Wolfhouse, a Philip Johnson residence and curatorial center, completed its restoration, featuring a one-of-a-kind collaboration with USM Modular Furniture, a sustainably built kitchen made from recycled and reused USM parts.

© Chris Daniele/dirtandglass.net

Wolfhouse is a classic mid-century modern home located in Newburgh, New York, built in 1949 by noted American architect Philip Johnson and commissioned by Benjamin V. Wolf. Located on a hillside just north of the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge with panoramic views of the Hudson River, Wolfhouse bears much in common with Johnson’s most famous home, The Glass House, built the same year in New Canaan, Connecticut.

These early works contain Johnson’s hallmark architectural style: open-plan homes with seamless circulation and plate glass walls offering expansive views of the surrounding natural landscape. Purchased by Jiminie Ha and Jeremy Parker in 2020, they have meticulously restored Wolfhouse to its original condition by referencing the original floorplans.

© Chris Daniele/dirtandglass.net

While true to the original floorplan, the kitchen’s cabinetry provided an opportunity for some creative license. The owners sought out steel options, a common material in mid-century kitchen cabinetry, and found USM a natural choice for the kitchen rehab. USM Modular Furniture collaborated with the owners to design a kitchen that acknowledges both the home’s past and future with a popular mid-century color palette, yet is fully constructed of used and recycled USM parts.

As the present owners, Ha and Parker, members of the BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities, worked to reimagine Wolfhouse as an inclusive cultural space with year-round arts, design and architecture programming available to the public. This includes exhibitions, residencies, events and lectures.

© Chris Daniele/dirtandglass.net

When it is not acting as a showroom, visitors can actually stay here. The home sleeps up to six people, which means anyone could split the rental and enjoy a weekend away with friends or family in an extremely comfortable space with all the modern amenities.

“We want to encourage people that the most sustainable building practice is preservation,” said Parker and Ha. “Sustainability is, more often than not, stereotyped with organic, earthy visual cues, like raw wood grains or hemp! We demonstrate how sustainability through innovative design concepts can take on a different visual language as portrayed by our rehab of the Wolfhouse and our interior decorations.”

Wolfhouse is located near Beacon, New York,  one of the best upstate towns to visit in the fall and home to DIA: Beacon, a gallery for large-scale installations. It’s also near Storm King Art Center and the beautiful village of Cold Spring, New York.