Nick Churton of Houlihan Lawrence’s London office heads up the Hudson River from New York City to find a wonderful river-view home with exceptional entertaining space inside and out.
Property: Croton-on-Hudson, New York
Broker: Houlihan Lawrence
Agent: Sharon Bodnar Briskman
Sometimes architecture needs a counterpoint. This is especially useful when combining the traditional with the contemporary.
At 30 Quaker Ridge Road in Westchester County – only 45 minutes to Manhattan by train – this has been beautifully achieved through the addition of an extraordinary centimetre-perfect decagonal pool house – but more of that later.
The main event is really the house, securely accessed through electric gates and a long drive which slowly reveals the reason the house was built here in the first place – the Hudson River. Serving as an elegant and dramatic backdrop the mighty river slips by changing colour by, the hour and by the season. It provides a restless but permanent feature to a home whose various owners have enjoyed the view since it was built in the 1920s.
The house is built of stone and is charmingly arranged internally. The big statement is a double height, sky lit grand salon that is perfect for entertaining or just relaxing in style – especially in the summer months. But next door to it is a delightful, fire-warmed, winter-cosy withdrawing room/library.
One doesn’t just arrive at this property, one makes the grandest of entrances. A master-craftsman laid out the vast carriage courtyard, around a central fountain, with granite sets in a traditional Florentine pattern.
But more craftsmanship and geometric precision is to come. The ten-sided pool house provides another wonderful focus for relaxation and entertainment. A mathematician with a great eye for design commissioned it, and it works beautifully bringing a spectacular amenity to this fabulous location.
Surrounded by a magnificent collection of mature trees that give additional seasonal interest and screen the estate of almost 10 acres, this is a home in the great tradition of important Hudson River houses.
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