This $2.87M upstate 'floating farmhouse' is an 1800s home with walls of glass, overlooking a waterfall

This $2.87M upstate ‘floating farmhouse’ is an 1800s home with walls of glass, overlooking a waterfall

June 3, 2022

Photos by Gabriel Zimmer of Catskill Image for Sotheby’s International Realty

Set on nearly nine verdant acres in Sullivan County, this unique circa 1820 farmhouse incorporates its history with elements of modern design so beautifully that it has been featured in Architectural Digest and Dwell magazine, the latter of which called it “a living laboratory for how to bring the vernacular past into the present.” Known as Floating Farmhouse, the 3,400-square-foot Catskills home and barn sit at the edge of a swimming creek with a waterfall. Among its star features is a covered porch that appears to hover above the water. Asking $2,875,000, the home is available for the first time since a four-year rebuilding process by acclaimed designer Tom Givone created its current stunning form.

Attached to the house is a cathedral-like barn that functions as a breathtaking entertaining space for any size gathering. Dubbed “MacBarn,” the 1800s structure has been rebuilt with a massive retractable door done in translucent panels of anodized aluminum (the same material is used for MacBooks) filtering light into the space. The barn has a heating system and a new septic system; high overhead, modern chandeliers dim for intimate events.

Within the farmhouse, a huge kitchen is framed on one side by a skyscraper-worthy curtain wall of glass and steel and 20-foot vaulted ceilings with hand-hewn beams. The floors are polished concrete, and countertops are made from locally-quarried bluestone atop custom cabinetry. Opposite is a floor-to-ceiling sculptural steel tower with a wood-burning pizza oven at its base. The glass wall offers views of the pristine creek and waterfall above a restored dam of hand-laid stone.

Next to the kitchen is a 1,000-square-foot great room highlighted by a wood-burning fireplace. The room is framed by original wide plank floors, custom wainscoting, and walls of original wavy glass windows overlooking the water.

Upstairs is the primary suite, also facing the water. The tranquil bedroom features a section of the home’s original cedar shake roof as part of its vaulted ceiling in addition to another wood-burning fireplace and hand-hewn ceiling beams. The bath has double sinks, a freestanding jet soaking tub, bidets, and a walk-in rain shower.

The home’s northern wing holds three additional bedrooms and an office, plus a full bath with a stainless steel-wrapped antique soaking tub and an antique Roman marble sink.

The grounds consist of open fields, apple trees, and a virgin pine forest. Floating Farmhouse also functions as a luxury vacation rental and film and photo shoot location for significant income opportunities.

[Listed at Sotheby’s International Realty by Annabel Taylor and at Compass by Esteban Gomez]

RELATED:

Photos by Gabriel Zimmer of Catskill Image for Sotheby’s International Realty