A compact, geometric retreat tucked into 28 wooded acres north of New York City, the Ex of In House feels like a small luminous museum as much as a home. Completed in 2016 by Steven Holl, the house is an exploration in interior experience: light, material, and spatial compression govern every decision, and the boundary between forest and living room is intentionally porous.
The basics
Location: Ex of In House, Rhinebeck, New York
Size and date: 918 square feet; completed 2016
Architect: Steven Holl; part of his research initiative “Explorations of IN,” which treats architecture as interior experience—spaces “shaped from within” and closely tied to their environment. Rather than spreading outward, the design compresses and “creates volume through voids.”
Why it exists
The 28-acre parcel was originally planned for subdivision into suburban lots. Holl and the owners kept the land intact and inserted a small, intense architectural object into the landscape instead of a conventional house. The result reads less like an imposition and more like an architectural response to the forest: stacked, overlapped, and folded spaces that emphasize what’s revealed rather than what’s hidden.
Materials and systems
The palette is honest and restrained: mahogany frames for windows and doors, birch plywood walls, and thin curved wood layers that repeat throughout. There’s no drywall or cosmetic finish—the construction is super-insulated plywood with minimal steel. The hosts even call the interiors part of an “Arte Povera materiality and economy of this place of wabi-sabi.” Mechanical systems follow the same careful thinking: geothermal heating warms the floors, and solar electricity reduces dependence on external utilities.
How it feels to stay
Approaching the house—especially at dusk when its angular silhouette and ribboned windows begin to glow—can be disorienting in a good way. Inside, the spatial choreography becomes obvious: living areas visible from above and below, light moving through voids, and an intimacy that rewards attention. We stayed two nights in early March and found the house to be an exercise in presence.
There’s no TV or street noise, so natural sounds become the soundtrack. Rain on glass and wood filled the rooms at night; on one evening my partner read from a book in the loft while the rain threaded through the house. Windows open just enough to let weather and fresh air in; next-morning sunlight filtered through the shadeless bedroom window and woke me gently as light bounced off plywood surfaces.
The main living area is anchored by a long royal-blue couch, two sleek chairs, shelves of books, and a wood-burning fireplace prepared by the host. An open, high-design kitchen contains both an espresso machine and a coffee maker; a long dining table organizes the space. Lighting throughout the house is labeled (a discreet light behind the sink works perfectly as a nightlight), and a guidebook sits alongside books on luminist architecture and Holl’s work.
Sleeping arrangements are unconventional. The primary sleeping area is a wood-lined loft with a comfortable queen, a standing shower, and a compact bathroom. Adjacent to the queen is a hive-like wooden sphere that functions as an extra sleep or lounge spot; it contains a twin-sized sofa bed and is climbed into like a small treehouse. While the listing notes sleep for four, the open-plan layout truly suits two adults best, or families comfortable with shared, unpartitioned space.
Favorite details
A tan chair with a small table and blanket by the floor-to-ceiling windows is an excellent reading spot. Circular windows carry framed views of trunks and branches down into the kitchen’s back-left corner—an even more dramatic composition when leaves are full in summer or aflame in autumn.
Outside and nearby
A gentle 20-minute loop trail threads the backyard and the surrounding woods, dotted with modernist art and frequented by deer. The house is about two hours north of NYC and a 15-minute drive from Rhinebeck’s colorful Main Street, where boutiques, restaurants, and cafés cluster. Local recommendations include Pete’s Famous Restaurant for hearty mornings, Little Goat for pastries and coffee, Beekman Arms for antiques and history, and Foster’s Coach House for a neon-lit tavern vibe. Culture and shopping include Upstate Films’ Starr Cinema and Oblong Books. For a memorable dinner, the 18th-century Stissing House in Pine Plains (about 15 minutes away) offers candlelit, refined comfort food—think wood-roasted scallops and an iconic coconut cake.
Bottom line
Ex of In House is a compact, experimental refuge that privileges light, material honesty, and a direct relationship with the landscape. It’s not a conventional vacation rental full of distractions; it’s a place to unplug, notice details, and experience architecture as a lived, sensory event—ideal for two people who want a quiet, design-forward escape in the Hudson Valley woods.
