Home of the week
The owners built it to be energy efficient and private.
The house, located at 167 Ward Hill Road in Tonbridge, Vermont, is on the market for $595,000. Jonathan Hall
167 Ward Hill Road, Tonbridge, Vermont
$595,000
style
Year of construction 2017
square feet 1,484
Bedrooms 3
Bathrooms 2 full
Sanitation/water private
Taxes $5,981 (2026)
I knew Christopher M. Young’s goal: to design an energy-efficient home for his family, one that maximizes solar gain and can take advantage of Ward Hill’s space 1,500 feet above the ground. The first branch of the White River.
“I was looking at different shapes and reading about different aspects of different houses, and what I realized is that this shape looks like a big eyeball,” he said of the trapezoidal design he settled on. “I think we achieved what I wanted to achieve. The house faces east and southeast…I kept the ceilings white so that the light bounces down once it comes into the house. It can be 20 degrees outside, and I can be sitting at 75 or 78 degrees in the house.”
The house sits on 52.6 acres mostly covered in sugar maple that rises 500 feet above the house to a peak with 360-degree views of the mountainous terrain of both Vermont and New Hampshire. Sometimes New York is visible.
The house, with green siding and white trim, is solar-powered and heated by a Woodstock Substone Wood burning stove is cooled by ceiling fans and nature breezes.
The front door leads to a 525-square-foot open space containing a kitchen and dining area with luxury vinyl plank flooring, which is applied throughout much of the home. The freezer and refrigerator are white as is the black propane range. Adjacent to the set are unique L-shaped counters made from ash wood harvested from nearby forests by Young’s uncle who sliced it in his own sawmill. There’s a white Italian farmhouse sink below a square window and floating white cabinets on the wall above. There is a table directly across from the range.
The room takes a left turn and Young’s design choices are on full display. The pitched roof slopes upward, inserting into the wall that rises 16 feet to meet it two large transom windows and below them a pair of large square windows. The most solar energy is provided by a wide glass slide that can be opened to the breeze, but does not lead to the deck. Young and his wife, Angie, set up a couch directly in front of the slider to enjoy the views.
It was built from a 200-year-old barn from which it was recovered tonbridge farm, An exposed wooden column rises from the ground to meet the horizontal beam that crosses the ceiling. Both show their age, as does the window trim throughout the house where barn wood was also installed.
Passing the stairwell with barnwood railings to the basement on the left, an interior wall runs off the master suite. Framing the entry is a fresco by Katie J. Roberts of the Woodstock Collection Depicts a Vermont forest scene. Barn doors hang on a black rolling track.
At 199 square feet, the bedroom emulates Young’s solar vision, but on a slightly smaller scale. There’s a slider displaying the view, a transom window above, and behind the area best used for the bed is a set of two square windows. Exposed beams are here, as is a wooden barn window. A second Roberts mural, of a Vermont sunset, is above the bedroom’s entry door. There is a built-in wardrobe with patio style door.
The master bathroom is 110 square feet and features an antique bathtub with a modern ensuite shower behind clear glass doors surrounded by wood. The single vanity stands against a knotty, ship-style pine wall. It has a white cabinet and a clear bowl sink.
The lower staircase leads to a large hallway that ends at a glass slide and overlooks the mountain view. The foyer is separated by two secondary bedrooms, each measuring 157 square feet with large windows. Barn wood is used to frame the walls. The floor is made of cork.
The secondary bathroom is 75 square feet with a single white vanity with a translucent sink. The walls are white and the shower is behind a curtain. The flooring is a luxury vinyl plank.
The basement has a 118 square foot laundry room.
The house has an unfinished concrete basement. One of the outbuildings is a repeating right trapezoid ideal for office use. The home has WiFi and cell phone service.
Read the following in a weather-beaten New Englander’s voice: To get there from here, the traveler crosses the Scilly Covered Bridge. Besides the turkeys, Youngs’ property has trails that connect to the Vermont trail system.
The Youngs sell so they can create a new off-grid home for themselves.
Some additional facts: The insulation factor R for the interior is R-28 and for the roof is R-42. The 24-panel solar array, coupled with 12 deep-cycle batteries in the basement, generates 6.38 kilowatts. Amidst Vermont’s recent turbulent weather, this house never loses power, according to Youngs.
The John Deere 2032R tractor model, attachments and goat shed on pallets are excluded from the sale.
Marie Pineau of Coldwell Banker Lifestyles Real Estate in Quechee, Vermont, has the listing.
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