A Multigenerational Vermont Home Embraces Norwegian ‘Kos’

The expansive primary suite in this Stowe, Vermont, home serves as a private retreat for the homeowners. The bath includes an elevated tub and shower with floor-to-ceiling windows that face the wooded backyard.

The home’s cedar and slate exterior blends seamlessly with its forested surroundings.

A steel Helm of Awe, a Norse symbol for protection, is recessed into the entry’s birch-clad wall as an affirmation of the home’s atmosphere of safety and warmth.

Surrounded by windows, the sunken “nest” faces the back of the central fireplace, which holds a recessed television.

Interior designer Brenna Connor worked closely with the homeowners on the furnishings, like this ethereal Zaneen chandelier.

The expansive modern kitchen features a coffee bar, a live-edge island with a built-in pet feeding station, and an open pantry tucked away toward the rear of the house.

From the rear of the house, the accessory dwelling unit perches above the garage on the left. The great room brings everyone to the center of the house for family time, and the primary suite is far from the hustle and bustle all the way to the right. The second son’s retreat is below the primary suite.

When Thor and Lisa Bergersen reached out to architect Andrew Volansky, they had a challenging wish list for the new home they envisioned in Stowe, Vermont.

“We wanted this to be our forever home as well as a multigenerational residence,” says Lisa. “We asked Andrew to come up with a design that would allow us and our two adult sons to live together without constantly feeling like we were on top of each other. We knew it would be a challenge.”

Adds Volansky, “Lisa and Thor also told me they wanted the house to reflect the Norwegian design concept of kos, which can be translated as cozy, warm, and inviting.”

Architectural Solutions for a Cozy and Functional Retreat

With input from the couple as well as associate architect Kelley Osgood, Volansky designed a multilevel residence that includes an expansive primary suite for the couple—complete with fireplace, lounge, yoga space, and office—on one end and an accessory dwelling unit with its own bedroom suite, kitchen, living room, and nursery above a three-car garage on the opposite end.

The heart of the home is a vaulted, steel-beamed great room with a twenty-four-foot-wide set of biparting doors that open to a large deck, expansive lawn, and distant views of Mount Mansfield. In keeping with the owners’ request for a kos-inspired retreat within the home, Volansky tucked a sunken seating area behind the great room’s ebony stone-veneer fireplace. “This spot is so cozy that we often call it our nest,” says Lisa.

Seamless Integration with the Vermont Landscape

Volansky worked with Travis Cutler of builder Donald P. Blake Jr., Inc., to ensure that the house was sited seamlessly into its hillside lot. “We wanted the home to look like it is nestled into the land, as opposed to being merely placed upon it,” explains Volansky. “Again, the kos concept requires that a dwelling have a deep connection to the surrounding landscape.”

Recently, when a visitor to the Bergersens’ new home asked how its mutigenerational design was working out, Lisa smiled and pointed to the home’s newest resident, her two-week-old grandson, who was asleep on his mother’s lap. “It works, it’s cozy, it’s kos,” says Lisa.

Project Team
Architecture, interior design, and landscape design: Volansky Studio
Builder: Donald P. Blake Jr., Inc.