Houzz Tour: Rolling With the Seasons in a New York Beach House
With plush sheepskins for winter and an airy vibe for summer, this Long Island home appeals all year round
“This place didn’t have a soul,” says interior designer Heide Hendricks of her Manhattan clients’ newly built vacation house in Oyster Bay, New York. The homeowners had a wonderful start with antiques and a photography collection, but the home’s light neutral palette, fine in summer, felt cold in winter. Hendricks warmed it up for year-round enjoyment with layers of textiles, rich wood, artwork, pleasing color and patina, giving it the feel of a farmhouse with well-traveled owners. Now the house has the worn-in appeal of a favorite pair of jeans — cozy in winter but maintaining an airy beach vibe during the summer.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: This is the second home of a couple with 2 young daughters.
Location: Oyster Bay, New York
Size: 2,400 square feet (223 square meters), 4 bedrooms, 3½ bathrooms
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: This is the second home of a couple with 2 young daughters.
Location: Oyster Bay, New York
Size: 2,400 square feet (223 square meters), 4 bedrooms, 3½ bathrooms
The homeowners longed to make the living room, with its triple-height ceiling, cozier. “Proportions like this can eat up furniture,” Hendricks says. She made the ceiling feel lower by painting it a darker color and by adding an oversize antique copper lantern.
A large painting of a bisected tree adds a big punch of red. It too stands up to the room, halting the eye at one-story ceiling height; note how the top lines up with the transoms on either side. Thonet chairs add wonderful bentwood curves around a round 19th-century French tavern table.
Hendricks worked with her clients’ existing coffee table and sofa, which were well suited to the style she was going for. Inky indigo hues provide a global touch on pillows and the wingback chair’s suzani fabric.
Suzani fabric: Schumacher; art: Bryan Nash Gill; poufs: Hudson Supermarket; trim paint: Studio Green, Farrow & Ball; wall paint: Pointing, Farrow & Ball
A large painting of a bisected tree adds a big punch of red. It too stands up to the room, halting the eye at one-story ceiling height; note how the top lines up with the transoms on either side. Thonet chairs add wonderful bentwood curves around a round 19th-century French tavern table.
Hendricks worked with her clients’ existing coffee table and sofa, which were well suited to the style she was going for. Inky indigo hues provide a global touch on pillows and the wingback chair’s suzani fabric.
Suzani fabric: Schumacher; art: Bryan Nash Gill; poufs: Hudson Supermarket; trim paint: Studio Green, Farrow & Ball; wall paint: Pointing, Farrow & Ball
Upstairs the hallway serves as a cozy library, a favorite spot in cold months. Hendricks had the owners’ existing chairs covered in green-apple velvet by Schumacher. Sheepskins also cozy up the house in winter; you’ll see them used throughout the second floor.
The kitchen exemplifies the moves Hendricks made. She reused as much as possible; the kitchen table and cabinets were existing.
The cabinets and trim are now a soft, beachy green that works well with antiques, and bin pulls add a simple farmhouse vibe. She added patina via an antique Belgian farm table that serves as an island, as well as large vintage light fixtures.
She had the floors stripped down to give them a natural, untreated look and layered beautiful textiles on the floor. Finally, she added more contemporary touches, like kitchen chairs from BDDW.
Belgian farm table: Privet House
The cabinets and trim are now a soft, beachy green that works well with antiques, and bin pulls add a simple farmhouse vibe. She added patina via an antique Belgian farm table that serves as an island, as well as large vintage light fixtures.
She had the floors stripped down to give them a natural, untreated look and layered beautiful textiles on the floor. Finally, she added more contemporary touches, like kitchen chairs from BDDW.
Belgian farm table: Privet House
In the corner of the kitchen, a unique wingback chair’s upholstery includes an oil painting canvas on the back, which picks up on the soft green trim.
Chairs: BDDW; trim paint: Teresa’s Green, Farrow & Ball
Chairs: BDDW; trim paint: Teresa’s Green, Farrow & Ball
“I love a dark color on doors and trim,” Hendricks says. A grid of vintage metal numbers adds a graphic touch that stands up to the room’s size. Without them the table would have been lost against that big wall. Clip-on task lamps allow the space to serve as a work/project area as well as a dining area.
The family had a head start in their layers of textiles; on a recent trip to Turkey they picked out some dazzling kilims at the markets. Classic Cherner dining chars bring in a midcentury modern touch. The leather safari chair brings more textures to the mix.
Numbers: Vincent Mulford Antiques
The family had a head start in their layers of textiles; on a recent trip to Turkey they picked out some dazzling kilims at the markets. Classic Cherner dining chars bring in a midcentury modern touch. The leather safari chair brings more textures to the mix.
Numbers: Vincent Mulford Antiques
The master bedroom is a contemporary interpretation of Shaker style, beautiful in its simplicity. The reproduction bed stands up to the vaulted ceiling.
Bed: The Country Bed Shop
Bed: The Country Bed Shop
The homeowners already had the antique beds in this bedroom. Hendricks added an industrial touch via the steel nightstands.
A sheepskin atop an Oriental rug feels wonderful on cold feet during the winter, while simple sconces provide good reading light. Another painted ceiling cozies up the space.
When warm weather comes again, simple changes like subtracting a few linens and the sheepskins will convert the room from cuddled up to light and summery.
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A sheepskin atop an Oriental rug feels wonderful on cold feet during the winter, while simple sconces provide good reading light. Another painted ceiling cozies up the space.
When warm weather comes again, simple changes like subtracting a few linens and the sheepskins will convert the room from cuddled up to light and summery.
Browse more homes by style:
Small Homes | Colorful Homes | Eclectic Homes | Modern Homes | Contemporary Homes | Midcentury Homes | Ranch Homes | Traditional Homes | Barn Homes | Townhouses | Apartments | Lofts | Vacation Homes