This Award-Winning Beach House Surprises in More Ways Than One

2023 Best of Year Winner for Large Beach House

At the hands of Interior Design Hall of Fame members Steven Harris and Lucien Rees Roberts, this project is way more than the sum of its parts. The 13,800-square-foot, glass-and-brick residence, perched on a lushly landscaped property in Bridgehampton, New York, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, is all clean lines and rectilinear forms in the tradition of mid-century modernism the clients admire. But the addition of a knife-edge pool and its sculpted-plaster pavilion—capped by a reflecting-pool roof in the shape of a boomerang, another mid-century reference—nails the composition. Inside the main house, sculptural forms meet sweeping green and blue vistas, and high art blends with everyday life. Curving furniture and a spiral staircase soften the hard edges of its angular architecture and harmonize with that of the organic pavilion. Flooring of textured Grigio Olivo stone unites the courtyard, interior, and pavilion deck, creating the impression of a continuous beachlike expanse underfoot.

steven harris architects: steven harris; abir ahmad; andrea leung.

rees roberts & partners: lucien rees roberts; deborah hancock; jaclyn cirasola; jane jacobs; david kelly; regina cassorla.

Stay Awhile in This Picture Perfect Guesthouse by the Beach

2023 Best of Year Winner for Small Beach House

The archetypal Long Island beach house is a grand, shingled affair—which basically describes this compound’s main structure and complementary 1,500-square-foot surf “shack” in Sagaponack, New York. But a new guesthouse designed by Roger Ferris + Partners in the property’s idyllic mise-en-scène strikes another note entirely. The cantilevered L-shape monolith, encompassing three levels (one below-grade), is clad in glossy rose-toned metal paneling that dialogues with the adjacent pool’s same-hued solid-surface surround. The interior of the structure, though a compact 1,400 square feet, contains a kitchenette on the ground level and sleeping quarters in the second-floor cantilever. A basement-level open-plan space serves as a gallery and painting studio, illuminated by a mirror-enclosed light well. As for the pale pink coloration, it was chosen to reflect the sky’s tones at dawn and dusk.

A Contemporary Beach House With Modernist Allure

If there’s one constant among ocean-adjacent residences in Southern California’s Manhattan Beach, it’s their dense proximity. Lots are typically long and deep; street-fronting faces are narrow. That’s not to say that the houses are necessarily cramped. Quite the opposite. Take the 6,000-square-foot striking, contemporary dwelling by Montalba Architects unfolding over three floors. From outside, the abundance of glass, paired with a pared-down palette of plaster, Douglas fir for the roof overhang, and Western red cedar for a textural screen wall, hints at the voluminous presence. Inside, any sense of compression dissipates. That is mainly because the plan is organized around a double-height interior courtyard open to the sky. Here’s how it works.

Starting at ground, “entry is through a screened, semi-outdoor garden space,” founding principal David Montalba notes of his debut MB project built for a husband and wife who had long lived in the area. Past the entry court, the first level houses a guest room and bath, mechanical and laundry space, a large gym, and even larger garage for up to six vehicles. After all, this is California, home to automobile aficionados, in this case a Porsche collector.

A Beach Home With a Vertical Garden 

Ever the modernist, Montalba enhanced the architecture with minimal finishes and furnishings, much of the latter by contemporary maestri. Flooring throughout is white oak except when it transitions outdoors to ipe. “The idea was to dissolve the edges.” Other prominent materials are vertical-grain white oak for millwork and acid-blasted silver travertine for the fireplace. Furniture embraces a role call of designers including Finn Juhl, Rodolfo Dordoni, Edward Barber & Jay Osgerby, Roberto Barbieri, and Roberto Lazzeroni. Artists join the cast, too. Count Andy Moses, Casper Brindle, and the wife herself. She plays the pride-of-place Steinway that has been in the family for three generations.

The California Home Features Heirloom Accents and Contemporary Art

This Weekend Home in Amagansett, New York Reflects an Elevated, Oceanside Vibe

After purchasing a 2-acre lot in the Hamptons—within walking distance to the beach—a New York City couple with college-aged children turned to designer, Monica Fried, for advice on envisioning their oceanside retreat.

Spread over approximately 7,000 square feet, the modern new build by Thomas Heine Architect and Cardel Development features an open-plan living area on the ground floor sans formal walls, allowing one room to flow seamlessly into the next. The large entry and living room meld into the kitchen, dining area and family room while an L-shape shows off the pool in the interior courtyard, which is framed by a pool house on the opposite side. The private spaces for the family occupy the upper level while a full basement comprises a room with bunk beds as well as a gym.

With such close proximity to the ocean, Fried drew inspiration from the natural landscape, introducing a palette of blues, ivories and sand tones, which happen to be the homeowners’ favorite colors. To bring interest and texture into the space while adding warmth, the designer turned to a mix of natural oak for the window frames, doors, and ceiling details. Stone and marble accents add more visual interest, drawing attention to the fireplace, as does the Christophe Delcourt Lek sofa coated in a Geiger fabric in the living room.

“The vibe is modern with a mix of organic and vintage, which is something we like to bring to every project,” says Fried, noting that all the furnishings were designed or purchased specifically for the home. Inviting and relaxed yet sophisticated and timeless, this coastal refuge has everything the homeowners have always dreamed of—and more. 

Hawk & Co. Outfits This Indoor-Outdoor Oasis Along the California Coast With Striking Interiors

The old adage—location, location, location—holds true, especially when it comes to coastal living. That’s why Summer Jensen, CEO and principal of Hawk & Co., decided to take advantage of this home’s sweeping California views when designing its interiors. The structure of the house, designed by Brandon Architects, and its simplicity of materials offered a starting point. “I always look to architectural cues to inform the space,” shares Jensen, noting that the home offers a nod to those in Napa Valley—rustic meets industrial.

Jensen, who grew up in Hawaii, looks to nature as a constant inspiration. “The natural world has given us everything we need,” she shares, stressing the importance of creating a symbiotic relationship with nature. With this in mind, she ensured the home has plenty of natural light and indoor-outdoor living spaces (the living room opens onto a patio with coastal views). Skylights, such as the one in the primary bath, further harness the power of natural light to regulate circadian rhythms and barely perceptible kitchen cabinets are veiled by a staggered batten wood-paneling exterior. “I love to make things disappear so the cabinets were easy to disguise amongst the vertical slats,” she adds. The lower level of the residence even features a brewmaster’s bar, complete with 16 microbrews on tap illuminated by a lighting sculpture above. We’ll raise a glass to that.

Bates Masi + Architects Conceives of a Beach House in Long Island That Pays Homage to its Surroundings

2021 Best of Year winner for Beach House

Talk about hyper-local: Stony Hill, a 6,300-square-foot family residence on Long Island, draws from the history of the land it stands on. The site was once Native American hunting grounds and later used as communal pasture for early settlers. Firm principal and Interior Design Hall of Fame member Paul Masi conceived the architecture and surrounding landscape to honor and celebrate that agrarian history. Steeply pitched gable roofs give the structure a barnlike massing and obviate the need for collar ties, thus allowing for lofty interior volumes. Traditional thatched siding packed between exposed framing is a modern twist on the centuries-old process. The strong linear rhythm of the exterior framing continues inside—reappearing in elements such as vertical slatting of the primary bath vanity—as does the outsize shingle siding, which clads a cozy family room with fireplaces and built-in L-shape seating unit. Natural materials such as white oak and clay tiles create an atmosphere harmonious with the pastoral plot. The latter is planted with varied-height vegetation to recall the lot’s past, when it was divvied into separate parcels: Tall grasses shield the house from the road, while lower blades and ground cover around the pool and grounds open up the views.

Bates Masi + Architects: PAUL MASI

Oppenheim Architecture Designs a Malibu Marvel

Talk about a dream house. For contemporary design lovers, a Chad Oppenheim residence beach front in Malibu is the ne plus ultra. No dream at all, it’s the real thing: a crisp white tri-level dwelling on Escondido Beach not far from the city’s Point Dune. Perhaps the best part? It’s a spec project and as yet is still up for first dibs.

With studios in Miami and Basel, Oppenheim Architecture has certainly made its mark world-wide. Commissioned homes come to mind first, and they’ve touched down in such far-flung locales as Caracas, Venezuela; the Bahamas; Aspen; Oberwil, Switzerland outside of Basel; and, of course, Miami Beach. For an exotic getaway, check into the Emiliano Rio at Rio de Janeiro’s famed Copacabana Beach and further afield keep an eye on progress at the Desert Rock eco-tourist complex set within a landscape of caves and crevices in Saudi Arabia. For a seaside meal, reserve a table at Forte dei Marmi, the restaurant not in the much-loved Tuscan town, but closer to home in a 1938 building in Miami’s South Beach. Commercial work fills the portfolio, too. All this by way of introduction to Oppenheim’s own introduction to speculative work.

