1/14
Welcome to East Hampton, where we helped design a black and white beach house for the nicest Canadian we know. Shingles, a circular drive and a covered front porch are pure American summer.
Crisp and classic for this shingled all-seasons home
PHOTOGRAPHY: ADAM KANE MACCHIA
WRITTEN BY: DAN MAZZARINI
There are a few universal things about designing in the Hamptons:
1 – design spaces that are guest friendly
2 – make spaces durable enough for summertime fun
3 – make sure the project is done by Memorial Day
This was the exact ask from an amazing client when he approached us to decorate his East Hampton vacation home.
Our client was introduced through a mutual friend who described him as “the nicest Canadian you’ll ever meet.” When we met, I quickly discovered it was true – George was warm, easy going, and looking for a place to entertain his friends through the whole year. He had just purchased the home – a relatively newly built, classic shingle-style home – and was looking to fully furnish it…in a matter of just a few months before summer started.
While I never accomplish our projects in record time on my own, I have to recognize the amazing Susan Evans, a longtime friend and collaborator on this project. Susan and I worked together in my Ralph Lauren days – we have many memories together of travel and late night installs in foreign cities, decorating Ralph Lauren boutiques. Susan knows me and my taste as well as anyone, so it was a pleasure to bring her into this BHDM project.
"We blend our client’s inventory with a mix of off the shelf and custom pieces to create a home that is layered, personal, collected, and affordable. "
Together we jumped in, crafting a concept that was black and white and neutral with traditional bones and crisp masculine details. Susan and I joked that it would have been dubbed “Black Label at the beach,” if we were still at RL. When designing a black and white beach house, I think it’s important to dial the percentages of color up and down, and to use the minimal palette in diverse ways. Walls, floors, furniture, art…you have to mix it so that the limited palette still feels diverse over the various rooms. That was our strategy across the 4 bedrooms and living spaces of the home.
With second homes, I find people especially need to stretch their decorating dollars – they’re usually buying more square footage, in more expensive places, and while they want it all to look polished and pulled together, the reality is that they’ve just spent a lot on a second home. To answer this call, our team always does the “high/low, new versus found” approach. We blend our client’s inventory with a mix of off the shelf and custom pieces to create a home that is layered, personal, collected, and affordable. I find the mix results in a final product that is more interesting than if everything is new.
2/14
In the entry, Ralph Lauren sconces flank a riveted galvanized metal mirror. The sideboard was the clients from Room and Board, and the rug was from a close out sale at ABC home.
Shop the Entryway
"I tell my clients: the project is only good for me if it’s complete for you."
When working quickly, it’s important to me to make sure that the design is all “brought up to the same level,” – I tell my clients: the project is only good for me if it’s complete for you. I don’t find buying one expensive rug and not being able to afford anything else to be fun or successful. So here the ethos was to make every room feel complete and cohesive. I had to use some real DanMazz tricks to accomplish the whole house in a few short months.
Our neutral monochromatic palette worked to define our seaside, classic East Hampton look. For the foundation, we did a mix of black, white, and gray rooms (yes, I said a black room at the beach.) We layered on black, white and wood tones, and sprinkled in useful accessories like books, hurricanes, and art to enliven and narrate, without overpowering. We reused some of the client’s city apartment furniture – like an entry console, and bed in the first floor guest – and paired them with new items to reimagine their use and look.
3/14
If you’re following along, you know I love some black and white pattern. Polka dots, plaid and stripes are all here in the form of DIY art, upholstery from Zak and Fox and rug by CB2.
4/14
The living room is the heart of the home, connecting to an open dining room and kitchen and facing the pool and backyard. A mix of off the shelf items - Four Hands sofa, Thomas O’Brien floor lamps - and custom, like the daybed and coffee table all blend for a collected, layered look. Above the fireplace the high-low mix continues with a black and white landscape from art.com layered with a portrait by Richard Phibbs. The XL black woven basket is a firewood storage idea stolen from my travels in Europe.
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The family room was really family + dining + kitchen all combined – perfect for entertaining, but needing some definition. I used a large, affordable neutral jute rug, and layered it with a black and white stripe from CB2 to define the living room space. The furniture became a mix of textures, helping to create seating for entertaining. An off the shelf slipcovered sofa was selected for bathing suit friendly use, and paired with a vintage black daybed which we recovered in black and white fabric from Zak and Fox. We ordered 2 consoles and put them side by side for a custom look to fill a long wall. Art was a mix of off the shelf selections from places like art.com – there are so many good art resources out there now where you can pick your own matte and frame.
