1685 Dry Brook Road Tompkins NY 13856 | MLS #R1718571

Set on roughly five acres with a creek flowing past the front porch and a hillside rising behind, this late-nineteenth-century farmhouse borders more than 5,000 acres of NYS and NYC land, including Barbour Brook State Forest, so the ridgeline, woods, and quiet beyond your property line stay exactly as they are. Cross the creek over a well-tended bridge and wind down the driveway, past the historic barn, to an open lawn framing the house.
Renovated by architect Neil Logan, it pairs preserved character with modern building science. Cedar clapboards finished in black linseed oil sit beneath a metal roof, covered porches wrap two sides, and a south-facing deck completes the footprint. Original windows, doors, and flooring were retained, while the structure was rebuilt from the ground up with a new poured concrete foundation, framing, septic, plumbing, and spray-foam insulation.
Geothermal heating and air conditioning run with no fossil fuels, and a 65-panel solar carport array feeds the grid-tied 200-amp service.
Inside, aligned openings create sightlines from room to room, and marine fir plywood clads the ceilings and walls. Highlights include stair treads with hidden storage, a perimeter kitchen with oak floor and stainless countertop with integrated sink, dining room access to two porches, and a living room with pine floors and a Hearthstone soapstone wood stove. The first-floor full bath features a soaking tub, Kohler fixtures, and a Duravit sink. Upstairs are an office and reading nook with its own Jotul wood stove, a window seat, two bedrooms, and a primary suite with en suite bath and soaking tub.
The four-level square barn keeps its original timber frame, with a ground-floor garage, poured concrete floor, and pass-through doors. Insulated studio floors with wide-plank floors and exposed beams rise around a center staircase to a mezzanine and private fourth-floor office, ready for art, yoga, music, or gatherings. Terraced gardens, a wraparound porch within earshot of the creek, and a forested backdrop you will never have to maintain complete this rare Catskills property.