Indian Lake House

When husband and wife retired Metropolitan Opera performers Rob Maher and Deborah Allton-Maher sought to create a relaxing weekend escape in the Adirondacks they looked to PJCArchitecture, whose founder they had previously worked with both at the Opera and on the renovation of their former Upper West Side home. Following Rob and Deborah’s directive to create a comfortable home that engages with its surroundings and provides plenty of space for entertaining, PJCA artfully constructed a three-story, 1910-square-foot house with two bedrooms and 2 1/2 bathrooms, as well as a separate 158-square foot boathouse with a third bedroom. As in the making of a dance or aria, the creation of this lakeside getaway was the result of a true collaborative process between the homeowners, design team, and local laborers.

The former opera singer and professional dancer came to the project with deep-seated sensitivity to the arts and appreciation for materiality and form. Both had strong visions for the aesthetics of the home, with Rob favoring a clean-lined aesthetic with the simple detailing of a Japanese Tea House and Deborah seeking a cottage feel with articulated details reminiscent of the home in “On Golden Pond.” PJCA worked diligently to mediate these conflicting visions, gathering imagery from both concepts and establishing methods of merging elements of both. They ultimately decided to clad the house in “Shou Sugi Ban,” an eco-friendly, charred wood siding that the couple had experienced in their travels to Japan. The material helps the house cohere with its surroundings and maintain clean lines. Clean moldings around large linear windows and doors pair with a metal roof to add to this aesthetic, while Deborah’s desired cottage aesthetic comes to life in the interiors. The design of the home nods to the vernacular architecture of the Adirondacks—pitched roofs, wood siding, and stone walls—while providing a fresh take to the familiar forms and materials.

The site of the home, a steep slope dotted with tall trees that work their way down to the lakeside, provided inspiration for the tall form of the house. Challenged by zoning parameters which only allowed for a small footprint, PJCA designed the house vertically, creating three stories of habitable space, along with a dumbwaiter for transporting items up and down. The form of the house varies dramatically depending upon the viewer’s direction of approach. When approaching from the street and driveway, the home appears as a modest, one-level gable roof home with minimal massing. Upon crossing the bridge to the front entrance, visitors are intrigued to find that they are on the top level of the home and there are two more below. When approaching from the lakeside direction, the home appears as a tall form that grows up from the lake in harmony with the surrounding trees and hill. The southeast corner of the home reads as a glass and wood cube that appears to be extracted from the massing of the main house, overlooking the best views of the lake.

Entering the home on the third level, the space opens up into a main living area and kitchen. The large cathedral ceiling space is flooded with light streaming in from floor-to-ceiling windows. A sculptural volume in the middle of the open level echoes the exterior massing of the home and organizes the space by storing mechanical equipment in the top and forming portions of the kitchen, closet, and powder room at the bottom. Deborah’s cottage aesthetic is felt in the powder-blue kitchen cabinetry, white wood shiplap walls with tongue-and-groove planks, and forged wrought-iron railings on the stair. Down the stairs, which are filled with light from four skylights, is the primary bedroom facing the lake. This room seems to extend further into the exterior with a screened terrace room. A floor-to-ceiling pocket door leads to the primary bathroom with a stone-floor shower, which also connects to the outdoor patio, allowing easy access from the exterior.

On the lowest level is the family or guest room, as well as a bathroom, laundry area, and mechanical room. A custom stone fireplace surround crafted by a local mason grounds the space, topped by a custom mantle handcrafted by a local woodworker using a tree that was cut and provided by close family friends. Floor-to-ceiling sliding doors connect this level with the wide vista of the lake and provide access to the adjacent boat house. The boat house is a small structure that juts out from the site and sits directly over the lake. The structure serves as an additional bedroom, guest house, or simply a peaceful studio to facilitate a retreat into the beauty of the surrounding nature. In seasons when the lake is high, the boathouse is completely surrounded by water, creating the sense of being on a boat. Outside, a custom-made flagpole honors both Rob and Deborah’s fathers, who served in the military.

In collaboration with Winchip Engineering, Walter’s Construction, GB Construction, J Moore Construction, and Blue Line Electrical, PJCA delivered an artistic and spiritual getaway that harmonizes with its natural context.