— Photographer:  / July 8, 2025
elegant home salon with chandeliers and high ceilings

When the creative urge strikes and the object of its passion involves the design of a new house, there’s no better companion than a tried-and-true collaborator—as this homeowner knows through experience. As she says of her Southampton residence, the fifth project she and architectural designer Ray Booth have undertaken together and the second they’ve created from the ground up, “My homes are my life and Ray has held my hand along this journey.”

After deciding to sell her previous Hamptons residence (one of said collaborations) and start fresh, she landed on this lot. “The trick,” explains Booth, “was its south-facing orientation, which became a mandate for the architectural response.” Height was imperative, he says, because the architecture had to “reach up to allow the southern light to wash into the main rooms.”

Home Details

Architecture and Interior Design: Ray Booth, McAlpine

Home Builder: Blair Dibble, Pyramid Custom Building Corp.

Landscape Architecture: Perry Guillot, Perry Guillot, Inc.

white exterior of a Southampton home
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The home’s south-facing fenestration was key to maximizing daylight within. The sconces are Bevolo Gas & Electric Lights.

elegant study with natural light and blue sofa
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In the study, a Maiden Home sectional cozies up to two antique German accent tables. A Paul Ferrante lantern marks the room’s entry.

contemporary and elegant living room in a neutral palette
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The salon’s bespoke sofas wear a Manuel Canovas textile while a Brochier fabric covers the Gregorius Pineo lounge chair. Holland & Sherry curtain panels emphasize the room’s height. A Marc Phillips rugs grounds the space’s layered mix of antiques and artworks.

elegant home salon with chandeliers and high ceilings
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Twin Bowles and Linares chandeliers descend from the ceiling, bringing human scale to the 14-foot-high salon.

contemporary kitchen with a Ciot quartzite island and matching backsplash
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BDDW stools pull up to the kitchen island, which features the same Ciot quartzite as the perimeter counters and backsplash. Bowles and Linares pendants hang overhead, the faucet is from Hansgrohe and a Wolf cooktop sits beneath a custom hood.

a bronze floral chandelier hangs above a dining table surrounded with vintage Italian chairs
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The dining room’s 7Gods chandelier hovers above the New Classics table paired with antique Italian chairs. The Thai wood finials are a travel find.

contemporary guest room with a canopy framed bed and pops of blue and orange throughout
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A Jaipur Living floor covering anchors a guest room’s Robert James Collection bed below a Visual Comfort & Co. chandelier. A rug from Eliko Rug Gallery defines a plush seating area. The curtain panels are from Bruder.

elegant bathroom with views of the courtyard outside
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The primary bath’s Barclay tub takes in courtyard views. Calacatta Gold tile from Artistic Tile covers the floor. The accent table is from Stephanie Odegard Co. Ltd.

A-frame section of a home's exterior overlooking a pool in the Hamptons
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Axial views ensure the dining room overlooks the pool. Green lawn space and classic plantings by landscape architect Perry Guillot root the exterior scene in Southampton.

outdoor dining loggia with Janus et Cie chairs around a Robert James Collection table
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Both the kitchen and main corridor open organically to the outdoor dining loggia. There, a Robert James Collection table and Janus et Cie chairs are illuminated by a Bevolo Gas & Electric Lights sconce.

The homeowner’s preference for bracing modern forms grounded in tradition led Booth to play symmetry off asymmetry in composing the program. Two magnificent, mature Japanese maples on the property suggested a natural framing device for his plan: a double-height great room flanked by two wings or pavilions—one a private zone with the den and primary suite; the other with the kitchen and entry on axis; and each with guest quarters up above. The kitchen’s placement opposite the entry was designed with entertaining in mind, allowing the homeowner to greet guests at the front door, escort them into the kitchen or bar, lead them out to the loggia or straight to the dining room and move easily back and forth when something delicious in process requires attention.

From the get-go, this approach seamlessly integrated the structure and its views with landscape architect Perry Guillot’s multilayered composition of greenswards, hedges and a pristine pool, all bounded by shade trees. Through general contractor Blair Dibble’s finely tuned construction of Booth’s crisp geometries in bright white limewashed brick, the porticoed, off-center front entry presents itself almost like a corset while the back of the house opens its arms in welcome. Airy expanses of windows and French doors, along with the trio of skylights over the covered dining and lounging loggia along the rear façade, amplify the interior-exterior connection and flow of natural illumination within.

Throughout the sun-flooded chambers, Booth’s interpretation of his client’s treasures paired with new acquisitions imbues the architectural envelope with soul and pedigree. “Many items in this home have been in my life for 25-plus years,” shares the homeowner. “I wanted to surround myself with things I love—Italian artifacts, antiques and fabrics, pieces I’ve collected on trips to Morocco, India and elsewhere, even the art.” Finding the right combination of existing and new elements, says Booth, was a bit like working a Rubik’s Cube. Take the palette, where the homeowner pushed for deep purples, raspberries and fuchsias—colors pulled from her art and textiles. “We worked in earnest with her to pair them with neutrals, including soft linens and chenilles,” Booth relates.

The resulting mix yields a beautiful balance. The main salon, which lives under a tightly beamed ceiling, is crowned by twin contemporary versions of classic crystal campaign chandeliers. Below, an antique Italian console, a commode purchased at a Paris flea market and an array of much-loved objects and textiles mingle with inviting modern upholstery and arresting artworks. In the adjacent dining room, a chandelier of hand-beaten brass makes a captivating floral statement above a new pedestal table and Italian chairs from a previous residence, while an intimate seating area nests along the windows. In its corner, a pair of antique Thai wood finials infuse patina—and intrigue. “It’s a sexy house,” concludes its happy owner. “One that tells a story with a lot of history.”

a bronze floral chandelier hangs above a dining table surrounded with vintage Italian chairs

The dining room’s 7Gods chandelier hovers above the New Classics table paired with antique Italian chairs. The Thai wood finials are a travel find.

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