A Look at Amanda Brooks’s Mountain Cabin

Amanda Brooks on the porch of her family’s home in the Adirondacks, wearing a Thakoon fur vest, L.L Bean flannel shirt, and Sorel boots. “I have been coming up here since I was five years old, and I absolutely love it during the holidays," Brooks says. “This year we will be spending two full weeks up here for Christmas—and we are thrilled.” The covered walk from the driveway is adorned with festive greens and red bows. “Every year, the decorations are a little different,” Brooks says. Brooks’s dog, Ginger, greets guests at the front door. “My mom just changed the chalkboard,” says Brooks. “It recently still said Summer 2010.” The DeForest Street sign is a reference to her stepfather’s ancestors, who were instrumental in the settling of the area. “This doesn’t get as much use in the winter,” Brooks says of the expansive front porch. “But in the summer, it’s lined with muddy hiking boots.” “It’s really nice because a lot of the furniture from my childhood home in the city—like the table and mirror to the left—was transferred to this house. It’s like every era of my life is represented here.” To the right: The tree trunk is used by the family as an inventive guest book. A detail shot of the guest book. “A.H.C. are my [maiden name] initials,” she says. “Amanda Harwood Cutter.” “This is much neater than usual,” Brooks says with a laugh. “Those baskets are always overflowing with my kids’ mittens.” Brooks’s stepfather's collection of canes are kept next to the chair on the right. The breathtaking family Christmas tree features prominently in the windowed living room. “This is a glass ornament my grandmother bought me in the eighties,” Brooks says. “We spend a lot of time in this room,” Brooks says. “And it’s full of things my parents have brought back from their travels.” One piece to note: The canoe hanging from the ceiling was acquired from the Vanderbilt family. “My parents went to an auction, and everything was, of course, incredibly expensive, but at the end, a caretaker told them he had an old canoe in the garage that had been built by hand for Alfred Vanderbilt by some local Indians. He was trying to get rid of it, and my father, knowing just what to do with it, bought it for a song.” There’s no real explanation for the collection of bears the family has put together over the years from browsing antique stores and other shops—but there are certainly many theories. For starters, when the house was under construction, the builders would see a mother bear and her cub in the area every day. Then there is the fact that “Bear” happens to be Amanda’s Adirondack nickname. “Everyone here calls me Bear,” she says. “It would actually be weird if they called me Amanda.” A view of the oversize fireplace in the center of the living room. At her mother’s request, the multicolored stools lining the kitchen counter were painted with bugs by Amanda and her friends, including Celerie Kemble, when they were children. “I think she is finally going to paint over them this year,” Brooks says. In keeping with Adirondack tradition, the family collects fungi salvaged from dead trees in the surrounding forests and nails them to the wall to remember outdoor excursions. “It’s how we commemorate things,” she says. “You climb a mountain? You bring home a fungus.” A close-up of some of the fungi collected over the years. “The one on the left is from a big camping trip a group of us took last summer,” Brooks explains. “When we got home, I carved everyone’s name in it.” The painting on the kitchen wall was done by Brooks’s step-grandfather, of his house in Vermont. The guest room upstairs. “My step-grandfather made the chest of drawers underneath the windows,” Brooks says. “He took up furniture-making after he retired.” A view of the snow-covered back porch. “It’s beautiful in the winter,” Brooks says. “And in the summer, we are out there all the time. There are couches and chairs and a huge dining table where we eat most of our meals.” “It really is the most amazing place to spend the holidays,” Brooks says. “We spend our days totally wearing ourselves out in nature by hiking or snowshoeing or skiing. Then we come inside, make hot chocolate, and put together a 500-piece puzzle by the fire with the family. It’s just always such a special time, and it’s great to be able to share it with my own children.”

A Look at Amanda Brooks’s Mountain Cabin

Snow Queen

Winter

A Warm Welcome

Local Color

Front Porch Living