Neversink Retreat

Maggie Dallal designed Neversink Retreat around two moments in the day. Glass runs across the back of the house, toward the sunsets, and the kitchen, where she does most of her cooking, was placed to keep that view at the end of the day. Upstairs, three large windows in the primary bedroom face the other way, toward the sunrise.

The house stands on fifteen acres in the Sullivan County Catskills, near the Neversink Reservoir, on land her husband's family has owned since 1950. Maggie wanted it to belong to the region without becoming another timber cabin, and settled on a farmhouse style. A contractor built it about twelve years ago, to her design.

Since then the property has grown one decision at a time: a pool set apart from the house, an orchard, tree species added one by one, and most recently a lower level she wanted to be the nicest space in the house.

The Space

The main floor is one open room for cooking, eating and sitting, with glass along the back of the house and a screened porch there. The lounge is built around a wood-burning fireplace and custom cherry built-ins that hold books and records. The kitchen is marble, with an island that seats four and a table for eight, and it was placed for the sunset view.

Upstairs, the primary suite was redesigned to be minimalist: wide-plank white oak floors, a vanity made from reclaimed wood, a soaking tub, a slate shower, and the three windows that face the sunrise.

The lower level, added in the latest renovation, was designed to surprise. Maggie gave it a custom king Murphy bed, a gym behind a glass wall, a cedar sauna and a bath she wanted to feel like a spa, with a lot of stone, alongside limestone, walnut and Italian tile. Across the house the beds are made with linen sheets and organic blankets, chosen after she bought nine different comforters and sheets to compare.

Outside, the pool sits on the side of the house with fewer windows and some distance from it, so that in winter, when it is closed, it is not what the rooms look out on. The hot tub and fire pit are right off the house, and get most use in spring and fall.

Practical: four bedrooms sleep eight, with room for up to ten; three and a half baths; a 40 by 20 foot saltwater pool, generally open May to September; a six-person hot tub, sauna, gym and media room; three fenced acres, and dogs are welcome.

Who It's For

Families who travel with grandparents and dogs. Four bedrooms sleep eight, three fenced acres suit dogs, and some groups bring the grandparents.

Groups of friends. With the fourth bedroom the house now sleeps eight adults, gathered around a marble kitchen with an island and a table for eight.

New Yorkers planning a long weekend. The house is about two hours from the city, many guests stay three or four days, and there are few televisions.

Why Locèlle Loves It

• Designed by the owner. Maggie Dallal, a former science teacher who treats design as a hobby, designed the house and its renovation herself.
• Oriented for the light. Glass across the back for the sunset, and three windows in the primary bedroom for the sunrise.
• A pool sited with care. Set apart, on the side of the house with fewer windows, so it never becomes the winter view.
• A lower level built to surprise. A custom Murphy bed, a glass-walled gym, a sauna and a bath finished in stone.
• Wood and stone chosen room by room. Cherry built-ins, white oak floors and walnut shelving, with marble, slate and limestone.
• A landscape still being planted. An orchard, a garden, wild blueberries left to grow, and tree species Maggie has added one by one, almost like an arboretum.
• Book Direct. Locèlle introduces you directly to the hosts, so you can book with them without added platform fees.