Ray Pirkle is a full-time host in upstate New York: he co-owns Hudson’s Rivertown Lodge and the cabin colony Camptown in Leeds, both of which have made several Remodelista appearances. With his business partner, Kim Bucci, Ray runs the boutique hotel group Ramshackle Properties and Ramshackle Studio, their creative firm. The two are not only designers but exhaustive testers of everything that goes into their rooms.
As hoteliers, Ray and Kim think constantly about ways to comfort and delight their guests. As business people, they consider the look and functionality of every detail, and also the wearability and value. A while back I talked to Ray at Rivertown about 9 Favorite Natural Materials Designed to Take a Beating. Today, we’re resuming the discussion at Camptown with a focus on summer guest quarters and the ingredients—from in-your-face to invisible—that make them wonderful.
Photography by Lawrence Braun (@lwrncbrn), unless noted, courtesy of Camptown.
Standing Seam Metal Roofs
The uniformity of the roofs enabled Ray and Kim to paint their 26 cabins in a range of color combinations, no two exactly alike (they used Benjamin Moore exterior paints matched to Farrow & Ball-inspired shades). “We looked at the grounds and flowers and put together color boards. We wanted our choices to accentuate the landscape.”
A Place to Perch
Note the surprise blue floor: it’s the reverse of traditional porches with sky ceilings. Photograph by Chris Mottalini.
The Guest Essentials
Above: The guest room basics according to Ray: “You need to have a place to hang your coat on arrival [such as this painted Shaker-style Peg Shelf], a closet, drawers, reading chair and light, bedside lights with switches that you can access from bed, and a plug within arm’s reach from bed. It’s also nice to have a table that’s not too small (that’s 36 inches for us), so it can be used by two people for dining or work.”
At Camptown, the rooms also have curated book selections, Marshall bluetooth speakers, and individually heat/cooling units.
A Camp Kitchen
For cabinet curtains, Ray advises going with a double-sided linen flat panel or loose pleats “for cleanliness (tight pleats catch dust) and ease of use.”
Some Favorite Furniture
Other of their midcentury go-tos include the Case Study Bentwood Daybed—”it comes in great fabrics and finishes and is so good as a sofa replacement”—and Borge Mogensen’s Canvas Chair in white oak—”hardwearing and easy to keep clean” (see both in the living room below).
How to Make the Most of a Tight Bedroom
Best Guest Mattress and Bedding
“Hotel mattresses these days are often pillowy soft,” says Ray. Some love them but most people need a little structure.” His pick? The Bear Natural Mattress of organic cotton and natural latex—”Bear is a young eco company and the mattress was originally custom made for us but is newly available.”
Ray’s best bets for bedding: Frette sheets (““I don’t think there’s anything better out there, and the company has a well-priced commercial line”), Saatva Down Alternative Pillows (“guest pillows have to have a certain amount of density but not too much”), and a Simple Linen Quilt or year-round goose down duvet with a Linen Duvet Cover from Hawkins NYC supplemented with a blanket, such as a Welsh wool design by Melin Tregwynt.
Bedroom Curtain Essentials
As a guest at Camptown, one of the especially pleasing details were the bedroom’s curtains that opened and shut smoothly thanks to a hidden hanging wand. Ray said they’re custom-made by Ella of Ella’s Window Fashion in Chester, NJ, which supplied the linen (“she’s a magician and they have an amazing fabric library”).
Ray’s bedroom curtain specs are nonnegotiable: “a guest room always needs a sheer—not shiny or polyester, beautiful linen with stitching, so there’s always natural light. You also need blackout shades because a lot of people can’t sleep if there’s even the tiniest bit of light. We use less fabric than most people—we like the layers to be flat panels when closed, not gathered like a petticoat.”
Underfoot
Also note the cover Ramshackle designed to camouflage the air conditioner in the corner: it’s a cherry frame backed with acoustic fabric.
Great-Value Brass Bridge Faucet
By the way, Ray swears by the towels from Brooklinen: “we looked all over; they’re extra thick and soft—and resilient over many washes.”
The Right Light Switches
A Vintage Touch
Each of the cabins is decorated with a few antiques: a pressed flower stem in the entry, a wooded landscape painting hanging over the kitchen table, a framed sampler next to the bed. Ray and Kim handpick these from auctions and junk shops in the vicinity. They’re about celebrating craftsmanship and avoiding conformity, says Ray: “There’s such a balance between old and new; it’s all a tension you’re creating that makes a space interesting.”
What Smells So Good?
As a guest with a heightened sense of smell, I noticed that Camptown’s crisp bedding and bathroom soap were ever-so-slightly fragrant—in an intoxicatingly good way. “We’re not scent people, but we want things to smell very clean,” Ray explains. Towards that end, the hand soap in our quarters was Bergamot Rosemary from Hudson Naturals (each cabin gets its own array of toiletries) and Ray reveals that the linens are washed with a half-and-half mix of Caldrea’s Basil Blue Sage Laundry Detergent and unscented detergent from Seventh Generation. I’ve adopted all for use at home, souvenirs of a perfect weekend away.
Go to The New Catskills Boutique Hotel with Cabins to read more about Camptown. See A Hotel with a Sense of Place and 9 Hard-Wearing Material Recommendations for a look at Rivertown Lodge (and here’s its rental house in Hudson, NY). Stay tuned: Ray and Kim have four new upstate projects in the works.
More Expert Advice for summer and beyond:
- 23 Genius, Reversible, Budget-Friendly Hacks to Transform a Rental Apartment
- The Sand-Free Cottage: 8 Ways to Keep the Beach at Bay
- A Visit with Tricia Rose of Rough Linen, the Original Coastal Grandma
Frequently asked questions
What is the favorite roofing material used at Camptown?
The favorite roofing material used at Camptown is standing seam metal roofs.
Where are the canvas swings on the porches at Camptown sourced from?
The canvas swings on the porches at Camptown are sourced from Penobscot Bay Porch Swings in Brunswick, Maine.
What are the guest room basics according to Ray at Camptown?
The guest room basics at Camptown include a place to hang coats, closet, drawers, reading chair, bedside lights, easily accessible bed plug, and a suitable sized table for dining or work.
What kind of flooring is used in the cabins at Camptown?
The cabins at Camptown have Forbo's eco-friendly Marmoleum flooring made of flaxseed and linseed oil, which is naturally antibacterial.
Where are the bathroom's bridge faucets at Camptown sourced from?
The bathroom's bridge faucets at Camptown are sourced from Watermark of Brooklyn, which provides brass faucets at a reasonable price.
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