5/14
In fast paced projects, I think a little vintage goes a long way to make the space feel more established. In the dining room, vintage lights from 1stDibs add a little crunch, and vintage chairs from Chairish were updated with Porter Teleo fabric from Perennials. The table is Ethicraft, and the maple leaf art was drawn by our own Susan Evans.
6/14
The kitchen was in great shape, if a little plain. Our team added a little contrast in the form of new dark hardware and lights over the island. Stools are from Noir, and the art is art.com.
Shop the Dining Room
Shop the Kitchen
"It’s unexpected at the beach, and sets the tone with a polished look."
Close by the entrance of the home, I painted the trim and beadboard in a library office a glossy black and wallpapered above in a black heathered Innovations grasscloth. It’s unexpected at the beach, and sets the tone with a polished look. We layered the room with an overscale light fixture and a mix of old and new furniture.
7/14
What was once a light and lovely space got a dark and moody upgrade with the addition of this Innovations grasscloth. While initially hesitant to use black in the space, it’s now our client’s favorite room in the house. The desk is Noir, the bookshelf Ballard, the rug is Jaipur and the lamp is vintage from Beall and Bell.
Shop the Office
8/14
This first floor guest suite has a few Dan Mazz staples: a warm neutral palette, “dipped” walls, where we strike a line and paint one color to the floor, and ombre splatter painted drapes. Fun fact: these were off the shelf RH drapery that I used an enamel paint and wood paint stirrer to platter myself in my Greenport backyard. Voila! Splatter drapery!
The first floor was rounded out by a guest suite with a pitched ceiling. I used another favorite trick to “dip” the room in paint – I do this by striking a line and painting all the trim and walls from there down the same color. It adds architectural interest, without adding architecture to the room. The reused bed was dressed with a plaid blanket for an instantly reupholstered look. To reimagine the window coverings at a set of doors, I took the inherited linen drapes to my house in Greenport and splatter painted them with black enamel paint. The result feels hand made and designed, and is certainly unique to this room and home.
9/14
Steal this style : I added this graphic plaid blanket over a plain gray Room and Board headboard for some extra texture and pattern. A 10 second change that takes your plain headboard from drab to fab. The overscaled nightstand and table lamp help make the large vaulted room feel cozy.
10/14
When working on a tight budget, I do a few things to make a space feel finished and pulled together: 1 - a tight palette (here, black and white + warm woods,) 2 - scale items up, like the XL art above the bed, and 3 - add texture, like I did with the mix of the DWR rug, the windowpane blanket, and the addition of stainless steel in the bed lamp.
Shop the Guest Bedrooms
Upstairs, three bedrooms each received different black and white treatments. In the primary, I added an extra-large paper pendant, a modern canopy bed and custom made wall art to add architectural structure to the room. The drapes here were also splatter ombre with this great fabric from S. Harris. Underfoot, I used indoor/outdoor rugs in lighter colors and patterns for both interest and durability. Guest rooms were simple, and lightly layered with different textures of wood, pattern, and materials.
11/14
Etsy, not “Regret-sy” - our team found this bed manufacturer on Etsy, and the cerused solid oak is great quality for a great price. We decorated this primary bedroom with an indoor/outdoor rug, oversized paper light, S. Harris drapery and custom geometric wall art.
12/14
Shop the Primary Bedroom
13/14
What’s summer without outdoor entertaining? Our client's house has become the clubhouse for him and his friends, and this outdoor dining space has been the setting for many barbecues and brunches.
Shop the Outdoor Space
As summer quickly approached, I could see why it was so important for us to hit the Memorial Day date…beyond the perfect weather and the pool: George’s friends were already arriving, excited for him, and to see his new Hampton’s house. He’s a wonderful entertainer and host – he even planned to make his basement into a disco (not designed by BHDM…) So the heat was on to get everything in its place
The last week there, our team installed in a flurry of activity, finishing furniture, hanging art, fluffing the nest, and even lighting the candles for the big reveal. On a balmy may evening, we sat on the front porch as George came to his new home for the first time and walked him through. His reaction was just what we hoped for: he was instantly at home, with all the personal touches and blend of old and new coming together for a curated black and white look at the beach.
14/14
From the yard ringed in pine and hydrangea to the pool decked with loungers and black and white striped towels, this East Hampton retreat is an oasis that allows our client to work from home, entertain, and best of all relax from busy weeks in the city.
