For Gray Davis, co-founder of Meyer Davis, designing a home on Copake Lake was a distinctly personal undertaking. He and his husband, Chase Booth, had returned to this corner of New York for years, developing an understanding of the landscape at the foot of the Berkshires and, eventually, of the kind of house they wanted to create there. “This particular piece of land was one we had always imagined building on,” says Davis. “When the opportunity came, I had a very clear picture in my head of a simple glass house on the lake.”
Set directly along the shoreline, the residence takes a restrained approach to contemporary architecture. Rather than compete with its surroundings, the house allows water, woodland, and changing light to remain central to the experience. Floor-to-ceiling glass and retractable panels strengthen that connection, while deep overhangs extend daily life toward the outdoors. Inside, the home’s openness reflects the way Davis and Booth wanted to live. Entertaining was considered from the outset, with furniture placement and circulation planned to accommodate larger groups of friends and family without sacrificing the intimacy of a private retreat.
The plan reinforces that balance. Gathering spaces occupy the lakeside, where the great room is framed by glass, while four bedrooms along the woodland side offer a quieter counterpoint. “We love hosting and Copake is a very social place for us,” Davis emphasized. “The house had to work both as a retreat for Chase and me but also when it was full of friends and family.”
A long gallery forms the home’s interior spine, establishing a transition between its social and private spaces. Custom millwork and collected works introduce another layer of character while maintaining the restraint found throughout the architecture.
That sense of warmth continues through natural stone, oak, linen, bouclé, woven textiles, art, and sculptural lighting. Rather than feeling newly assembled, the interiors incorporate pieces collected by Davis and Booth over time, including objects that have traveled with them from one home to another. For Davis, those layers are what make the contemporary glass house personal: “Those are the pieces that give a house its personality, and really make it ours.”
More intimate rooms provide places to retreat while remaining connected to the landscape beyond. Together, the public and private spaces allow the house to move easily between lively gatherings and quieter moments, reflecting both Davis’s design sensibility and the rhythms of life he and Booth have established at Copake.
The residence is also featured in Meyer Davis’s new monograph, The Language of Home. The project offers a fitting reflection on what makes a house feel like home: “Ultimately, I think the best homes give you both comfort and a sense of place.”
