Going With The Flow
1.Living Room Terrace
New York's Hudson River Valley may not have the swank of the Hamptons, but it's got no dearth of rich, colorful residents, history, and properties. True, certain stretches feature derelict factories and hills smothered in flimsy condos, but the banks of the river have been considered prime real estate ever since Henry Hudson maneuvered his ship, Half Moon, up the scenic estuary in 1609. The mega mansions of the Hamptons are nouveau bling compared with the stately, centuries-old homes along the Hudson.
On a terrace off the living room, a Brown Jordan chaise has a cushion covered in a Sunbrella fabric, and a garden stool is from Treillage; the façade is painted in a custom color by Benjamin Moore.
2.Porch
Bill Burback and Peter Hofmann own such a house, a 1793 Federal manse perched on two and a half acres of pretty, gently sloping land in the hamlet of Garrison, directly across the river from the United States Military Academy. In the 1800s, the handsome two-story, gray-green building was a commercial ferry house and landing; several decades later, it morphed into the headquarters of a coal and fuel business.
On a covered porch, the chair is by Munder-Skiles, and the flooring is bluestone.
3.Dining Room
In 1974, the descendants of the area's founder and one of its most respected preservationists, Henry White Belcher, transformed the building into a private home. Tucked into an enclave of charming Carpenter Gothic structures, Burback and Hofmann's place has a quaint, patrician look and feel. And it's practical too: The post office, train station, art center, theater, and bookshop are all minutes away.
The walnut dining table belonged to Burback's grandmother, the painted work table is vintage, and the artworks above it include, from left, a collage by Mike Miller, a painting by Stephen Spaccarelli, a wall sculpture by Rune Olsen, and a photograph of David Hockney by Dmitri Kasterine; the sisal rug is from Pottery Barn.
4.Living Room
Hofmann, an internist affiliated with New York-Presbyterian Hospital, and Burback, an art curator and collector, bought the property from the Belcher family in 1997. For some 17 years prior to that, they had been spending weekends in a log cabin in Garrison, commuting back and forth from their Upper East Side Manhattan apartment. "We loved the area, and were on the lookout for a bigger place near the river," Burback recalls. "In the middle of my birthday party at a local inn, a friend mentioned that the Belcher family was selling their property. We left our guests, ran to the real estate office, then ran to the house, and bought it on the spot."
A 2004 collage by Ivan Chermayeff hangs above the living room's fireplace; the Audubon squirrel prints were bought at auction, the Pembroke table was a gift from Burback's mother, and the sofa was a gift from friends; French doors lead to a terrace with a view of the Hudson.
5.Foyer
Over the next 15 years, the house became an all-consuming project for the couple. They loved the footprint and general layout, but there was much to improve. They opened up the landscape (views of the river and West Point were completely obscured by scrubby brush and trees), replaced the windows, added French doors, and renovated the kitchen and baths. They built stone terraces and a poolhouse, and installed 350 feet of steel bulkhead to stave off flooding.
In the foyer, the convex mirror and game table were family gifts, and the chairs in the dining area beyond are from Zona.
6.Dining Tavern
And how. Almost every surface—from the entryway and the living room to the dining "tavern," master bedroom, and two guest suites, as well as all along the landings and staircases—is packed with pieces from the Adirondacks, nautical souvenirs, taxidermy, Audubon prints, and eclectic furniture ranging from crude twig tables to a modernist chair by Robert Venturi.
In the dining "tavern" of Bill Burback and Peter Hofmann's home in Garrison, New York, the Windsor chair and love seat are 19th century, and the tilt-top table is 18th century; the faux-wood ceramic plates are by Paul Nelsen, the bird photographs are by Mary Frey, and the floors are reclaimed pine.
7.Landing
The place looks great year-round: Covered in snow or purple wisteria, it lends itself both to stay-home dinners for two and cocktails for 75. Burback has become an avid gardener, favoring generous clumps of white hydrangeas, Japanese anemones, Iceberg roses, Shasta daisies, and a phalanx of potted white geraniums framing the front door.
The second-floor landing holds a twig table bought at the Brimfield antiques fair in Massachusetts, a Northwest Coast Indian mask, and photographs by Edward S. Curtis; the wool sisal is by ABC Carpet & Home.
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