Journal
May 16, 2023
The Villa Renewed
This house in Greene County, New York, has been faithfully restored, from its foundation and structure to exterior elements and trim inside. The house had suffered from neglect and then, in 2011, from the devastation of Hurricane Irene. With an L-shaped footprint, the big house boasts 10 bedrooms.
The building probably dates to ca. 1836, though the Italianate touches may have come a bit later. It’s a country example of a Tuscan Villa—defined by the boxlike symmetry, a heavily bracketed cornice, and the belvedere on the roof. (That “cupola with a view” historically was used as a viewing pavilion. It is also a passive ventilation device.) Like this house, many Villas have a front verandah.
A rear ell had been constructed on stilts, without the basement that supported the front section. “It was so cold in that part of the house!” says Sarah Blank, the interior designer who worked with the family to design the kitchen and furnish the interior. Excavation, structural work, and new mechanical systems preceded final design of rooms inside.