A husband and wife team – serial renovators and home builders – take on their biggest project yet: an abandoned cider mill.
“A charming, historic, mess.” That’s how Tom Roberts describes the condition – and the irresitable allure – of the North Branch Cider Mill when he and his wife Anna Åberg were passed the torch in late 2022. “It wasn’t for sale, but it wasn’t in use. So we pestered the owner for 18 months until he sold it to us.”
Fast forward to nearly a year since its re-opening in November 2023: an incredible amount of work has been done, made possible by the colossal vision and talent from their parent company/design studio, Homestedt. Its charming and historic parts remain, but this diamond in the rough has been polished back to its original glory.
Below, Escape Brooklyn interviews the design-savvy duo who share stories from the renovation, plus give us the scoop on future plans at the North Branch Cider Mill.
From one holiday season to the next; a major improvement on North Branch Cider Mill’s facade, taken in November 2022 and November 2023. Slide the arrows and line to toggle between before and afters. Photos: Catskill Image
Tell me about your first impression of the North Branch Cider Mill. What kind of condition was it in? What about it spoke to you?
Despite weeds, peeling paint, rotting wood and broken windows, the cider mill still stood proud. Driving past you couldn’t help but notice this distinctive red building with its iconic hand painted “Cider Mill” sign – there was obviously history in this place and it was just dying to be restored.
The first time we walked inside it was equal parts daunting and inspiring. The place was a time capsule, with old signs on the counter, products collecting dust on the shelves and an old world charm that is increasingly rare these days. On the flip side, between the charm was mountains of junk – and we mean mountains – and beneath it evidence of rotten flooring, ancient wiring, and daylight visible through the walls and roof. We got there just in time.
Perhaps the thing that shocked us the most was the the size of the place. We had our eyes on the cider mill building itself, but hadn’t really noticed the beautiful riverfront and field behind the mill – and then we walked into the barn.
The barn made the Cider Mill building feel like a small accessory building: huge old hand hewn beams, a huge room with 15 foot ceilings filled with old fermenting tanks, and a five bedroom apartment built into the second floor. It felt like walking through the wardrobe in Narnia.
Tell us a little about the locale – North Branch, New York.
We have always loved North Branch. It’s like a postcard depiction of a small rural hamlet – a small street with a charming old inn (The North Branch Inn), quaint old shopfronts, and all surrounded by streams, farms and fields. Much like the Cider Mill itself, there was obvious charm and history there that is just aching to be brought back to life – especially considering that it’s located right in the middle of our little corner of the Catskills. It’s less than 15 minutes from Livingston Manor, Callicoon, Roscoe and Jeffersonville.
One year after purchase, the interior of the North Branch Cider Mill had been beautifully restored. Slide the arrows and line to toggle between photos, taken November 2022 and November 2023. Photos: Catskill Image
How did your past local renovations/projects help steer the Cider Mill project?
We always start our renovation projects by taking time to look at what’s there and what’s worth saving. Sometimes the old beauty in a space is unsalvageable, or has already been removed by a previous owner; and sometimes we get lucky. We imagine what it once was and make a plan to recreate it.
The Boarding House at Seminary Hill was an example of where very little of the interior old charm was still there when we started, so we researched historic buildings in the area, studied old photographs and imagined what it once was and set our minds to bring that history back to life. For the renovation at Livingston Manor Fly Fishing Club, we uncovered old beadboard and wood cladding behind newer wall coverings. We reused wall cladding taken where we opened the floorplan, and added it to interior details like the kitchen island. At The Lady Pomona we fell in love with the all tiled pink kitchen (even the ceilings!) – and embraced it by painting all bottom cabinets pink to match. In other renovation projects we’ve uncovered 200 old year barn wood used for flooring and installed hemp rope in the gaps. You get the idea…
In the case of North Branch Cider Mill, keeping the cider press and the old fridge were no-brainers. The building itself had a raw, no-fuss barn feel to it, which we decided to lean in to. We thought, “What if it can again look like it once did – but now insulated, and energy efficient?”
What’s the favorite detail you kept? Any spectacular surprises uncovered in the renovation?
We uncovered a beautiful old open refrigerator. It weighed as much as a horse, and it’s testament to the old adage, “They don’t make them like they used to!” We retrofitted it with a modern compressor and refrigeration lines and now it’s one of the first things you see when you come in.
The other surprise was the cider press itself. It dates back to the late 1800s, and to our great surprise when we flipped the switch, the whole thing fired right up. We hope to get it pressing again soon – but now the challenge is less mechanical and more bureaucratic, namely the local health department. Watch this space.
This original refrigerator was retrofitted with modern parts during the renovation; now it’s the first thing inside the front door at the Cider Mill. Slide the arrows and line to toggle between before and afters. Photos: Catskill Image
How far along are you in the renovation? What’s in store for the next 12 months?
We’ve come a long way in the last year, but we’re still just scratching the surface of our plans at the Cider Mill. The next big project will be the barn – soon to be the Homestedt Barn.
We’re planning on doing a soft opening this fall to showcase a range of home goods and décor in what’s currently a charming, but rustic barn space.
Next year we’ll begin a more expansive renovation, transforming the barn into a destination for all things home – a store selling everything from doorknobs to dish brushes, faucets to farm tables, and everything in-between. Our upstairs space will be a design studio, where we’ll dream up everything from our next Homestedt products to our next Homestedt Houses. We’ll also have a wood shop where we’ll be building custom furniture and cabinetry.
Speaking of design, I love everything you carry – everything is so thoughtful, clever, and beautiful. Do you have any personal favorite products?
It may be because one of our goats just gave birth to two babies – but we’re excited about animals – and specifically our range of hand painted animal ceramics. It’s hard not to smile when pouring water from a carafe shaped like a duck, or eating a boiled egg from a cup shaped like a goats head.
Secondly, we’re into all things mushroom at the minute. We just developed a range of hand-made wooden mushroom lights and canvas mushroom print posters that are just gorgeous!
Some favorite items in the current collection at North Branch Cider Mill include animal ceramics, and mushroom lamps. Photo: Peter Crosby
I live just down the road and already planning my next trip – I can’t wait to meet the baby goats! What can a first-time visitor expect at a Cider Mill visit?
In keeping with the history, we wanted to retain a lot of old world charm – so the place feels like walking into an old rural general store.
We sell a wide range of things at the mill all special for their own reasons – from penny candies from around the world, to local provisions form New York State (pies, coffee and snacks) – to kitchenware, ceramics, candles and soaps. The store feels like a place to experience the best of local food as well as discover lots of wonderful things that you likely have never seen before.
Last but not least, we have tables and chairs by the river to while away an afternoon in the company of our family of friendly (and quite greedy) goats and sheep. Come say hello, grab a coffee or snack and meet the animals!
