It is always such a pleasure to not only be in the Hamptons, but be there while the show house is running. This year, aside from Barclay Buttera, there were really no high profile designers (no disrespect), but the talent, ingenuity and beauty were all there! I loved that it gives others an opportunity to shine.
Lisa Mende for Wesley Hall created a deeply layered, restorative space in the great room evoking the feeling of bringing the outside in. A meditative or restorative place to feel connected to the sun and surf. Lisa did a great job balancing the expansive space and high ceilings with art, lighting and furniture.
Barclay Butera for Lexington Brands is a master at his craft. His signature "approachable" style is at home beachside, lakeside or mountainside. There was some discussion about having the etageres in front of the window. What do you think? I like it, and it works because they are open and not cluttered. Maybe you wouldn't do it in your home, but in a show house ~ anything goes!
The butler's pantry was a clever little space by designer, author, entertainer Mark Addison, as an homage to his book Cocktail Chameleon. The custom wallpaper by Spoonflower, Alpha Workshop's handpainted floorcloth, and art, literally pages from his book, make a functional space very personal and without a doubt design-a-licious!
The themes I saw running through the home were; the return of ombre and heavily layered looks.
I loved the ombre walls in the open foyer and running down the stairs, thanks to Sea Green Designs. It is complicated in the best way: calm, inviting and moody, just like the Hamptons' sky before or after a storm.
I was digging the groovy lounge space at the bottom of the stairs by Laura Michaels Design. Bob Dylan reigns in this bar area where everything was designed to appear to float. The bench was genius cantilevering over the bottom steps. The Simple Vodka displayed on lucite pegs was as much an art installation as it was a practical solution for storing alcohol. With each bottle of vodka sold the company donates 20 meals to the hungry.
In the press release I received there were hanging chairs, but when I was there they were taken down. Oh well, I would have loved to have seen them.
Beyond that room another clever design element was employed ~ the hand made room divider does the trick delineating the lounge with the rooms beyond. We'll explore more downstairs/upstairs next time.
