Highland Passive House, the first multi-use certified passive house warehouse in North America, proudly announces its official opening in New York's Hudson Valley.
HIGHLAND, N.Y., Jan. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Highland Passive House, the first multi-use certified passive house warehouse in North America, proudly announces its official opening in New York's Hudson Valley. This milestone marks its formal introduction as The Hudson Valley's premier destination for home staging and interior design focused on the vacation home, short-term rental and boutique hospitality design sectors. "The opening of Highland Passive House, marks our official expansion beyond home staging and bespoke residential interior design, into hospitality design, for boutique hotels in addition to our core services home staging, vacation home and short-term rental design", says Cathy Hobbs, ASID, developer, founder and owner of Highland Passive House.
Highland Passive House features the region's largest and most diverse staging inventory alongside design services, receiving and storage solutions, and sustainable construction. Housed within a passive, net zero, carbon neutral warehouse, Highland Passive House offers an expansive collection of rental furnishings, spanning mid-century modern, transitional, eclectic, traditional, and antique styles, helping real estate agents and sellers create scroll stopping listings that stand out and sell quickly. Whether staging new construction, a modern farmhouse, or a charming country home, Highland Passive House delivers an elevated home staging experience and is The Hudson Valley's leading resource for vacation home and short-term rental design, hospitality design, as well as short-term rental furnishings, set-ups and supplies.
Founded by 5-Time Emmy Award winning former television journalist, interior designer, finalist on season six of HGTV's Design Star and owner of the award-winning interior and home staging firm, Cathy Hobbs Design Recipes, the facility merges world class sustainability with a visionary design center and The Hudson Valley's most comprehensive resource for home staging, vacation home and hospitality design.
"I am deeply honored and excited to offer Highland Passive House to The Hudson Valley as a design center focused on home staging, vacation home and short-term rental design, as well as hospitality design. We realize the current "white space" in The Hudson Valley and are thrilled to be able to fill this pressing need," said Hobbs. "My goal is for our beautifully designed space to be a welcoming, gathering space for the design community and the public interested in learning more about elevating their homes through great design and elevated, expanded resources."
Highland Passive House, represents hundreds of wholesale and retail brands, providing interior designers, architects, builders, vacation home owners, short-term rental hosts, and boutique hospitality groups with interior design services as well as access to furniture, artwork and accessories at insider prices.
The Hudson Valley's Leading Center for Home Staging, Design, Storage, and Sustainable Construction
Highland Passive House serves as The Hudson Valley's premier destination for home staging, designer furnishings, vacation home and short-term rental design and supplies as well hospitality design, in addition to receiving and storage for the design trade. The facility houses the region's largest and most diverse home staging inventory inside a passive, net zero, carbon neutral warehouse. Its extensive rental inventory supports a full range of styles including mid century modern, transitional, eclectic, traditional, contemporary, and antique, allowing real estate agents, developers, investors, and homeowners to create scroll stopping listings to capture attention.
In addition to design services and staging, Highland Passive House offers receiving services as well as providing ultra-low humidity storage, ideal for fine furniture, artwork and even wine. This service was created for interior designers, home stagers, and short-term rental hosts who need support managing deliveries, inspections, and storage. The team handles receiving, condition verification, storage, delivery, assembly, and installation so clients can focus on creative work without logistical stress.
Built to passive house plus standards, the facility represents a new model for sustainable development and construction in the region. With exceptional airtightness, thermal bridge free construction, ultra-low energy consumption, and a photovoltaic rooftop array supporting net zero and carbon neutral performance, Highland Passive House demonstrates how innovative design, environmental responsibility, and operational efficiency can successfully coexist in a modern warehouse environment.
A Showcase of Sustainable Innovation and Collaborative Design
The success of Highland Passive House is strengthened by contributions from leading industry partners who share a commitment to environmental responsibility and elevated design.
"We are honored to have Häcker Kitchens featured in the Highland Passive House," says Andreas Gommeringer, President of Häcker Kitchens North America. "This project represents a remarkable opportunity to showcase how high-performance kitchen design can advance the principles of sustainable construction. Every element within the space was deliberately chosen to support the home's energy-efficient concept and design aesthetic, while remaining true to our shared commitment with Cathy Hobbs to environmental responsibility, thoughtful craftsmanship and elevated standard of everyday living." Häcker Kitchens provided cabinetry for the showroom kitchen and back of house kitchenette.
"With our shared commitment to the natural environment, Fisher & Paykel is honored to support the Highland Passive House by Cathy Hobbs," says Dara Henricksen, Director of Design Engagement, Fisher & Paykel. "Featuring several of our appliances designed to use less water, energy, and carbon bridging performance and purpose, this project underscores the true impact and importance of sustainable innovation." Fisher & Paykel supplied refrigeration and freezer towers, wine storage, ovens, cooktops, refrigeration drawers, and dishwashers.
"Having our product featured in the Highland Passive House is incredibly exciting for the DUNE team. This setting showcases not only the aesthetic quality of our materials but also how they can support high-performance, sustainable design," says Anabell Torres, DUNE Sales Manager. DUNE Ceramics provided tile for all bathrooms, the kitchen, kitchenette, and the salon.
