Classic Meets Contemporary In This Southampton Retreat

Those wanting permission to design an outside-the-saltbox Hamptons home needn’t look far to get it. A cruise along the coastline reveals dwellings with curves echoing the contours of the dunes, blackened-wood façades that contrast against white sands, and glass-walled pavilions that reflect the ocean views.

But on quiet Southampton lanes where the family names are often as old as the specimen trees, a classic Hamptons sensibility feels most at home. For designer Phillip Thomas’ longtime clients—a Manhattan-based couple with young children—embracing local tradition was no deterrent to creating a house of a different color. Enlisting vernacular experts Jim McMullan and Steven Sanabria for the architecture, the homeowners set their sights on building an exquisitely crafted, quintessential Hamptons getaway filled with surprises.

“We wanted the interior to feel more organic and contemporary than their city home,” says Thomas, who incorporated unexpected counterpoints to the exterior’s graceful details. Outside, there are sweeping rooflines, stone chimneys, porches framed by rhythmic columns and silvered cedar shingles. Inside, there are ceilings with gutsy coffered crowns, door panels inlaid with strips of polished nickel and, imperatively, subtle, sophisticated splashes of pink giving everything from millwork to cushions a rosy glow. “There must be pink in every room,” Thomas says. “I’ve always loved pink, but I have an even greater affinity for it after my collaborations with these clients. Everybody looks good in a pink space and the light that reflects off a pink surface is gorgeous.”

Creating an abundance of that light was a feat that McMullan and Sanabria accomplished by orienting every living space toward the southern sun—and making magic with that gift was one of Thomas’ primary aims. “I love to use different finishes from matte to high gloss to help the light dance,” he says. When commissioning the living room’s cream-colored carpet, for example, he asked the weavers to employ a variety of tufting techniques. The result, he explains, is that they were able to “get the light to move differently across the carpet, which gave it an energy one wouldn’t think possible.”

These kinds of subtle variations also provide a sense of authenticity that served as Thomas’ North Star. “It was so much fun to work with artisans from around the world to create carpets, embroideries, finishes and fabrics that bring a relaxed richness into each space,” he says. Perfectly imperfect hard surface selects (see: octagonal ceramic tiles for the kitchen backsplash) and choice sculptural accents (like the living room’s spiky ceramic side table, “which could be a giant coral from the sea,” Thomas notes) work together to honor a sense of place while swerving from tradition.

Of course, there’s a sense of familiarity here too, particularly in the fabric selections, including Lee Jofa’s iconic Hollyhock print, which Thomas swathed prominently on a living room slipper chair in a nostalgic wink. “You could find that print in almost every Hamptons home in the 1970s and ’80s,” says the designer. “It was important to pay homage to the past in this forward-thinking interior.”

On the exterior, lush surroundings created in collaboration with landscape architect Ashley Christopher convey classic Hamptons style with equal clarity. A long driveway hemmed in by hedges leads to an auto court where the crunch of gravel under tires says, “We’re not amid the bustle of the city anymore,” McMullan notes. Around back, shaded bluestone terraces offer inviting spots to lounge while children splash in the pool. “The clients love to host games, so we wanted to make sure they had a wonderful outdoor setting to spend an entire afternoon with friends,” Thomas shares. The family room’s adjacent porch—where woven wicker furnishings are often pulled up to a grand hearth to roast s’mores—“was made for enjoying the quiet, cool nights,” he adds.

Indoors or out, the design team endeavored to create spaces tailor-made for laid-back Hamptons living. “Floor plans have changed,” Sanabria says, pointing to the lack of formal entertaining rooms. “Now, things are much more casual to give homeowners a choice of spaces to occupy as the day changes and the family evolves.” Thomas concurs: “No one feels like they’re entering a precious environment when they visit this home,” he says. “I’ll often pop by on a summer afternoon, and you can see on everyone’s faces that they’re at ease. And that’s all I could ever ask for.”