The depth and width of the somewhat narrow plot dictated the shape and orientation of the house they wanted to build. Turning to Sag Harbor architect William Beeton, they designed an appropriately scaled house for the site and for the neighborhood. Inspired by the 1920’s vernacular architecture of East Hampton and New England, and adding a few details borrowed from the work of Chicago architect David Adler, they began construction. The fancy farmhouse style is accretive, looking as if each generation had added an addition to the structure. The charming white porch off the living room, and the board and batten barn/garage to the rear, reinforce the rambling nature of the house.

Simultaneously, working with landscape architect Joe Tyree of Sag Harbor, the owners began installing specimen trees, privet hedges, stone walls, boxwood, bluestone terraces, and a charming pool house. The owner’s company, Landscape Details, was responsible for the landscape installation.

The interior layout is centered around a large front hall which provides access to the major rooms on the first floor. A Georgian chest of drawers graces the foyer, with the living room to the left. The dining room, family room, and large kitchen are to the right. The dining room table is a family piece, handed down through three generations. A four seasons sun room with bluestone floors and radiant heat has interchangeable windows - screens for the summer and glass for the winter. The kitchen counters are Calcutta gold marble, and the mudroom floor is used brick. Beyond are an office, laundry room, and garage. Upstairs are five bedrooms, including a separate guest suite off the back staircase. Throughout the house the owners have taken great pride in the architectural details and woodwork, which are exceptional.

Blending traditional architecture with a contemporary approach to the interiors defined the renovation they undertook. Additions to the east, west and the rear of the house increased the footprint of the main floor and provided substantial space for an enlarged kitchen and master suite. A new garage/pool house with an upstairs gym was added to the rear, the pool was moved, and a former tool shed took on a new role as a massage room. James McChesney of Southampton was the architect, and Marshall Watson, a New York designer and the design columnist for the Southampton Press, was responsible for the interiors. Robert Caruso of East Hampton crafted most of the new interior woodwork, including the kitchen, library, bar, and cabinetry throughout. The overall effect is a serene interior with a tailored, edited feel.

The first floor consists of the office to the right of the entrance hall, and the music room to the left. The dining room, kitchen, pantry, laundry room, guest suite, great room, and master bedroom suite complete the layout. Traditional walnut stained wood floors in the formal rooms blend with aged olivestone and tumbled limestone floors in the kitchen and great room. The striking hanging light fixtures in the dining and great rooms are by Springs artist Mark Figurado. When lit, they create intriguing textured shadows. The great room, originally a breezeway, links the main block of the house to the master bedroom suite. Liking the sunny feel of the breezeway, the owners cleverly retained the light but converted the room to one they now use year round. The master suite, with its cathedral ceiling of plank wood and iron collar ties, includes a large walnut dressing room and a luxurious industrial chic bath. Upstairs there are four guest bedrooms, with one accessing a large roof terrace overlooking the pool.

Extensive new landscaping and terracing, designed by Joseph W. Tyree Landscape Design of Sag Harbor, completes this thoughtful renovation.

Living off Main Street in the village, they essentially sought a smaller retreat from their much larger retreat. Preston Phillips, the versatile Bridgehampton architect, was asked to design the simplest of structures on a budget of $150,000. Contemplating short overnight stays, the previous owners only wanted a few rooms and a bath.

The house was constructed on pilings, which raised the structure seven feet off the sand to both protect it from the water and enhance the views. It was built with the most common materials available at any lumberyard, which give it an almost industrial feel. The exterior facade is covered in metal barn siding, and the deck railings are PVC pipe. The entrance ramp, walkways, and outside pavilion are exterior-grade plywood. Inside, the white washed walls are made of plywood trimmed in cedar. Sisal carpeting and cork floors add to the casual feel. By placing the house on an angle to the property, and using many windows which extend to the floor, views of the beach and ocean appear to wrap around the interior. The V shaped living room soars 20 feet, with an azure blue ceiling which echoes the sky. Two rooms are divided into three spaces – a kitchen, a living room, and a bedroom. Preston Phillips used a double sided fireplace to divide the interior.

The Butterfly House attracted attention as soon as it was completed in 2001, and it was widely published. The house is architecturally significant because it reminds one that a simple building can be dramatic and efficient. However, it is increasingly out of synch with its neighborhood. The original owners saw it as something of a temporary structure, thinking eventually the site would warrant a more substantial home. The current owners, who purchased the property in 2005, have yet to decide.

wanted to save the structure, and needed to move it to clear the land. The present owners had already purchased the lot at 298 Further Lane, and were ready to start building a new house when they learned of the situation. Emerging at the 11th hour, after several deals to move the house had fallen through, they quickly realized that what they wanted to build was available next door if they could move it.