Highland Passive House also features contributions from additional partners whose products enhance performance and design:
- Trueform Concrete – Kitchen island and countertops as well as showroom and warehouse bathrooms
- Shakuff – Custom lighting including lobby chandelier and main bathroom sconces
- Duravit – Toilets and warehouse pedestal sink
- Elkay – Water fountains, water dispensers, warehouse and kitchen sinks
- Zicana – Showroom designer area, dry bar and kitchenette countertop installations
- Hansgrohe – Main kitchen and bathroom faucets
- Florim –Showroom designer area, dry bar and kitchenette countertops
- Valli Valli – Door hardware throughout the showroom
- Top Knobs – Cabinetry hardware
- Bobrick – Bathroom accessories
A Visionary Milestone for The Hudson Valley
Highland Passive House stands as a rare convergence of sustainable innovation, elevated design, community purpose, and industry leading staging and storage capabilities. It represents a model for the future, where architectural excellence, environmental responsibility, and creative design come together under one roof.
Set on four acres of pristine land and surrounded by orchards on three sides, the 20,000 square foot Highland Passive House represents an unprecedented achievement in architecture, engineering, and environmental stewardship. Certified Passive House Plus by the internationally recognized Passive House Institute in Stuttgart, Germany, Highland Passive House meets Passive House Plus, Net Zero and Carbon Neutral standards, a ground-breaking achievement that underscores its regional and environmental significance.
Designed by architects Michael Ingui and Will Connor of Manhattan based architecture firm, Ingui Architecture, the structure features soaring 20 foot exterior walls, 11 foot trusses spanning 67 feet, and a fully column free interior that supports a diverse blend of uses including a design showroom, furniture rental and staging warehouse, multipurpose event space, production studio, and the headquarters of Cathy Hobbs Design Recipes. "The first of its kind in North America, Highland Passive House was our first foray into high-performance commercial design and culminated in a beautiful low-carbon multiuse space," says Michael Ingui, Partner at Ingui Architecture. "Cathy was the perfect partner to ensure that the project was design-forward, like all of our work, without sacrificing our performance goals."
All design efforts for Highland Passive House were conceived and executed by Cathy Hobbs on behalf of her award winning design firm, Cathy Hobbs Design Recipes. From the overall aesthetic vision to material selection, furnishings, and functional layout, Hobbs personally oversaw the design for the project, ensuring a seamless integration of sustainability, performance, and elevated design.
Hudson Valley premier builder, R.L. Baxter was selected as the general contractor for the construction of Highland Passive House. "Highland Passive House was an extremely complex project with a lot of twists and turns, I do not believe that there would have been any better partner than BAXTER for this project", added Hobbs.
Drawing on her extensive background in interior design, media, and home staging, Hobbs approached the project as both a working design center and a real world demonstration of how thoughtful design can enhance everyday living while supporting high performance building standards.
In recognition of her leadership, innovation, and entrepreneurial impact through the creation of Highland Passive House, Cathy Hobbs was named Entrepreneur of the Year by the Ulster County Chamber of Commerce for 2025, further cementing her role as a leading force in design and sustainable development in The Hudson Valley.
Ideally situated in Ulster County, only 90 miles north of New York City and minutes from Woodstock, Kingston, Saugerties, New Paltz, and Poughkeepsie, the center is designed to serve both full-time and part-time residents in one of the country's fastest growing lifestyle destinations.
Financing for Highland Passive House was provided by the Capital Region Business and Commercial Banking Team at NBT bank.
For more information or to schedule a visit, please contact:
Highland Passive House
Press Contact: Teona Ostrov - Teona Ostrov Public Relations - [email protected]
ABOUT CATHY HOBBS: Cathy Hobbs is a nationally known, well respected ASID Interior Designer and Home Staging Expert. Often referred to as an interior design and home staging "Legend", Cathy is a former New York City based newscaster turned television host and interior designer, who has appeared on such programs as Good Morning America, World News Tonight, The Meredith Vieira Show, The Nate Berkus Show and George To The Rescue. Cathy was also a finalist on Season 6 of the hit reality television series HGTV Design Star. Considered the "go to" authority for some of Manhattan's top brokers and brokerages, Cathy is considered to be "one of the most influential people in the home staging industry" by RESA (Real Estate Staging Association). Offering unparalleled media access to her clients, since 2014, Cathy has been a nationally syndicated interior design writer for Tribune Content Agency, appearing weekly in hundreds of newspapers and media outlets. Cathy is also the author of the best selling design book, Home Design Recipes, which garnered endorsements and praise from some of the nation's leading designers and real estate experts.
Cathy is a LEED AP, recognized and credentialed by The U.S. Green Building Council and is also an NCIDQ certificate holder in which she served for a year as the green expert for "The Life Improvement Squad" a national campaign with IKEA and O, The Oprah Magazine. She also toured with Oprah's "The Life You Want" Weekend as the interior design expert for the entire 8-City tour.
A prominent leader in the home staging industry and an active member of RESA (Real Estate Staging Association), Cathy is a graduate of one of the top interior design programs in the country, The Fashion Institute of Technology and also holds a degree in marketing and finance from The University of Southern California.
Media Contact
Teona Ostrov, Highland Passive House, 1 6179562407, [email protected]
SOURCE Highland Passive House
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