When a home has remained entirely untouched since an era when cigarettes were still marketed as health food, it is bound to harbor a few design choices that feel distinctly of another time. A wander through such a property might reveal a vintage tiki bar, cheetah-print upholstery featuring the loud signatures of the animal kingdom, and a heavy reliance on polyester finishes. Yet, anchoring the middle of it all is a massive stone fireplace—one of the rare design elements in architectural history that remains entirely immune to the relentless passage of time, shifting trends, and accidental gin stains.
For one New York family of four, the time for the cheetah print had finally come and gone, but the grand stone fireplace was guaranteed a permanent place in the home’s future. Around this enduring hearth, a fresh upstate retreat was meticulously shaped by architect Steve Silverstein of Manning Silverstein Architects, with interiors designed by Amanda Jesse and Whitney Parris-Lamb of the AD PRO Directory firm Jesse Parris-Lamb.
The property is situated within the historic Trail Club, an outdoorsy upstate enclave founded in 1924 in Carmel, New York. Spread across 100 acres of lush woodland, the community comprises roughly 84 homes, a shared clubhouse, tennis courts, and a network of winding hiking and biking trails.
The homeowners—an editor and a lawyer—along with their two daughters and a miniature poodle, sought a sanctuary that could comfortably welcome muddy tennis shoes after a match while simultaneously serving as a beautiful, cozy escape brimming with natural light, books, and gorgeous textiles. "We feel we live in a space that perfectly expresses us," the homeowner notes, "even though Whitney and Amanda’s guiding hands and eyes and signature touches are evident throughout."
"They have really busy, demanding lives, and this is the place they come to be together," Parris-Lamb explains. The design narrative began with a foundational palette of cherry wood millwork and Douglas fir flooring, complemented by painted accents in Benjamin Moore’s Jade Romanesque green. This established an authentic Adirondack forest tone, because, as Parris-Lamb points out, "it’s not a loft in Soho."
From there, however, the design consciously avoided falling into a predictable, rustic lumberjack aesthetic. "They told us that they wanted ‘moments of delight,’ and that phrase stuck with us throughout the whole project," Jesse recalls. These moments manifest in unexpected details, such as a pair of triangular vintage Amsterdam School armchairs sourced on 1stDibs and reupholstered in Susan Deliss Imani fabric with Samuel & Sons trim, alongside colorful abstract tilework in the primary bathroom designed by Commune Design.
The clients also brought inspiration drawn from Viennese textiles—specifically the blocky florals and dreamlike geometrics popularized by the Wiener Werkstätte. While that aesthetic might not sound like the typical brief for a traditional upstate cabin, the designers embraced the challenge. "And that’s not exactly the right brief for an upstate cabin," Parris-Lamb observes. "But they were interested in those aesthetics, and quietly or suddenly, introducing some of those principles into the house."
Among the most striking custom creations in the home is a woven wood headboard that doubles as an architectural room divider in the primary bedroom, designed by Boyd & Allister based in New Mexico. The piece required over a year of design and meticulous craftsmanship before being installed locally by McNamara Carpentry in New York. In the morning hours, natural light diffuses softly through its vertical slats, casting gentle shadows across the room.
The project was an enormous undertaking requiring intense craft and coordination, Parris-Lamb notes, describing the finished piece as a work of art in its own right. "Most people are like, ‘What’s good for resale?’"—often considered the most dreaded phrase in an interior designer’s vocabulary. "But that was absolutely not a consideration with this house. It was a hundred percent: ‘What do we love? What feels like us?’ A rare breed of client."
That collaborative, open-minded spirit extended even to the younger members of the family. It is not every day that a design team encounters a nine-year-old with a subscription to Architectural Digest who casually drops the word "millwork" into conversation. The younger daughter was actively involved in selecting the ideal shade of dusty pink for her bedroom—settling on Benjamin Moore’s Sheraton Beige—and weighing in on a vintage bamboo headboard and a reeded Alfred Newall bedside table.
To bring her vision to life, the team collaborated with Asheville, North Carolina-based artist Christopher Holt, a friend of the designers, who hand-painted a delicate floral chain that meanders around her bedroom window and desk, drawing inspiration from native Hudson Valley flora. For a hidden touch of whimsy, Holt tucked a tiny painting of a narwhal—one of her favorite animals—inside her closet.
Another central pillar of the design was the inclusion of functional, cozy spaces dedicated to relaxation. "They wanted a million places to read," Parris-Lamb says, noting that the family arrived with extensive book collections ready to fill entire walls of shelving. To satisfy this request, Boyd & Allister crafted a deep, extended daybed positioned perfectly beneath a wide expanse of windows in the living room, offering ample space for the entire family—and the dog—to curl up together.
The main living area flows seamlessly into the kitchen and dining spaces, separated subtly by floating walls that allow the exposed wooden beams overhead to remain visually continuous. Moving away from the completely open-plan layouts of recent decades, architect Steve Silverstein—who is also a member of the Trail Club—integrated walls featuring cut-out peekaboo windows.
"It’s all about having individual, definable spaces within a larger space," Silverstein explains. These architectural apertures allow glimpses of the surrounding trees and shifting afternoon light to enter the room’s periphery, keeping occupants engaged and curious about what lies beyond each corner.
From the custom millwork and historic textiles to the deliberate preservation of the home’s original stone hearth, every detail of the upstate retreat was crafted to reflect the distinct personality of the family who lives there.
