INNESS, A Catskills Gem
Photographed by Marta Xochilt Perez | Written by Alex Ronan | Art Directed and Styled by Michelle Adams
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Check out this atmospheric getaway with ideas you’ll want to bring home.
From summer swims to apple picking to cozy fires to early spring hikes, there’s no bad season in the Catskills. Staying at INNESS it’s downright hard to leave and the changing seasons offer a convenient excuse for booking another trip. Set on 220 pastoral acres in Accord, New York, the luxury hotel and resort is a partnership between restaurateur and trained architect Taavo Somer, designers Post Company, and development team Michael Barry, CBSK Ironstate and Lee Pollock. Somer, a tastemaker and trendsetter in the hospitality industry, recently chatted with us about INNESS’s design, offering coveted sourcing details.
INNESS is named after Geoge Inness, the Hudson River School artist known as the “father of landscape painting” and the property is certainly picturesque enough. “The main decision to buy the golf course in the first place was so that we would be starting with mature trees, cleared land and amazing views,” Somer says. Meadows blanketed with snow give way to wildflowers in the spring.
To develop the property, “we drew inspiration from the area's Colonial Dutch architecture, specifically the utilitarian barns,” Somer explains. “We collaborated to create a series of minimal vernacular buildings that frame the bucolic landscape.” The group focused on “simple materials that would age over time,” and a sense of unity across the various structures that dot the property. There are 28 cabins, 12 bedrooms in the farmhouse, two saltwater swimming pools, tennis courts, hiking trails, a restaurant featuring produce from the kitchen garden and orchard, plus a spa opening in spring 2024. On the golf course, “walking is encouraged–keeping score and proper attire are optional.”
In 2016, Somer and his family moved upstate full time and that’s where he got the idea for INNESS. One weekend, they were hosting a barbecue – kids were running around, Somer was sweating over the grill, and the pile of used pool towels was steadily growing. He imagined something like a country club, but not a stuffy one, where they could hang with friends and family, but, at the end of the day, not be responsible for all the clean up and post-party resetting. While Inness offers memberships, they’re not required to stay.
INNESS has a plethora of activities for kids and adults, but classic R&R is also encouraged. They brought on famed landscape designer Miranda Brooks to develop the grounds. “She got it from her first site visit,” Somer says. “It was all about strategically adding into the existing landscape and letting the existing fields all go wild around her designs.”
Outdoors, a contemporary take on the Adirondack chair from Loll Designs are sprinkled over the grounds and Solo Stoves are on hand for cooler months. For INNESS, a variety of seating and lounging areas outdoors are meant to accommodate their many guests, but zoned seating is useful for residential properties too. An otherwise unused shady corner of the yard is ideal for a single lounge chair and a good book. Because hotels see much more use than the average home, they are a great source for both durable products and luxe touches, like the Frette linens and Aesop bath amenities provided to guests.
“We wanted to limit the color palette for both the exterior and interiors to make the architecture stand neutral against the landscape and to frame the views,” says Somer. “We also focused on a monochromatic approach as much as possible, all black, white, natural wood, or gray, for all surfaces. Again, the star of the property is the landscape and the views.” They used Farrow & Ball’s “Shaded White” in the Farmhouse kitchen and “Mahogany” in the Farmhouse library.
Still, interiors do feature some rich color to offset the soft whites found throughout. The honor bar in the Farmhouse is painted “De Nimes," a sophisticated blue. The larder by Plain English includes the British brand’s custom color “Nicotine,” a “lived-in murky gold” developed in collaboration with Rita Konig.
“I've always lived in two different design worlds,” Somer explains. “As a trained architect, I have one side that loves minimalism, sparseness, no decorations, the poetics of light and space, perfection of form, and the plan. On the other hand, I love the world of interiors; lots of stuff, patterns, clutter, piles of books, paintings all over, things not lining up, worn antiques, patina, imperfection. When a room has more stuff, when it's imperfect, quirky, not so precious, it relaxes people, they feel at ease.”
The team spent a year visiting antique shops all over Upstate New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut, collecting furniture and art to warm up the space and add a sense of history. Vintage rugs were sourced from one of Somer’s friends. The stark simplicity of the cabins spotlights the oak furniture and lighting manufactured by Roll & Hill. Sixpenny also collaborated on minimal but cozy seating.
While INNESS offers luxe accommodations and a meticulously crafted guest experience, hosting need not involve extensive acreage nor a meal summoned from a kitchen garden. “I think it is very elemental,” Somer says. “It is important to be happy, to smile, laugh, be welcoming, open and genuinely warm.”
Just take a ramble through the cabins, farmhouse, restaurant, gatehouse, and grounds and see for yourself.
The Cabins
“We wanted to limit the color palette for both the exterior and interiors to make the architecture stand neutral against the landscape and to frame the views,” says Somer. “We also focused on a monochromatic approach as much as possible, all black, white, natural wood, or gray, for all surfaces. Again, the star of the property is the landscape and the views.”
“We drew inspiration from the area’s Colonial Dutch architecture, specifically the utilitarian barns. We collaborated to create a series of minimal vernacular buildings that frame the bucolic landscape.”
The Farmhouse
The larder by Plain English includes the British brand’s custom color “Nicotine,” a “lived-in murky gold” developed in collaboration with Rita Konig.
The Gatehouse
I've always lived in two different design worlds. As a trained architect, I have one side that loves minimalism, sparseness, no decorations, the poetics of light and space, perfection of form, and the plan. On the other hand, I love the world of interiors; lots of stuff, patterns, clutter, piles of books, paintings all over, things not lining up, worn antiques, patina, imperfection. When a room has more stuff, when it's imperfect, quirky, not so precious, it relaxes people, they feel at ease.
The Restaurant
The Grounds
The INNESS team brought on famed landscape designer Miranda Brooks to develop the grounds. “She got it from her first site visit,” Somer says. “It was all about strategically adding into the existing landscape and letting the existing fields all go wild around her designs.”
On the golf course, “walking is encouraged–keeping score and proper attire are optional.”
The Farm Shop
Now that the INNESS Farm Shop is online, you can get the goods from home. But we still recommend an IRL visit. “My favorites are the INNESS branded merch; our carhartt trucker hats, hand stitched logo sweatshirts, and INNESS beer,” Somer explains. “Those are the three items we can't keep on the shelves. Also, my wife's brand Lake & Skye perfume rollers, purse spray, and pillow mist do very well.”
Bring The INNESS Look Home
