Design in the details
Original to the home and the centerpiece of the living room is a large stone fireplace. Knickerbocker Group installed cabinetry on the kitchen side of the fireplace to give the homeowners more storage space.
Nestled in the downstairs hallway sits an old wooden door covered in handwritten notes and sketches. It acts as a permanent guestbook filled with the names of friends and family that have stayed in the historic lodge over the years, creating art and making summer memories.
Knickerbocker Group built and modernized the bathrooms on the second and third floors of the home, although we kept timely pieces, such as the clawfoot tubs. Knickerbocker Group found new faucets that fit the period of the house and used them in the third floor primary bath where the homeowners have a private suite and office space.
About five years after the initial renovations, the clients asked Knickerbocker Group to build a private staircase leading to their third floor suite. The clients’ appreciation for art and their ability to think outside of the box allowed Knickerbocker Group to design and build a one-of-a-kind spiral staircase. The staircase and stone patio incorporate “The Golden Ratio” and “Fibonacci Sequence,” a mathematical design where the proportions are most pleasing to the human eye.
To achieve the curves of the staircase, Knickerbocker Group used tube steel rolled in two directions. Two inch thick red cedar was used for the steps, anchored on either side by the steel stringers and Jakob stainless steel web-net for the guardrail—materials that would follow and complement the spiral lines of the stairs.
Under the staircase is a wooden storage space where the homeowners keep outdoor garden supplies. Knickerbocker Group wanted this staircase to be as eclectic as possible since the homeowners encouraged them to push creative boundaries.
Knickerbocker Group worked alongside a local sculpture artist and landscapers to complete the hand-made stonework in the outdoor patio. Near the base of the staircase is an old Garland range which the family rescued from the basement and had restored. Once complete, with ruby red slipper handles, they named the antique range “Judy.”
