European + New England Influences Merge In A Hamptons Abode

All of our design work is based on historic precedent,” says architect Elizabeth Dillon. “We’re not literal, but we love to look to the past and learn from tradition.” It follows, then, that when clients approached her to build a Hamptons vacation residence, she found inspiration in the early homes of the area. Saltboxes—named after the wooden containers favored for salt storage during the Colonial era—first appeared out East in the 1600s. With their all-American charm and spartan beauty, the architectural style has stood the test of time in the centuries since.

“The clients loved the idea of a saltbox as inspiration,” continues Dillon, who, in collaboration with architects Christopher Carrigan and Lora Shea and general contractor Jon Grossman, responded with a home that blends effortlessly with the primitive architecture of the area while bringing forward a modern-day character all its own. It helped that the clients were committed to rightsizing; being mindful of how the home would be utilized and designing only what was needed, which kept the form fairly authentic to its vernacular roots. “If you look at historic houses, they tend to have a shallower floor plate,” Dillon notes. “We try to break down the massing of the house into smaller pieces so that we can get daylight from at least two exposures, if not three.”

In turn, a three volume composition—comprising a saltbox-style core, a living room pavilion designed to feel like a subsequent addition, and a primary suite wing meant to evoke an outbuilding later connected to the main structure—floods the interiors with light while keeping the spaces cosseting. Selecting large windows with bold black mullions—scaled-up versions for the core; floor-to-ceiling for the pavilion—brings a modern edge to the humble façade, which the team hung with cedar shingles intended to weather in different ways in rain and sun based on the direction they would face.

A storied sensibility comes across not only in the exterior references to seaside homes of yore, but in the material palette within. Nearly every room in the house features “a rough coat plaster that has a little bit of that mottled, imperfect look for texture and variation,” notes Dillon, adding that the oak floors and doors were chosen to bring visual warmth and embrace the chips and dings of age. Wear will “just become part of the patina and the character.” Even the floor plan harkens to the past with the inclusion of nostalgic rooms that nod to England’s historic country homes, including a “cold room”-style front entry hall, an inky-black parlor, which acts as a reception room and entertaining space, and a baker’s dream of a scullery tucked off the kitchen.

“We looked a lot to the vernacular from the countryside of Britain,” affirms designer Maureen McDermott, who followed suit in channeling old-world European style when outfitting the interiors. Gauzy draperies and slipcovered, roll-arm upholstered furnishings evoke a timeless Belgian tradition while feeling pitch perfect for a present-day Hamptons home, offering an elevated riff on the classic beach house aesthetic. And a healthy dose of pieces by English vendors weave throughout the residence, composing a chic thread with the program’s British country house references.

Within the bedrooms—all calming in color and cozy in scale—simple charm reigns supreme again. There are built-in window nooks, herringbone-pattern wood floors, white painted boards on the ceilings and woodburning fireplaces. “A lot of homes in the Hamptons are ‘more is more,’ ” McDermott muses. “This house is just so refined, peeled back and thoughtful. Anything extra grand was stripped away and instead, there’s just everything you need for a beautiful and functional home.”

The all-new grounds carry this thoughtfulness outdoors. There, landscape architect Stacy Paetzel employed bluestone pavers to define and link various areas, and per the clients’ request, planted a variety of classic florals that flourish in the rich soils out East . “There are several hydrangea varieties, including limelight, oakleaf and Annabelle,” Paetzel says. “The clients entertain often and many plants were selected because they are good for cutting, arranging and bringing inside.” Artful deployments of climbing vines throughout the property help to “nestle things into the site,” she continues, adding that mature apple trees were purchased from a local nursery and planted to further the blank-slate plot’s sense of age. Down to the last detail, the culmination celebrates its place in history, and the special slice of the world it calls home.