Accord, NY

2003-2017

What better place to escape from NYC than to a farm?  This 27 acre property, the heart of what once was a 300 acre dairy farm is all that remains.  It has no road frontage and a mostly gentle stream runs through it.  Horses, goats, sheep, pigs, chickens, cat’s and golden retrievers greet guests when they arrive, corn and vegetables are grown in greenhouses and outside, guests can pick their own brocoli and cook it that night for dinner.  Sometimes the retrievers even lead the guests to their house for the weekend.

This project involved not only designing places for guests to stay, but re-imaging what it it is that people want out of a getaway.  Many of the guest houses were inspired by our camping experiences.  The most popular was the Yurt, a modern version of the Mongolian round tent structure, this Yurt has A/C, solar power for lights, a full kitchen, bath and bedroom.  Part of the experience is walking through the horse field, no cars allowed, guests are provided with a cart or a ride in a small farm vehicle.  The other accommodations included Teppees, A boat, tent and trailer right by the stream, an apartment, a Cabin  and an Annex in the working Barn.  Saturday night bonfires and pizza in the wood fired oven created community and the Farm Breakfast allowed the guests to get to know the owners as food grown and raised on the farm was shared.  The owners were joined by volunteers from around the world who helped cook, clean to help with the animals and crops.

This experiment in active living was enormously popular and lead the trend in the Hudson Valley toward more farms hosting guests.