When Janine Carendi MacMurray first laid eyes on the Hamptons beach house her clients had settled on, she was cautiously optimistic. “It felt very heavy, dark and dated,” recalls the designer, who nevertheless saw potential in the home’s classical architectural detailing, gracious layout and strong alfresco connection.
“She wanted the house to be really light and coastal in feel,” explains MacMurray of the wife’s directive for the vacation home, which differed from their earlier work together on the family’s primary residence in Manhattan. “I learned from the previous project that she was fun, creative, decisive and willing to say yes to things, so I took a deep breath and said yes, too.”
Situated close to the beaches and farm stands of Southampton, the house was envisioned by the designer as a laid-back launch point for the family’s many outdoor summer activities. At the same time, it needed to be cozy and welcoming during the colder winter months. To achieve this balancing act, MacMurray stripped back the interiors, removing heavy millwork and busy wallpaper and simplifying fireplace surrounds. “We loved the coffered ceilings and crown moldings, so we kept those and added herringbone oak floors and a limewash treatment to the walls,” she says. “Those were subtle changes that made a big difference.”
Home Details
Interior Design:
Janine Carendi MacMurray, AREA Interior Design
Landscape Architecture:
Gareth Mahon, RKLA Studio
Styling:
Andrew Carter Thomas
When it came to appointing the newly refined interiors, MacMurray turned to one of her passions: bespoke furnishings. “I’ve always loved designing furniture,” she reflects. “It opens up a completely different world. I’m thinking about the client, how they live and what they need for that particular space.” These one-of-a-kind pieces anchor many of the gathering areas, including a softly curved sofa in a bouclé fabric in the living room, a pair of barrel lounge chairs in the primary suite in the same design developed for the family’s city home, and an unusually shaped table for the dining room. “It’s a triangle with rounded edges, which was our solution to break up the expected rectangle or oval shape.”
MacMurray continued this element of the unexpected throughout the house, often pairing her custom furnishings with vintage lighting for glamorous contrast. “It adds layering and a bit of soul,” notes the designer of the antique fixtures she sourced, many of which are midcentury European and 1960s French Lunel. And when contemporary fixtures were introduced, MacMurray sought out heritage materials like lacquer and brass because “there’s a romance to them.”
Alongside the homeowners, the designer also leaned on newly sourced works of modern art to inject the family’s personality into the space. Pieces by Josef Albers, Damien Hirst and Alex Katz bring color and life to the home and provide a starting point for an evolving collection. “I don’t like filling every single wall right away,” MacMurray says. “They can continue to add art, which allows the home to grow with them.”
Also treated as art is the home’s indoor-outdoor composition. From the foyer, views across the living area to a wall of French doors pull the eye through the space and beckon to the grounds and pool area beyond, appointed by landscape architect Gareth Mahon. “When you arrive, your first instinct is to go through and open all the doors,” MacMurray says. A screened, three-season room offers a flexible space that functions for both warm summer evenings and crisp fall mornings. A teak dining table here finds its twin on the patio outside, allowing the owners to pull the pair together for extended seating during large summer gatherings. And yet, even in the off-season, the home maintains a welcoming feel. “It’s secluded in the best way,” MacMurray observes. “It feels like a peaceful port.”
