Spaces: Deborah Berke with Form Architecture + Interiors: Long Island

By Donna Paul:

"Noted contemporary architect Deborah Berke began her work on this new summer home by going for long drives with her client Herbert Sambol along the meandering lanes of East Hampton and the nearby pastures of Wainscott and Sagaponack. To help focus their collective process, they photographed historic houses, barns and outbuildings as they drove. Specific elements of those classic structures provided inspiration for the design of the 4,300-square-foot house, yet the finished product reinterprets its local predecessors in unanticipated ways.

The house expresses Berke's trademark style: spare, concise, almost austere, which is what attracted Sambol to her work. "It was great to have a client who would embrace the rigor," says Berke, who is on the faculty of the Yale School of Architecture. "We both wanted a style that would relate to the history of the region without being slavish to the past," says the homeowner, a real estate investor.

For the interior decor, Sambol hired Brent Leonard and Sean Webb, principals of Form Architecture + Interiors. Having worked with them on his former house, he thought their aesthetic would be sympathetic with Berke's restrained spaces. "They worked closely with the architectural team [which included project architect Rhoda Kennedy] to modulate the interiors," says Sambol. Leonard explains Form's look as casual yet luxurious. "We are not cluttery," he says. "We like to select beautiful objects that come together in a dialogue," as they do in the 32-foot-long living room, where three seating areas create both grandeur and intimacy, Webb says."

The interior is adorned with a wealth of 20th century modern classics. The living room features a Karl Springer Dining Table surrounded by Poul Kjaerholm PK9 chairs, a Paavo Tynell pendant lamp, the armchairs are vintage Thonet. The library features a Paul Evans coffee table and 4 Antti Nurmesniemi swivel chairs in leather and brass. The dining room features a set of George Nelson Steel Frame chairs, and a Gino Sarfatti chandelier. The dressing room has a Gideon Kramer Ion chair, and the entry hall has a String chair by Canadian Jacques Guillon. One of the guest bedrooms features an Arne Jacobsen Egg Chair and a vintage Blenko lamp. Outside on the deck is a classic Eero Saarinen Tulip side table.

Photos by Antoine Bootz.

Via Metropolitian Home.