Guy Davis of Westhampton Beach, a fourth generation house mover, was engaged to move the 450 ton L shaped structure. It was a poignant event that captured the awe and attention of house movers throughout the northeast. Rolling it less than a quarter of a mile across a large field and through a hedgerow in one piece was doable since the house did not have to travel on any public roads. It took three months to prepare the structure for the move, including jacking it up four feet and laying a grid of steel beams underneath it. Using twelve self-propelled hydraulic dollies, the house was rolled across the field on movable steel plates.

The current owners engaged Rob Southern to help decorate the interiors in a casual, comfortable style. The entrance floor hall is tumbled limestone, and it goes straight through to the rear gardens and pool. The living room, to the left, is fully paneled with a beamed ceiling and furnished in neutral tones. The dining room, with wainscoting to the chair rail, has chocolate burlap walls trimmed with Greek key taping. The kitchen/family room includes the owner’s collection of antique blue and white Chinese ginger jars on the mantle shelf. Five photos of the house being moved are on display on the island in the kitchen. Upstairs, two guest rooms, children’s rooms, and a master suite complete this gracious home.

substantial renovations before moving in. Raising the roof, opening up the kitchen ceiling, and carefully refurbishing the interiors dramatically changed the light filled rooms. Problem walls were covered with textured vinyl, floors were laid wall-to-wall with seagrass, the kitchen was updated with commercial appliances and Carrera marble countertops, and hardware was replaced.

Though barely 1500 square feet, the house seems much larger due to the many windows and southeast exposure. Luxurious touches abound throughout the rooms. The front porch, enclosed and furnished in vintage rattan, provides a sunny and cozy refuge in the fall and winter. It opens onto the dramatic living room. A guest room to the left, along with the adorable Beach Cabin at the back of the property, provide ample guest quarters. The master bedroom, and the efficiently designed new bathroom with a river stone floor, are just to the left of the large cabinets at the end of the living room. The black and white retro dining set, found in one of the many shops on the South Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach, is the centerpiece of the kitchen. An old fashion porch to the right, and a butler’s pantry to the left, complete the back of the house. The grounds enjoy a spectacular four season’s view of the 18 acre field to the north, and the drive is defined by a century old privet hedge.

Though the name of the property suggests a summer place, the house is used year round. Tom and Ross are famous for their legendary cocktail parties and dinners.

Rawson, Vice President of the same bank, who had originally come to eastern Long Island by train to hunt, returned to collectively create an expansive summer compound. They were part of a larger group that founded the Gardiners Bay Company, which acted as a real estate company for their land purchases and interests.

Windy Dune, the Joseph Rawson cottage completed in 1910 at a cost of $33,000, has remained in the same family for three generations and is now the home of his granddaughter. Originally called Red Roof, it and all the Devon houses and garages were designed by the Cincinnati firm of Tietig and Lee. Built with a poured concrete foundation and reinforced concrete block walls sheathed in stucco, the 7000 square foot house lost its original terra cotta roof in the Hurricane of 1938.

The house is a classic summer cottage with high ceilings, generously sized windows, numerous pairs of French doors, and multiple porches sited for the breeze and views. Though built on the high lands, the view has been substantially compromised as the vegetation has grown. The interior of Windy Dune is highlighted by twelve Ionic columns in the entrance hall. A Steinway piano, original to the house, and a large Persian rug grace the foyer. The first floor public rooms are much grander than the second floor bedrooms.

The house was designed with every modern convenience for 1910, including many electrical outlets and numerous bathrooms. The Robert Mitchell Manufacturing Company originally furnished the interiors, and the porch furniture was supplied by Ficks-Reed, both old Cincinnati firms. The interior furnishings were simple, with the downstairs rooms full of Mission Oak furniture made by Gustav Stickley and the upstairs bedrooms outfitted in painted white furniture, with white curtains and bedcovers. Much of the furniture was shipped by water to the Devon dock on Gardiners Bay, and then hauled up to the house by a small railroad built just to transport freight and materials to the site. A spur of the Long Island Railroad was also extended to the site to bring in coal as the house was originally heated by steam. The Devon Yacht Club (1909), a power plant (1909) which supplied electricity, and a concrete plant (1908) were also built to service the Devon Colony.

Between 2003-2006 substantial renovations were completed on Windy Dune. The large service wing off the dining room was taken down and replaced with an expansive new wing designed by Rick Hirt, an architect working in Francis Fleetwood’s office. An enlarged kitchen and family living space replaced many service rooms designed for the original staff.

In the library off the kitchen there is a striking watercolor of the East Hampton Historical Society’s Mulford Farm by the late Claus Hoie. In the back hall is the original cast iron stove from the old kitchen, now used as a decorative piece. New French doors open onto the western terraces, with a pool tucked below. Upstairs, eleven bedrooms have been combined to create eight, each with its own bath.

As a unified residential complex of great scale and substance, the Devon Colony is unique.