A sanctuary in a Quonset hut

PARKSVILLE, NY — It’s not your grandfather’s Quonset hut from World War II: a local couple have created a state-of-the-art, highly energy-efficient home nestled in the woods, with a series of small, spring-fed waterfalls adding tranquility to the environment.

A few years ago, Rob and Kim Rayevsky purchased the 12.8-acre parcel through Les Stone, a well-traveled photojournalist turned local real estate agent.

The couple operated the fabled Rolling River Café in Parksville for a decade, before moving on to run the kitchen at Upward Brewery in neighboring Livingston Manor for a couple of years. Then they returned to Parksville to build their new home while starting Double Up, an eatery fashioned from a vintage double-decker tour bus—which came here from London by way of Philadelphia.

The couple's eclectic collections are comforting.

Kim and Rob Rayevsky relax in their living room with Frankie the cat...

Quonset huts are lightweight, prefabricated structures made of corrugated galvanized steel. They feature a semi-cylindrical cross-section, which was developed in the United States and was based on the Nissen hut, introduced by the British in the First World War.

As America entered World War II, the U.S. Navy needed a building that could be shipped anywhere in the battle-torn globe. By the end of the conflict, an estimated 170,000 of these early Quonset huts were manufactured.

The Raveskys’ new home is still a work in progress, as they are in the process of finishing the interior walls, but it boasts a remarkably homey feeling. Their eclectic collections of art and furnishings comfort the couple and their trio of furry friends—a pair of dachshunds named Frankie and Sigi, along with Zeppo, a winsome tabby cat. (Speaking of cats, while at the Rolling River Café, the couple took care of four felines, named after the Marx Brothers—minus Gummo—as Harpo, Groucho, Chico and Zeppo.)

The house is situated in the middle of predominantly spruce forest, and as you walk down the hill beside a sparkling stream, the landscape changes to hemlocks, which Rob Rayevsky likened to a Hansel and Gretel experience.

Having built this unique structure, they are currently in the process of completing Double Up, a 1980 Bristol Lodekka retired tour bus. It’ll be turned into a new restaurant, and will be situated at the site of the old Memories Antique Center near Route 17. That is now on the boards to be reborn as the Conflux Gallery, thanks to New York City artists and film producers Marcus Brooks and Ali Azios.

Of the transition from café owners to running a brewery kitchen, to the eve of launching the Double Up restaurant and building a new place to hang their coats, Rayesvky shared a bit of his personal philosophy of life: “I don’t look back, only look forward… You can’t step in the same water twice.”

The home was designed to be highly energy efficient, with a 10.32 kW (grid-tied with lithium battery backup) photovoltaic system of 24 solar panels of the south-facing roof. 

The system offsets the emission of 12.7 tons of CO2, and produces the same amount of electricity as burning six tons of coal or 372.2 gallons of oil per year, the equivalent of planting and sustaining 46.2 acres of trees over 25 years.

“The whole thing is like an erector set,” said Kim Reyevsky. “It’s very complicated, with a certain height to it to give it an airiness feeling, and when we wake up in the mornings under that 10-foot ceiling in the bedroom, it’s a very magical place.”