On The Water, This Quogue Home is Feng Shui Approved

Details

On The Waterfront in Quogue

Views and a minimalist design play off one another in an open-plan Quogue beach house.

Cream Contemporary With Spaced Roof and Glass Space Door

“We wanted an unbelievable property where we could build,” the husband says, “because we could never find anything existing that we loved.”

See Through Quogue Home with Contemporary Glass and Green Lawn

Project manager Joshua Rosensweig says the custom aluminum-frame windows and doors by Fleetwood are “painted gray to withstand the elements and so they don’t ‘pop’ or stand out too much.” Landscape architect Brad Spaulding had similar intentions. “The minimal lawn panels were meant to be a neutral foreground to views of the ocean,” he says. He used native plantings whenever possible, including Eastern Red Cedar, shadblow and pitch pine.

Glass and Door Entrance into a Nickel and Steel Interior

Two cream-and-white custom lacquer tables—one serving as a dining table, the other as an entry table—with stacked-box bases are airy anchors for casual dining and can be joined for big dinner parties. Silver-striped pendants from MSK Illuminations complement the custom stainless-steel chairs from Room, while the sheer Pindler ivory-linen draperies soften the rectilinear edges.

Spherical Nickel and Chrome Sitting Area and Dining Room with Ocean Views

Views of the beach, just beyond the dining area, are available upon entering this Quogue house thanks to first-floor elevation at 21 feet above sea level. American white-oak flooring in a custom sand-colored stain by George E. Vickers, Jr. Enterprises continues the warmth of the custom slatted-wood door from North Shore Window & Door.

Private Balcony Blue and White Bedroom with Striped Linens

With its private balcony and palette of cream and pale blue-gray, the master bedroom “is like a continuation of the water,” says interior designer Andrew Sheinman. Soft colors in the crisp linens by Zuma, the RH rug and a pair of custom chaises keep the attention on the outside scenery.

Ocean and Tree View Clear Glass Master Bathroom with Porch

The ocean views, expansive glass doors and rain showerhead in the master bathroom create the feeling of being completely outside.

Walk to the Beach Boardwalk Quogue Home Geometric Exterior

The 8-foot-wide boardwalk leads from the entrance, cuts alongside the house and continues to nearly 300 feet of beach access. “Around the terraces and pool, we used stainless-steel cable wire railing with steel handrails by Westhampton Glass & Metal to maximize the transparency,” Rosensweig says. “It’s sort of a nautical detail as well.”

Most people know it as Quogue, but the residents of this contemporary vacation home refer to the area as “Smart Hampton” due to its ease of access to Francis S. Gabreski Airport. “It’s easy to get to,” says the husband of the convenient location of his family summer house designed by architect Stuart Disston and project manager Joshua Rosensweig. The location was a big selling point but so was a second factor: the availability of a rare triple lot with 275 feet of oceanfront expanse. “We wanted an unbelievable property where we could build,” the husband says, “because we could never find anything existing that we loved.” 

Together with builder George Vickers, Jr., interior designer Andrew Sheinman and landscape architect Brad Spaulding, the team manifested the homeowners’ dream: an 11,000-square-foot beach house with seamless indoor-outdoor transitions, sleek contemporary furnishings and panoramic views that sweep from the ocean to the bay. The effect is dramatized by an open double-height living area enclosed in glass, where the scenery on opposite sides is visible straight through the house from floor to ceiling. 

The first level consists of the main living spaces, the kitchen and three bedrooms. Additional sleeping quarters, including the master bedroom, as well as a bar and playroom are housed upstairs. A glass-enclosed wood bridge suspended above the living room leads to the master suite and echoes the 8-foot-wide private boardwalk that extends from the entry terrace to the ocean. That passageway begins between the ipe-and-Bulgarian-limestone-wrapped house to the right and a guest wing to the left, then goes over the pool and down to the water. “It creates a nice procession,” Disston says. To get to the beach, the homeowners don’t even have to step inside. “Imagine if you’re having a pool party,” the architect says. “You can have guests walk straight out to the beach and pool.” 

If the setting sounds especially enchanting, it’s because it is. Before purchasing, the homeowners hired feng shui master David Cho to analyze the property to ensure it was suited for good health and success; indeed, it was. (Some of Cho’s insight: A home should be higher than the road, because height offers protection, and having a body of water in front—such as the bay—is beneficial because it attracts opportunity.) “I wouldn’t buy a property without a feng shui analysis,” the husband says. 

When it came to the interiors, the family took cues from the surroundings. “Because this is a summer home for the client, they wanted it to have a beachy feel,” Sheinman says. “We created big open living spaces to maximize the water views and chose materials like limestone that call to mind the color and texture of sand.” The palette is a cool beige, so “pops of white feel fresh and modern,” the designer says. That translates to a yacht-like white lacquer that retains its color—“a non-yellowing white,” he says. Furnishings are sleek and unobtrusive, like stacked rectilinear cocktail tables and sculptural end tables. Even the sectional in the panoramic living area lacks armrests and, in parts, back rests. Coupled with a white Barcelona daybed, its minimal nature serves a purpose: Why interrupt the view? 

Chrome, silver and nickel are sparkling accents throughout the house, from glamorous pendant lighting in the dining area to the bases of barstools that overlook the ocean. Vickers notes the attention to detail at every turn, adding, “Even each bathroom has its own particular theme based on using very unique fabricated stone slabs for the backdrop of the showers.” 

Altogether, it was those details that gave the homeowners the ultimate sense of satisfaction when, after not seeing the project for eight months, they finally visited a completed house. Today, the husband entertains business colleagues at the spacious home just as easily as he and his wife host their children and a gaggle of friends. “It’s a beautiful, magnificent feeling when you come into the house,” the husband says. “I can’t believe the energy, and everyone says so. It’s just unbelievable.” 

Liz Arnold