Welcome to How They Pulled It Off, where we take a close look at one particularly challenging aspect of a home design and get the nitty-gritty details about how it became a reality.

When interior designer Michael Halpern set eyes on the site that would become his ground-up home, he instantly saw the potential in the Connecticut meadow. “It was this big, beautiful field set in a hollow,” he recalls. “Every view was fantastic and I loved that I wouldn’t have to clear any trees.” As he began designing a floor plan for his dream home, Michael chanced across the family home of architect Nate Dalesio in South Salem, New York, on Dwell and he sensed he had found a potential collaborator.

Following a meeting at Dalesio’s home, they quickly discovered a shared design language—and together they have crafted what is now known as The Meadows and Nate’s first commission for his own firm, Multitude Studio. The result is a tranquil, architecturally ambitious home with an artful arrangement of windows that celebrates the ever-changing landscape.

Set among the gentle hills of Litchfield County, Connecticut, the two-bedroom, two-and-a-half bathroom home sits in an area known for its colonial houses, agricultural barns, and respect for the bucolic landscape. Michael, who had long admired the simple, rectilinear forms of early American architecture, didn’t want to replicate the past—but did want to reference it. “The barn was the clear vernacular,” he says. “But I wanted it to be very clean and simple with a lot of timber. I knew Nate shared that same sensibility.”

Dalesio’s response to Michael’s brief was a home composed of two barn-like volumes placed perpendicular to one another, joined by a glass entry foyer. “We abstracted the traditional forms but didn’t replicate them,” says the architect. “It helps the home fit in with its setting but you can tell it’s not exactly the same as everything around it.”

The layout is deliberately choreographed: the primary suite and private spaces are tucked into one volume, while the other opens into a soaring, wood-clad great room with views across the landscape. Carefully framed window assemblies—ranging from oversized picture windows to slender awnings and custom polygonal shapes—create a rhythm of light and shadow that shifts with the seasons. “This house has been an exercise in proportions,” explains Dalesio.

Inside, a palette of white oak and soft greys amplifies the calm. The great room features oak-clad ceilings and columns, a nod to Michael’s love of Scandinavian design. The oak window and door frames—finished on site to match the floors and ceiling—were essential to this vision. “The consistency makes the space feel cohesive and tranquil,” says Michael.

The staircase provides a transition between the airy upper level and the cooler, more intimate spaces below, including a guest room and work space. At the heart of the stairwell, a custom triangular assembly of Marvin windows follows the roofline to create a sculptural wall of glass. “There’s a theme throughout the house of taking things that are unexpected and turning them into something that's unique, but still familiar,” says Halpern.

Other design decisions followed a similar logic: a cantilevered deck inspired by Marcel Breuer’s home in New Canaan; a stone garden beneath, drawing from the Noguchi Museum in New York City; gabion retaining walls that reference local stonework; and an OSB-clad console designed by Michael that elevates humble materials into bespoke furniture.

Nearly two years after moving in, the home has matured beautifully. The exterior Alaskan cedar cladding has silvered in some areas, and remains tawny in others, echoing the shifting colors of the meadow with each season. “My mother was an interior designer and I grew up with the idea that you can imagine space to be whatever you want,” says Michael. “It’s a real gift to be able to visualize something from nothing. I found an empty hollow and put a house on it. Now, what was once a corn field is a beautiful home.”

How they pulled it off: A serene barn blending New England roots with Nordic simplicity

Work with the landscape: The sloping meadow and wetland setbacks naturally determined the siting of the house. “There was really only one place it could go,” says Nate. “But it also happened to offer the best views.” Building into the slope allowed for a two-level design that feels grounded yet expansive.

Abstract the vernacular: Rather than replicate a barn, the team abstracted its essential qualities—gabled rooflines, vertical cladding, and a simple form—to create a contemporary silhouette. “You recognize it immediately, but it’s clearly not a traditional barn,” says Dalesio.

Make the windows part of the architecture: Michael was immediately struck by the placement of windows when he visited Dalesio’s home during the planning stages—and this approach was something he wanted to echo in his own home. The duo collaborated closely with Marvin to design a glazing strategy that includes custom formats—such as the angular window above the stair—and white oak frames.

Match the materials, inside and out: To create continuity, the interior window frames were finished in white oak—just like the floors, ceilings, and millwork. All the timberwork was sealed at the same time to ensure the same matte finish throughout, a detail that makes the entire home feel calm.

Design for living: The Meadows is designed as a peaceful retreat that also invites and celebrates daily life, whether used as a solo retreat or for entertaining. It was essential that the material palette didn’t feel too precious, and the floor plan offered a division between public and private spaces. “Michael wanted it to be a serene, almost monastic kind of space, but not sacred,” explains Dalesio.
Let the views unfold: Window placement was driven by how each space would be used throughout the day. Northern light fills the primary suite, study and fitness room, for example, while the kitchen is bathed in morning sun. “The windows absolutely had to correspond to the way the light changes during the day,” says Michael. “Making decisions like that is one of the most satisfying parts of designing a home.”

Choose windows that perform: “I had lived in a colonial house before and froze in winter,” says Michael. “Now I sit at a full-height window in January and feel warm.” The Marvin Ultimate collection was key in achieving this performance—plus the ability to customize shapes, sizes, and finishes to suit the architectural vision.

Project Credits:

Architect: Multitude Studio

Designer: Halpern Design

Landscape Architect: Peter Eckert

Builder: Stephen Pelletier, S J P & Sons Construction

Windows and Doors: Marvin

Photography: Yoni Goldberg for Dwell Creative Services

Video: 22 Waves for Dwell Creative Services