Go touch some trees
Touring Russel Wright’s dreamy mid-century home.
Hi everyone! I hope you’ve all been having an amazing summer, despite how hot it is. I’m personally ready for summer to be over.
Over the past couple of years, I’ve become obsessed with learning more about architecture, going on tours, reading books, and watching shows. When I was a kid, I would spend all my time drawing blueprints of what my future house would look like. Although I did not formally study architecture, I still plan on designing a home one day.
I’m currently living in the Hudson Valley for a bit and I noticed that I was 20 minutes away from MANITOGA, or Dragon Rock, in Garrison, NY. I decided to go tour the house, studio, and 75-acre woodland garden of mid-century designer Russel Wright and his wife Mary Wright, who was also a designer, sculptor, and entrepreneur.
One of my favorite parts about the house is that we had to do a mini hike to get there. Wright made it a requirement that before guests entered his home, they’d have to do a little hike (I might steal this idea one day). I loved the role that nature played in this house. From the outside, the house doesn’t really stand out. Instead, it blends in amongst the trees, which was the intention. And there’s moss everywhere, which was really beautiful, as well as a quarry pool.
Inside, there was wood everywhere, stairs made out of stone, massive windows overlooking the woods, and a very traditional mid-century kitchen. A common theme I’ve noticed after touring a few homes is that there’s an integration of the home and nature. They become one. Designers usually do this through big glass windows overlooking a garden or the woods. So whether you’re in the middle of Mexico City or actually in the middle of nowhere in the Hudson Valley, you still get a sense of connection to nature—and isolation.
I also love seeing how these people think about their spaces. Their spaces are more than just homes—they’re also studios, where they can spend hours and hours working on their craft:
The Studio was Russel Wright’s personal space where he slept and worked. It illustrates many of the recurring themes at Manitoga including integration of the built and natural environment, the influence of Japanese design, the juxtaposition of natural and synthetic materials, and efficiency and functionality.
If you love mid-century design, architecture, and nature, book a tour to go see this house. It’s only about an hour and a half from the city and you can either drive up or take an Uber from the Peekskill station on the Metronorth. There’s so much to see outside of New York City and I’m getting to experience just how beautiful the Hudson Valley is. I got a book called “Hudson Valley & Catskills” and there’s so much history that I didn’t know about that I’d love to talk about soon.
If you decide to go tour Manitoga and want to have a little Hudson Valley day trip, I recommend checking out Cold Spring afterward which is not far from the house! Walk down Main Street, grab a cupcake at Angie’s Bake Shop & Cafe, get some empanadas at Rincon Argentino, get ice cream at Moo Moo’s, and visit all the antiques and vintage stores on Main Street.
Things that have made me happy lately:
Booking a trip to Mexico City (I can’t wait to be back)
Watching the fireflies every day at 8 pm (somehow, I never really saw these during my childhood?)
Going on long walks and using the iPhone plant identifier on every tree and flower that I come across
The logistics side of running my freelancing business (everyone told me this was the worst part of freelancing but I’m finding it enjoyable lol)
Starting a Geneva chat for my fellow self-employed friends (it’s filled with designers, artists, entrepreneurs, and more which makes me so happy and you need to join us!)
This song: