It took me nearly 8 years of living in NYC before I discovered the natural wonders of the Catskills.  So I purchased a quaint cottage near Livingston Manor, NY and my weekend escapes soon turned into months.  When I discovered the grand resort era, known as the Borscht Belt, that spanned hundreds of extravagant midcentury-style hotels, I was inspired to give city life a break and immerse myself in creating a microcosm of this era from a place close to my heart.

One good thing about the O&W Hotel burning down in the 1940’s was that nothing was ever rebuilt in its footprint.  Thus, when i purchased the property in 2016, it was rare for there to be such a large open lot directly off Main Street in the center of the town.  The carriage barn survived the fire.  Set back 120′ from the street, this would be the perfect structure to house the bungalow bar and offer a perfect backdrop to create the Kaatskeller.

I have an affinity for woven cane, especially when used in mid century furniture design.  I selected a classic cane back Marcel Breuer as the main interior dining chair and knew the aesthetic could be expanded.  I used the cane for wall panels in the bathroom foyer, frames for light fixtures and filled the gables of the bungalow bar.  Lacquered pine slats with a raw edge router detail covered the seems and wove the concept together.

The bathrooms were a good place to install wallpaper I designed specifically for the project.

I studied many rendered sketches that were common marketing visuals for the Catskill resort era.  In one, I saw a light fixture that was perfectly poised for my concept.  So I resurrected this relic by building 6 pendant lights using various lamp parts, embroidery hoops and brass channels.  The linen fluted cylinders drop through the exposed roof rafters and are the angel of the ambience.

I had my head mixologist from Apotheke NYC create the cocktail program for the Kaatskeller.  The resulting cocktail classics are tailored for the woods but have the flare of medicinal mixology.