Colonial Revival

After seeing an image of our very first project on Hook Pond in East Hampton, our clients came to us for a new house in the heart of the village of Southampton, New York. They wanted the house to fit in gracefully with the surrounding historic architecture, and it seemed to us that an authentic interpretation of the local Colonial Revival style was the appropriate choice for this project.

2013
Gregory Koester
Elisa Cuaron
Tim Orlando
Josh Greene

The character of the house arises from an unexpected juxtaposition of the exterior and interior styles. the exterior features classical detailing, including the central pediment and columned portico, with pilasters framing the front and poolside porches. It is clad in white-painted cedar shingles and crowned with a decorative Jeffersonian balustrade.

In contrast to the formality of the exterior, we took a modern approach to the interior architecture. We selected a simple palette of lime-painted plaster walls void of baseboards or crown moldings, and light stained white oak floors and framed openings. For the interior decoration, we were inspired by the spare northern European style, with the selected furnishings and artwork emphasizing materiality.

The living room features a blackened-steel fireplace and chimney breast with a photograph by Jack Pierson. Linen-slipcovered upholstery is grouped with a hemp rug and steel-and-wood occasional pieces.

For the gardens, the clients were clear about their desire for a rational, geometric layout. The design incorporates a motor court of crushed oyster shells and a grid of London plane trees, interspersed with clipped American boxwood. An elliptical garden serves as a transition to the rear landscape, comprised of manicured boxwood parterres, large perennial borders, a dining allée of pleached linden trees and a swimming pool surrounded by a cast-stone terrace.

The teak dining table for thirty-six guests sits on a bed of crushed oyster shells and is flanked by rows of littleleaf linden trees.