Shelley Brown and Michael Waldron dreamed of a weekend escape not far from their home in Jersey City, so they started combing the Catskills in search of a wooded property where they could unplug—where Michael could paint and Shelley could work on her writing.

They found a 13-acre plot of land with a tiny house on it, but they weren’t interested in the existing structure. The creative couple wanted to design and build a home that spoke to their distinct style, and that echoed its natural surroundings. So, they purchased the property and subdivided the land.

With towering trees and a cliff dropping down to a flowing stream, their new eight-acre plot spoke to them. It’s just a 2.5-hour drive from their home, and within two miles of Windham Mountain, where the family snowboards. Cloistered in the forest, it feels worlds away from the big city—but still easily accessible for a weekend getaway.

Originally, Shelley and Michael planned to build a container house—but after digging in and doing some research, they found out that there were some limitations. They’d have to bring in a crane and take down trees. Also, for Michael, who is six-foot-three, it would’ve felt a little too cozy. So they scrapped the idea.

“We figured we might as well build a house,” says Michael, who is the senior vice president and creative director of brand design at Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. “We wanted something that was part of the landscape, and to avoid losing too many trees.”

“What about an A-frame?” they wondered. A sloped roof could handle the snow—and the vernacular spoke to the property’s wooded, mountainous environment. “How about we make it modern?” they thought next. They were excited by these ideas, and started designing.

“We were on the exact same page, to the point where—on the same day—we sent each other a photo of an A-frame,” Shelley, a lawyer, says. “We had been in lockstep.”

Together, the couple visualized and sketched what they wanted the A-frame to look like—from the floor plan down to the detailed fixtures. They passed those drawings along to their contractor, Eric Vaughn, and architect, Robert Higgins, to provide a launching point for the official renderings.

Construction coincided with the early lockdown phase of the pandemic, which presented problems: high lumber prices, labor shortages, and delivery delays. They were able to find creative solutions, however. For instance, in lieu of buying pricey lumber, they milled a hemlock tree on their land to create a custom staircase.

Construction started in June 2020 and ending the following December, although delivery delays left them waiting on furnishings and fixtures. “That added another six months before we could comfortably live there,” Shelley says.

The 1,800-square-foot A-frame, dubbed the Away Frame, is a study in contrasts that explores the concepts of indoor and outdoor, light and dark, organic and sleek, and classic and contemporary.

“The entire aesthetic is dramatic,” Michael says. “It’s this contrast between untouched woods and a black triangle rising like a great monolith. I think it’s very true to what we wanted to do.”

Shelley and Michael embraced the idea of modernizing a traditional structure like an A-frame—and to make it feel more contemporary, they gave the roof a steeper pitch. At its peak, it’s 30 feet high.

The interior echoes their “contrasting without conflicting” aesthetic with a wall of custom windows that makes you feel like you’re outside, even while tucked inside the cozy living room, warmed by the fire. The walls are clad in a light, tongue-and-groove pine finished with a water-based sealer in lieu of an oil-based sealer, to prevent it from yellowing over time. Shelley and Michael love the juxtaposition of the white wood interior with the matte black exterior.

The texture-rich interior takes cues from the home’s natural surroundings with elements like stone, wood, and fur. “Mixing and matching—that is a big part of the house,” Shelley says. “I would call the design aesthetic a bit of hygge, wabi-sabi, Scandinavian, and midcentury.”

Originally intended to be a weekend retreat, the cabin is now where Shelley, Michael, and their two daughters spend most of their time.

“It was definitely intended to be a getaway, sanctuary, and an income-maker for us, and also a place where we could retire—but the pandemic changes everything,” Shelley says. “We are reshuffling priorities and living in a time where we don’t need to be in the office every day, and we rethought the purpose of the place—now, it has become our primary home.”

Related Reading:

20 A-Frame Homes We Love

4 A-Frame Kit House Companies That Ship in the U.S.

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Robert Higgins, Robert Higgins Architects

Builder/General Contractor: Eric Vaughn, Vaughn Construction

Civil Engineer: Bruce Utter, Praetorius and Conrad, P.C.

Interior Design: Shelley Brown and Michael Waldron / @theawayframe

Cabinetry Design and Installation: GNH Lumber

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A Family’s Matte Black A-Frame Becomes More Than a Weekend Getaway