Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Aug 27, 2025

Art and Nature Converge at a Couple’s Glass, Cedar, and Stone House in New York

Art and Nature Converge at a Couple’s Glass, Cedar, and Stone House in New York

In Westchester County, architect Carol Kurth designs an airy, gallery-like home that places artwork and the outdoors on equal pedestals.

In a sense, this home was decades in the making. In the early ’90s, architect Carol Kurth designed a home for an art-minded couple. "At that time, they were just embarking on collecting," recalls Kurth, whose ensuing design, called Art House, included space for the couple’s growing ensemble. Then, some 20 years later, the clients reached out to Kurth again. Now facing retirement, they wanted to build a one-story home to accommodate all of their passions, including art, books, and nature.



In 2014, Carol Kurth Architecture + Interiors completed this solar passive house of glass, cedar, and stone in Pound Ridge, New York, for a retired couple that wanted to enjoy their favorite pastimes: collecting art and enjoying nature.

For three years, Kurth and the clients searched for the right property for Art House 2.0, finally finding the ideal sloped and wooded lot in Pound Ridge, New York. The program was straightforward: "The first house we did had a lot of curves," says Kurth. "In this house, one of the very few brief items was ‘No curves.’ They wanted straight walls because they had a lot more art, and they wanted something that would feel more part of the land."



The exterior landscaping stays low so as to meet the bottom of the window and interior floor level, which creates a more fluid indoor/outdoor effect.

Kurth sited the rectilinear home on the crest of the hill, so a lower level could be tucked underneath. The upper floor is allotted to the main living spaces, including a study and two bedrooms, while the downstairs hosts a gym, workshop, and guest quarters. Key to the main floor layout was carving out space in passageways for bookcases, art niches, or both. A neutral palette of crisp white walls and porcelain tile floors underscores the gallery-like feel.



At the entry, Kurth created a glassed alcove for an exterior sculpture using Series 600 Window Walls from Western Window Systems.

"The windows play a big role in this house because we're working with solid and void, and we wanted the thinnest sight lines that we could achieve to get the maximum glass," says Kurth. To that end, every solid expanse of wall was precisely measured to fit a piece of art, and the architect tapped Western Window Systems for the glazing. "It really is a system," says Kurth. "Because it is a system, we can work with the components to create what we needed. That really does make the difference."



A Series 900 Hinged Door works seamlessly with the windows that flank it at the entry.



In the living room, a Series 600 Multi-Slide Door from Western Window Systems opens to an outdoor patio to maintain the flow between inside and out.

The window detailing was essential to the success of the design, including the dual-paned, low-E glass that keeps art from being damaged, the clean-lined and minimal hardware, and energy efficient thermally broken aluminum construction. A "beautiful sill detail" enabled Kurth to bring the glass down to the finished floor, and further connect the home to the view. "A lot of manufacturers will have a big, bulky bottom-not only the sill, but a frame," notes Kurth, who needed a more seamless effect.



In the kitchen, windows are a backsplash that capture the view.



A crisp recessed line demarks the trim around the windows, doors, and baseboards all the way around the house, and contributes to its gallery-like feel.

On the exterior, vertical boards of pale cedar "blend in with the trunks of the trees," and joins walls made of fieldstone, a material common to the area. The landscaping uses sweeps of pachysandra ground cover to enfold the building and emulate an undulating river form, further merging the house with its site.



Alcoves for books and art are woven throughout the house.

During the planning process, the clients began adding outdoor sculpture to their collection after Kurth suggested an "art quest." "I said to them, ‘We're running out of wall space…I really think you should be collecting sculpture at this point,’" says Kurth. "And they love a challenge."

As the couple searched, Kurth planned for the sculpture placements, including capping a long axis with a single fixed window to frame a striking piece, and at the entry, forming an exterior niche that’s wrapped in window walls, so the art can be appreciated from several angles.



A fixed window at the end of a hallway frames an outdoor sculpture. The acoustics throughout the home are comfortable, says Kurth, thanks to a high-level of insulation and tight envelope. "There's no echo-y sound," says Kurth.

"It's always a balance between the art, the wall, and the glass. Nature here is the art. It’s like a tapestry that changes," says Kurth. "Every season has something spectacular to offer. You really feel very connected to it because the glass sizes are so large."



Undulating curves of ground cover sweep around the house and the stone walls.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
A new faith called Robotheism claims artificial intelligence isn’t just smart but actually God itself
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
Labour set to freeze income tax thresholds in long-term 'stealth' tax raid
Coca‑Cola explores sale of Costa coffee chain
Trial hears dog walker was chased and fatally stabbed by trio
Restaurateur resigns from government hospitality council over tax criticism
Spanish City funfair shut after serious ride injury
Suspected arson at Ilford restaurant leaves three in critical condition
Tottenham beat Manchester City to go top of Premier League
Bank holiday heatwave to hit 30°C before remnants of Hurricane Erin arrive
UK to deploy immigration advisers to West Africa to block fake visas
Nurse who raped woman continued working for a year despite police alert
Drought forces closures of England’s canal routes, canceling boat holidays
Sweet tooth scents: food-inspired perfumes surge as weight-loss drugs suppress appetites
Experts warn Britain dangerously reliant on imported food
Family of Notting Hill Carnival murder victim call event unmanageable
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
×