Architecture Wednesday: Floating Farmhouse

In 2002 self-taught designer Tom Givone bought a toppling 200-year-old Upstate New York farmhouse peeling with outdated neon blue paint; his new neighbors suggested tearing the house down and starting fresh, but Givone wasn’t having that.

Givone was wandering through the Catskill Mountains when he spotted that dilapidated blue farmhouse—along with two others—and rehabbed them all. But it’s this main house, dubbed the Floating Farmhouse, that is his taste, his design, his vision.

Today this 1820 manor house—available as a vacation rental, film/photo shoot location and event space—is a mix of stunning modern architecture and old-world charm. The Floating Farmhouse is 2 hours from New York, 2.5 hours from Philadelphia, and is surrounded by the area's most sought-after attractions, including world-class concerts at Bethel Woods, the Tusten hiking trails overlooking the Delaware River, skiing at Big Bear, the picturesque river town of Narrowsburg, and some of the finest dining and farmer's markets in the Catskills.

The main living area—part of the original house—has walls of windows overlooking the brook and forest, as well as a zinc-covered modern fireplace for those cold nights; there are also two bedrooms and a powder bath along one side.

In the addition is an enormous kitchen with polished concrete floors, a wood-fired pizza oven, and a two-story wall of glass framing views of the brook, gazebo, apple trees, and barn, and three sets of French doors lead to the covered porch, suspended over the water's edge. Upstairs are two additional rooms, a bathroom, and the primary suite which overlooks the brook.

Outside is the barn, perfect for a private event or company retreat, and is situated near a gazebo, firepit and the brook and waterfall.

I’m torn between using t as a getaway and just keeping it all to myself.

As always click to emBIGGERate …

Dwell