“I’m always putting myself as the person experiencing any project,” says the Cornell-educated architect and recipient of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Museum’s national design award for interior design. “I design around the feelings I want to create for the end-user or the greatest common denominator of end users.” Thus, he responds to the obvious initial query of differences between commissioned and speculative work. “With a custom home for a client, I’m more in a dialogue. With a spec house, I’m in a dialogue with myself, and these dialogues are more abbreviated. There’s one less participant discussing pros and cons.” Vast experience helps. “Doing so many homes for end users helps us understand what the eventual owner would want.”

In this case, it would be, of course, sweeping views of sea and coastline, celebration of daylight, open space inside, and dematerialization between indoors and out. “Malibu is one of my favorite places on the planet,” Oppenheim enthuses. In terms of natural beauty, “it has it all, which generates a lifestyle, atmosphere, vibe, and experience.”

Thoughts and feelings turned concrete in the complete renovation of this “faux Mediterranean” dating to the 1980s. Encompassing 7,160 square feet, the dwelling is now organized with a contiguous living, dining, kitchen expanse on the main level, its 74-foot-long glazed front completely retractable. Same for the glass side opening onto a terrace and adjacent garden, the generous outdoor space a contrast to many of the tight confines of, say, the Malibu Colony. Elsewhere, corners are cut away and glazed as well, giving views as far as the eye could see. To add a bit of definition to this common living space and set the stage for three seating groups, Oppenheim raised it three steps up at the entry. “It’s almost like theater,” he says of the procession. Meanwhile, the home’s lower level is designated as the entertainment area, while the upper accommodates four bedrooms with en-suite baths. 

The sea and sunsets are not the only spectacle. Indoor drama comes from the generous spiral stairway as tri-level connector. The pièce de résistance, it is steel framed, fabricated in pieces, and was plastered on site during assembly. Replacing three in the house’s previous incarnation, the element is one example of Oppenheim’s “search for the essential.”  Elsewhere, “we found additional floor space by combining hallways into rooms.” All in service of a “clean line floor plan.” 

Materials are strictly minimal, natural, and pervasive. That means travertine, oak, and mineral plaster. Furnishings, though staged, are beckoning white pieces that Oppenheim himself might have chosen. Ditto for art works. As for the eventual owner, Oppenheim waxes poetic: “Whoever lives here will be incredibly happy.” So will the architect. As follow-up, he’s designing two more Malibu homes, one for an end-user, the other speculative.

Ghislaine Viñas Creates a Calm Yet Vibrant Getaway in Palm Beach, Florida

With the constant drama of crashing waves right outside, creating a beachfront home that feels restful can prove surprisingly challenging. But New York–based interior designer Ghislaine Viñas ran with that sense of theater at this 3,900-square-foot ground-floor condo in Palm Beach, Florida, artfully drawing in the colors and movement of the water visible at every turn through floor-to-ceiling windows.

This is Viñas’s second project for the clients, the first being their Manhattan apartment. (A third project is also underway.) The owners, a married couple with two teenagers, wanted a getaway where they could relax and spend time with relatives, many of whom live in the area. Because of their past collaboration, Viñas was able to nail the brief right out of the gate. “They wanted a feeling of joyfulness and relaxation—but in an energetic sort of way,” the designer says. Comfort, she adds, was paramount. She also knows the clients to be modernists with an abiding love of midcentury furniture; the wife grew up with Arne Jacobsen Egg chairs, Eero Saarinen Womb chairs, and many other iconic pieces in her childhood home. And because this is a beach house, everything had to be easy to upkeep. “It’s supposed to be a stress-free living environment—it’s not supposed to be fussy!” Viñas says.

Although the living area’s coffered ceiling was deemed worthy of preservation, one element original to the 1980s condominium that absolutely needed to go was the “hideous” dark-cherry woodwork in the kitchen and bathrooms, which felt very heavy and contrary to the open and airy atmosphere Viñas was aiming for: “We cleaned out everything and created a fresh, white, invigorating space.” She left stonelike ceramic-tile floors in some rooms, including the living area, but specified white-ash planks for the three bedrooms and installed new baseboards and architectural lighting throughout. She also opened up the kitchen to the public areas and added an eating bar with high stools—perfect for breakfasting, lunching, and general hanging out. Shaker detailing on the cabinetry doors echoes the gridlike coffers overhead. “It’s not a look-at-me kind of project, so the little details are important,” Viñas explains.

