Upstate House

On a fall morning in Pine Plains, the fields glow gold and the lone grain silo holds its ground like a sentinel from another century. Deer slip between the hedgerows; a blue heron lifts off the wetlands. What looks at first like a classic farmhouse—white clapboard, pitched roof, wraparound porch—reveals itself slowly, like the landscape it inhabits. This is a new house on old farmland, designed by Ravi Raj Architect for a family of five and their two rescue dogs. The couple traded New York City for 33 acres of pasture, orchard, and stream, drawn not only to the peaceful sweep of Dutchess County but to the palpable history underfoot: arrowheads, hand-forged horseshoes, and the memory of a Quaker boarding house that once stood here. Their goal wasn’t simply to build a home, but to become stewards of a place with a long agricultural story—and to write the next chapter with care.

While searching for a larger space to call home, the owners fell in love with the Pine Plains area and this particular farmstead. Raj, who met the homeowners through mutual friends, had previously designed three other residences in the Hudson Valley. “They had seen my portfolio and other work that I had done upstate and liked the style and sensibility of my work,” says Raj. “It was kind of a nice fit from the beginning.”

The property was originally farmed for feed corn and is being returned to organic/regenerative farming practices. Currently the fields are used for hay for local horse farms. An organic fruit orchard comprises native apples, pears, persimmons, paw paws, cherries, and peaches. Native nut trees like honey locusts, chestnuts, and hickory have also been planted around the farm and a huge stone-walled garden in the old barn foundation below the silo contains about 1,000 square feet of organic veggies and berries. A trout stream running alongside the property is filled with crayfish, and the wetlands are home to blue heron, owls, bald eagles, beavers, and river otters.

Inspired by the natural richness of the land and the striking presence of the existing agricultural buildings, Raj specifically oriented the main entry of the house to be on axis with some of the existing barn structures. “That was a starting point for the layout,” he says, “knowing that we wanted the entry to be on that side facing the barn.” The barns, which are currently outbuildings for farm equipment and guinea hens, are in the process of restoration to become garage and studio space as well as a potting shed.

A Curated Mix

While the entry court is framed by the barn structures, the rear of the house opens to an expanse of fields and a meandering stream. “It’s situated in a way that’s both respectful and complementary to the landscape,” says Raj. Blasting was required however, to situate the new house in proximity to the structures. “There was a bit of site work that had to be done there,” says Raj, who worked with Segalla’s Turnkey Housing on the build-out.

Completed in 2022, the 3,600-square-foot, 4-bedroom, 3.5-bathroom home includes a full, finished basement. The house is organized around a T-shaped plan to suit the family’s lifestyle, optimize structural efficiency, and allow for a clean, open living area on the main floor. Sustainable features in the home include solar panels and heat pumps.

The interior is a curated mix of new and antique furnishings and finishes selected by the homeowners, who work in the worlds of finance and fashion. A restrained material palette of stone, oak, and tile sets a neutral stage for the family’s eclectic art and furniture collection. The modern interior offers rustic touches that connect to the surrounding farmland and countryside. The fireplaces are raw cut granite by Stone Resource, Inc. and fabricated by Stone Crafting, both in Amenia.

The first floor contains a spacious, light-filled living and dining area designed to encourage communal life and fluid indoor-outdoor transitions. Across from the entry is a sitting room and to the left of that is the dining room with a vintage lamp from Holler & Squall in Kingston. Two sets of double doors lead to both an open porch and a covered porch ideal for dining.

Adjacent the dining room, the open kitchen honors the farmhouse aesthetic with a painted clapboard ceiling, farmhouse sink, and Shaker cabinet fronts from Semihandmade, a company that manufactures prefabricated fronts for IKEA kitchen cabinets. “We were trying to stay within budget here and do something that was a little bit nicer,” says Raj. A scattering of Turkish-style rugs on the kitchen floor gives a bit of texture to the space.

On the opposite side of the kitchen island is a space for seating and a small shelf for cookbooks. A professional-style faucet from Kohler and a pendant from Luceplan offer modern touches. “We tried to center the kitchen sink on the window to look out directly onto the entry area, which is nice because you can see people coming or going,” says Raj.

Finishing out the first floor is a living room with a wood burning fireplace, a home office, a mudroom, and a powder room with a brass faucet, Mudd Concrete sink, and Fornasetti wallpaper.

Next to the entrance is a custom oak staircase with tapered wooden dowels designed by Raj to be contemporary but also somewhat traditional. Built by Dutchess Millwork, the wooden balustrade continues up to the second floor, framing a cozy reading area above. Four bedrooms on the second floor offer panoramic views of the surrounding landscape, each oriented to maximize natural light and frame key site features.

The primary suite includes another fireplace, a walk-in closet, and en-suite bathroom. The bathroom’s double vanity sink—with Carrara marble top—and Randolph Morris tub were sourced by the owners. “They wanted the vanity and the tub here to feel like furniture elements within the space,” says Raj. The suite commands a privileged view over the barns and farmland, with large windows in both the bedroom and bathroom capturing the agricultural setting as a daily backdrop.

The home is clad in white board-and-batten Hardie siding, a durable material choice that echoes the vernacular architecture of regional farmhouses. While a pitch-roof aesthetic is present in the front of the house, it doesn’t dominate the facade, and the windows are accentuated with divided lights to make them feel more harmonious with the setting. A generous wraparound porch invites outdoor living, allowing the family to dine al fresco or relax overlooking the gently sloping fields. “In every space, you try to make sure you are taking advantage of the landscape,” says Raj.

Just downhill from the residence, a bluestone pool nestles into the landscape, its reflective surface mirroring the house alongside the charm of the surrounding farmland. It is surrounded by a wood fence by Stanford Fencing, who also did all the raised garden beds. “I appreciate how minimally the pool touches the landscape,” says Raj.

This contemporary farmhouse is not only a new home but also a respectful continuation of the site’s story—merging the traditions of rural life with a thoughtful, modern design for its next generation of caretakers.