Is the city dweller’s dream of restoring a quaint Upstate farmhouse a thing of the past? Many buyers are looking not for antique fixer-uppers, but for manageably sized turnkey homes with eco-friendly features instead.
New York–based Amalgam Studio is catering to this new type of buyer with a modular home design dubbed VenHaus, currently on the market for $999,500 with April Vitaliani of Douglas Elliman. Upon purchase, roughly two-thirds of the three-bedroom residence will be constructed off-site before being transported to a 16.9-acre plot in Rhinebeck. The project is customizable, with sustainable options that include rooftop solar panels, an electric car–charging port, and a composting station.
In Millerton, a contemporary three-bedroom designed in 2011 by Manhattan architecture firm Grzywinski+Pons boasts an exterior of aluminum and sustainably grown ipe wood, radiant-heat flooring, LED lighting, dual-flush toilets, and an on-demand hot water system. Homeowner Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø, a craft beer pioneer, recently placed the pad—which sits on 5.79 acres and comes with a one-bedroom guesthouse—on the market for $1.195 million with Andrew Gates of Houlihan Lawrence.
And a 4,176-square-foot timber-frame abode in Woodstock, built in 1989, both nods to the past and looks to the future. Listed for $1.89 million with Victoria Wilkinson of Heather Croner Real Estate Sotheby’s International Realty, the four-bedroom residence sits on 16 mountain-view acres and was updated to be more energy efficient 10 years ago. Among the additions: solar-powered systems for water and electricity and an electric car–charging port. “The sellers were able to make use of the property’s full sun to save on energy expenses,” notes Wilkinson. “They achieved an environmentally responsible result without compromising the home’s character.”
