Cosy Cottage

Cosy Cottage. . Frederic and Isabel Church built Cosy Cottage in 1860-61, their first year at Olana. Designed in the office of New York City architect Richard Morris Hunt, this dwelling was the family's country residence until they moved into the large house on the hill in 1872. Restored in 2005, the exterior of Cosy Cottage now appears as Frederic and Isabel knew it, and has been adaptively reused as offices. In the tradition of the "cottage orné” the Cosy Cottage had narrow, horizontal lapboard siding, jerkin-head gables, a covered porch, hooded windows, and an elaborate birdhouse. , In his letters, Church frequently mentioned his farm. To one correspondent he wrote: , "[Mrs. Church] now sits under the apple trees in luxurious contemplation of the beautiful scenes that encircle our cottage... You ought to run up and see the apple trees. These old patriarchs look like mountains of bridal bouquets.", Photos (starting left and going counterclockwise): , This artist's rendering of the cottage, probably done by Frederic E. Church, 1869-1900, shows the south and west facades as they once appeared., Apple Blossoms at Olana, Frederic E. Church, 1870., This pre-1890 view of Cosy Cottage was taken from the cottage's entry drive. It shows the house as it once looked, complete with hammock between the trees in the yard. The wing on the left was erected in 1869 and removed in 1955. In 2005, the wing was reconstructed as part of Cosy Cottage's restoration.