Located in Watermill, the heart of the Hamptons, a young family purchased this property to use as a comfortable weekend residence. They’d worked with designer Jessica Gersten on their NYC apartment in 2016, and brought her back for this project. The goal: to create a comfortable, light, and airy yet functional home for their family of five (all children ages 15 and under) and their dog.  “They wanted the home functional enough so the kids could run from outside to inside without having to worry about sand, water and dirt,” Jessica says. “The fabrics and fibers are all natural and highly functional yet look very luxurious.”

However, it was the lighting that really set the tone for the art-forward space. With eleven-foot ceilings on the first floor and double height ceiling in the foyer, the designer knew the lighting had to be dynamic, sculptural, and appropriate for a beach location. The furnishings then followed, with pieces from B and B Italia, Ligne Roset, Tod Van Mertens, Restoration Hardware, and Lawson-Fenning. 

Once the schematics of the house were completed, Jessica collaborated with Hourglass Advisory on the fine art selection by Jose Davila, Alex Prager, Christiane Feser and more, to mimic the sculptural nature of the furnishings. The design plan was in place just before the pandemic hit, so the family ended up occupying the home full time in March 2020 with nothing more than mattresses on the floor and a decades old sofa in the living room.  “Anxious for the house to be furnished, they lived through each and every furniture delivery and lighting installation, instead of one big grand install,” Jessica tells us. “As the pieces kept arriving, they brought more and more joy to the family.”

See more in the slideshow.