As for the palette, the clean white base is spiked with serene oceanic blues, soft corals, and moments of terra-cotta, plus Viñas judiciously placed more intense accents throughout. The wife loves bold hues, especially when they jump from warm to cold tones. Viñas accomplished this chromatic sleight of hand by letting artwork and a few carefully chosen pieces do the heavy lifting. For example, the custom-colored yellow poufs in the living room and a series of hanging lamps in the octagonal entryway, the rainbow shades of which were woven using recycled soda bottles as a sort of armature.

Just below that fixture, the classic Saarinen laminate-top pedestal table was a natural choice given the wife’s love of the classics. It softens the room’s hard edges, as do the round ombré rug and custom crescent-shape wall-mounted consoles. “The repetition of circular forms is very pleasing and relaxing,” the designer observes. Ditto the pair of paintings by Ludwig Favre that Viñas describes as “other-worldly underwater-y”: fantastical compositions of tropical leaves mixed with flashes of bright color.

Comfort was taken to what some might call an extreme: The clients asked to test-drive every chair and sofa before they agreed to live with it. (The Egg chairs, of course, didn’t need to interview for the position.) Wherever possible, Viñas used performance fabrics for seating upholstery, many from her own line for HBF Textiles. The L-shape sectional in the living room—substantial and deep enough to provide plenty of room for family gatherings—is clad in her Sister Solid polyester-acrylic, while dining room chairs sport her Sir Stripe-a-lot Sunbrella.

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In the middle of the apartment, Viñas created a cozy media room, which can be shut off with glass doors to provide privacy without skewing cavelike. Two walls are dressed in another of her designs, Wild Thing for Flavor Paper, a tropical-leaf motif that can, in certain colorways, be quite wild indeed. Here, though, Viñas specified a custom shade—a subdued sand—which allowed her to introduce riotous pattern without overwhelming the smallish space.

The primary bedroom started with the view; namely, “how the color of the ocean changes all the time as the sun hits it,” Viñas reports. “And how, when the sun goes down, it transforms from green to blue in a really beautiful way.” She pulled those hues into the carpet (Vestry Street, one of her designs for Aronson’s) and lounge chairs (upholstered in a blue-and-coral stripe) and even the ombré walls, which transition from soft blue to white. “The room has a beautiful tranquil feeling,” she says, stating the obvious.

Although everything is done with great subtlety, the overall effect is quite striking, a sophisticated yet unpretentious take on the prototypical beach house. “It is definitely the kind of place,” she notes, “where, when you walk in, you say, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m so glad I’m here; it makes me feel good.’”

george beaver: general contractor/builder

custom cabinetry: woodwork

aronson’s floor covering: custom rugs (living area, primary bedroom, entry, media lounge)

republic of fritz hansen: egg chairs

designtex: fabric (living area)

Property Furniture: poufs

Knoll Textiles: fabric

ligne roset: sectional (living area), sleeper sofa (media lounge)

hbf textiles: sectional fabric (living area); chair fabric (dining area)

interiors by laura: custom head-board fabrication (boy’s and girl’s bedrooms)

nectar: bed bases (boy’s and girl’s bedrooms)

febrik: bed and headboard fabric (boy’s bedroom)

the rug company: custom rugs (boy’s and girl’s bedrooms, entry)

cappellini: cabinet (dining area)

moroso: chairs

edelman leather: seat leather

dualoy leather: arm strap leather

material through scandinavian spaces: table

romo: headboard fabric (girl’s bedroom)

serena and lily: hanging chair

cowtan and tout: cushion fabric

zero through global lighting: sconces

flavor paper: wallpaper (girl’s bedroom, media lounge)

rich brilliant willing: chandelier (kitchen)

i colori through stone source: backsplash tiles

Design Within Reach: stools

richard schultz through knoll: chairs (patio)

acdo álvaro catalán de ocón through for me lab: lighting pendants (entry)

knoll through design within reach: table

regeneration: credenza (primary bedroom)

calico: wallpaper

rh: platform bed

perennials: upholstery

knoll through evensonbest: bench

herman miller through design within reach: lounge chairs

Janus et Cie: fabric

lekker home: side table

louis poulsen through ylighting: table lamps

kvadrat: curtain fabric

vitra: lounge chair

david sutherland: fabric

lepere: side tables

collector nyc: ustom consoles (entry, hall); custom coffee table (living area); custom bedside tables (primary bedroom); custom mirror (hall)

artstar; scad artsales: artwork