This bird’s eye view of the outdoor terrace designed by Katharine Jessica Interior makes you want to dive right in.
There can be no doubt where this year’s Hampton Designer Showhouse is located. Presented by Traditional Home to benefit Southampton Hospital, the Showhouse was rife with beachy references, both subtle and quite literate.
The walls in almost every room are covered in grass cloth wallpaper, an iconic coastal wall treatment. Sometimes the grass cloth is the room’s only coastal reference, such as the neutral wall coverings in Patricia Fisher’s elegant great room.
Patricia Fisher’s gray neutral great room is enlivened by her bold choice of art above the fireplace. Photography by Marco Ricca.
On the other end of the spectrum, Brian Patrick Flynn went bold with a hot pink grass cloth for his happy den.
Brian Patrick Flynn’s den surges with energy with his vibrating tones of pink throughout.
Designers also layered in the coastal vibe with lighting and accessories.
Immediately as you enter the house, Elissa Grayer’s foyer screams summer with a shell sailboat sculpture, nautical rope
Elissa Grayer welcomes you to the Hamptons with her beachy entrance.
In the adjoining dining room by Barbara Page, a chandelier suggesting rattan (a material often associated with summer) is a focal point.
The rattan chandelier in Barbara Page’s dining room grabs your eye. Photography by Eric Striffler.
Page’s table is set with bamboo flatware and her room includes a console dressed with lamps that have palm tree bases, also evoking a coastal region. And note that teal
Lamps with palm tree bases and bamboo flatware remind you that you are by the coast in Barbara Page’s dining room. Photography by Eric Striffler.
Denise McGaha’s lovely bedroom nods to the beach with a shell adorned chandelier by Currey & Co and a coral sculpture on the desk.
Denise McGaha used a new wallpaper by Celerie Kemble for Schumacher to set off her dramatic bedroom. Photography by Marco Ricca.
Brian Patrick Flynn accessorized his den with lamps made from oyster shells and mirrors reminiscent of portholes on a boat.
A beach theme can be conveyed subtly, as Flynn did, with the use of interesting materials and accessories. Photograph of room courtesy of Flynnside Out and Duralee.
Other designers expressed pride of place with a quite literal take on the beach location. Scot Meacham Wood’s colorful and cheerful mudroom is packed with all you need to have fun in the Hamptons: a kayak, boogie board, croquet set and beach towels.
Scot Meacham Wood’s mudroom is fun-packed, evoking joyful summer days.
Organization can be practical and pretty as seen is Scot Meacham Wood’s mudroom.
Marlaina Teich’s beautiful kitchen includes a home for your pup where his biscuits spell out the names of towns in the Hamptons.
Marlaina Teich fashioned the quintessential Hamptons’ white kitchen with a pop of teal and sparkly accents. Photograph of the stools from her Instagram.
Upstairs,
Elise Som herself crafted the framed artwork of succulents.
In other rooms, the coastal references are much more subtle. Robert Brown’s masculine library doesn’t scream beach, but if you take a close look at the artwork you will note one piece with a man in a bathing suit and another with a person swimming.
Robert Brown’s library soothes with neutral tones of gray, white and black.
In Ovadia Design Group’s pool house terrace, Jack Ovadia created a sophisticated and dramatic space with his tree screen, trellis walls, black and gray upholstery with plenty of texture, and shiny brass accessories. A closer look reveals a
Ovadia Design Group created a dramatic setting for beguiling outdoor dining.
Perhaps the most subtle reference of all may be a nod to the Hamptons’ reputation as the playground of the rich and famous, accomplished by Melanie Roy in her very glamorous basement recreation room. In Roy’s space, the upholstery is covered in
Melanie Roy’s basement rec room is one of the most glamorous spaces in the Showhouse.
The Hampton Designer Showhouse will be open to the public through Labor Day with daily hours of 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and admission of $35. It is well worth a day away from sand and sun. Certainly the beach won’t seem far.
Photo credits: If not otherwise noted, photos are by Lynn Byrne.