\"two
The unusual aperture\nshapes help break up the height of the house while affording panoramic\nvistas of the Berkshire\nand Catskill Mountains.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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November 18, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n

Words: <\/span>Lila Allen<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photography: <\/span>Devon Banks<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Inside A Cedar-Clad Retreat With Views Of The Berkshires<\/h1>\n\n\n

Architects Miroslava Brooks and Daniel Markiewicz were committed to the bit. The two friends and business partners\u2014cofounders of the firm Forma<\/a>\u2014were smitten with New York\u2019s Hudson Valley after bidding on a local project in the area. So much so that they decided to build a getaway there from their then primary residences in Stamford, Connecticut, and Brooklyn, respectively\u2014a \u201cclean slate,\u201d as Brooks puts it, where they could test their architectural ideas. But first, there were boxes to tick: a sizable property, views, and proximity to the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than 50 plot visits later, they found it. Markiewicz, the scout that day, made a video for Brooks from the 9-acre expanse in Hillsdale. \u201cIt was like a painting,\u201d she recalls. The home they\u2019d planned would be shared\u2014a place for them to visit solo or with their partners or friends\u2014so flexibility was paramount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forma Crafts A Picturesque Home On The Crest Of A Hill<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"exterior
Three stories tall but efficient, the cubic structure contains 1,500 square feet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The footprint of the resulting three-floor volume is a mere 27 by 27 feet, the interiors a tidy 1,500 square feet. Even in that wee size, Forma has packed in three bedroom suites, one on each level for maximum privacy, as well as a cedar-lined covered deck and an open-plan living-dining-kitchen area, the latter on the second floor for elevated vantage points of the surrounding Berkshires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The apertures through which those views are seen signal this is not a typical upstate retreat. Tectonically, the house is like a dog sitting: its haunches grounded in the back, with two upright legs supporting the front. \u201cThe angles were calibrated to align with the diagonal porch openings, i.e. the \u2018legs,\u2019 which then also needed to work on the inside,\u201d Brooks says of the outdoor-indoor relationship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"two
The unusual aperture\nshapes help break up the height of the house while affording panoramic\nvistas of the Berkshire\nand Catskill Mountains.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The polygonal windows mirror the diagonal thrust of those legs. \u201cWe like to think it has an animated quality,\u201d Markiewicz notes, like the exhaust hood that swoops in, action-hero style, above a slanted window cut and the fireplace mantel that resembles a Transformers toy. Furnishings tell a different story: Chairs by Marcel Breuer and Arne Jacobsen came from Markiewicz\u2019s grandmother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Five years in the making, the project received its finishing touches last spring. Now, though, there are a few more residents to factor in: Brooks and Markiewicz both had children during the process. But if ever there were a home where the more\u2019s the merrier, they\u2019ve built it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walk Through This Home<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Hay\u2019s 32-inch-diameter Rice Paper Shade\npendant fixture hangs in the adjoining kitchen, where most cabinetry is oak and counters are quartz composite.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\"wooden
Planks of 6-inch-wide Western red cedar, slate-stained and natural,\ncompose the three-bedroom home\u2019s\nsiding and deck floor, paneling, and ceiling, respectively.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"interior
Paneling in both spaces is birch plywood.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"bathroom
There\u2019s a bathroom on each floor, including this ground-level one that\u2019s partially wrapped in large-format terrazzo tile, featuring a Dioscuri sconce by Michele De\nLucchi. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"living
On the second floor, the living area centers on a fireplace and cast-iron wood stove enveloped by glazed ceramic tile;\nfurnishings are inherited vintage. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Main
Flooring in the main bedroom and throughout is white-oak planks. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"exterior
The 27-foot-square footprint intentionally treads lightly on the 9-acre plot.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

FROM FRONT MORS\u00d8 JERNST\u00d8BERI:<\/strong> STOVE (LIVING AREA). DALTILE: <\/strong>FIREPLACE TILE (LIVING AREA), UPPER WALL TILE (BATHROOM). COSENTINO GLOBAL:<\/strong> COUNTERTOPS (KITCHEN). DURA SUPREME CABINETRY: <\/strong>CABINETRY. DESIGN WITHIN REACH: <\/strong>PENDANT FIXTURE. TILEBAR:<\/strong> LOWER WALL AND FLOOR TILE (BATHROOM). KOHLER CO.: <\/strong>SINK FITTINGS, SHOWER FITTINGS. WS BATH COLLECTIONS:<\/strong> SINK. ARTEMIDE:<\/strong> SCONCE. THROUGHOUT STUGA:<\/strong> FLOOR PLANKS. ANDERSEN CORPORATION:<\/strong> CUSTOM WINDOWS. COLUMBIA FOREST PRODUCTS: <\/strong>BIRCH-PLY PANELING. SHERWIN-WILLIAMS COMPANY:<\/strong> PAINT.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n