Case studies
Showcase of Homes lets builders show best work
Ryan Berry sees himself as an artist rather than a builder or designer and as such his entry in the Saratoga County Showcase of Homes is called No. 1 — the first in what he hopes will be a series of homes designed as a whole: architecture, landscape and furnishings.
Berry’s company is The Form Collaborative. His design background is in landscape architecture. He met the couple who would become his clients after they overheard him talking at a party about his land-first approach and his feeling that built structures and landscaping should work together.
“We started talking, and basically they asked me to prove what I could do,” Berry says.
The one-story, modern contemporary home at 5 Maddy Groves Road, Greenfield Center, is striking both because it is a departure from the Saratoga County vernacular and for Berry’s attention to detail. It was built on top of a knoll to capture views of the mountains. The land falls away from the house in a gentle slope, allowing for a walk-out basement as well as a courtyard designed to reflect the homeowners’ tastes. A portion of the deck is similar to a dock, a reference to the owners’ lakeside childhoods. Another feature of the courtyard is a drink bar made with poured concrete. It mimics the bench on the other side of the glass, inside the house, built to look as if it was one piece. The style is repeated in the fireplace, which has a simple, poured concrete hearth.
Minimalism is also a big part of Berry’s work, he says.
“Visual clutter causes mental clutter,” he says. The living space — kitchen, dining and living room — is contained in one open space. The floors are birch, including finished plywood panels on the vaulted ceiling. There is a stage to the immediate right of the front door where a baby grand piano will sit. The teal glass backsplash in the kitchen and the accent walls in each of the two children’s room are the only colors. The house has 2,800 square feet of above-ground living space, 1,000 square feet below grade.
The 13 homes on the 2018 Showcase of Homes vary from traditional to contemporary styles, and from suburban to urban living. In contrast to Berry’s creation is the model on display inside the Residences on Union Avenue, by Bonacio Construction. The model is in one of five build-
ings the company built on the 1.2-acre site of Moore Hall, a Skidmore College dorm torn down in 2016. The complex, which also includes a single family house, townhouses and duplexes, was designed by the architects at Balzer + Tuck to blend with the historic homes already standing along Union Avenue. Of the 18 condos, only eight are still available. The display model has already sold. Decorated by Shelly Walker of Finishing Touches Home Decor & More, it was finished in shades of green, including the deep, sumptuous color on the walls of the entryway and a velvet couch.
Other houses on the tour include two from Lafemme Builders — a 5,400-square-foot country estate on Brown Road in Saratoga, and a 2,700-square-foot bungalow at 30 Joseph St., Saratoga Springs. Other builders in the showcase: Caruso Home Builders, Heritage Custom Builders, Malta Development, Belmonte Builders, Bella Home Builders, the Earth Source Company, Witt Construction, Kodiak Construction and Blitman Saratoga.
The three-weekend tour, in its 23rd year, is hosted by the Saratoga Builders Association and raises money for Rebuilding Together Saratoga County and Habitat for Humanity of Northern Saratoga, Warren, and Washington counties.