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Family Mountain Retreat   l   Elmore, Vermont

Published in ‘Design New England’ Magazine, September/October 2009 edition.

This former hillside farm along the base of the scenic Worcester Mountain Range is now the country retreat for a busy urban couple and their extended family and friends.  The landscape connects past and present as the narrow driveway, once the old farm road, weaves in and out of gently rolling fields and white pine plantations that have been carefully restored and preserved. Suddenly the house comes into view, nestled at the edge of the last pine forest overlooking the majestic Stowe valley and Green Mountains.

Design New England magazine featured the Family Mountain Retreat, writing, “You could hardly find a more intriguing – or enchanting – entrance to a vacation retreat than the pine plantation that greets the visitor to this rambling estate in northern Vermont.”  The architecture of the house and landscape expresses the agrarian past while the contemporary flair provides a timeless simplicity. 

Collaboration with the architect resulted in continual overlap of inside and outside. Interior doorways and windows frame 180°  mountain vistas, along with views to the peaceful shady kitchen garden, sunny veranda, bold flower garden, and graceful rectangular pool.  Rebuilt farmers’ stone walls and stepping stone paths take you on a journey that offers mystery and surprise at every corner. Trail markers along the garden’s periphery entice visitors to further explore the forested stream valleys, with handcrafted rustic bridges and benches.    

Collaboration with Sam Scofield Architect