The kitchen and dining room walls and ceiling are coated in CC-50 White Down with trims in OC-9 Ballet White, with Boaz Sharoni woven shades by HARTMANN&FORBES. Also featured are fixtures by Waterworks, a Louis Poulsen Artichoke lamp designed by Poul Henningsen, a Dos Gallos dining table in rift oak, Børge Mogensen J39 chairs in oak wood and rope, and a Crate & Barrel vase.
A cottage on a Southampton estate in New York has been reimagined to accommodate a revolving door of family and friends.
When the owners purchased their Long Island home three decades ago, they always planned to extend their cottage to host extended guests. Now, with three grown sons, they turned to their trusted designer, architect Clive Lonstein, to redesign the guest house to comfortably accommodate six bedrooms for their circle of family and friends.
Central to the new design is the harmony with its natural setting, where the guest house extension appears to have been established for quite some time. “Rather than imposing itself on the natural beauty of the environment, the home sits modestly, allowing the breathtaking greenery to be the focal point,” Lonstein says. Taking cues from the Hamptons’ architectural codes, the home sits unobtrusively on the estate with its verdant surroundings, quietly blending traditional and enduring sensibilities. “The home’s linear form maintains a classic cottage aesthetic, but with a contemporary planning style that prioritises openness and natural light,” Lonstein adds.
The living room features a custom Pierre Frey sofa, Miguel Milá TMM floor lamp, custom ottoman in Dedar fabric, Cisco Home lounge chairs, Holly Hunt bar reading lamp in gold bronze patina, Wyeth Machinist cast iron Cube side table, Reino Ruokolainen Stugo lounge chairs, Uno & Östen Kristiansson Luxus oak stool, Christopher Maschinot Apophysis lamp with hand-built stoneware, and ‘Net-Grid’ (2017) by Mandy El-Sayegh.
Featured in the main foyer is a Josef Frank no. 1020 table model in walnut and almond tree wood veneer, a custom ottoman in fabric by Claremont, paprika bowl by Freeforms, artwork by Anna-Lisa Thomson for Upsala-Ekeby sourced from Hostler Burrows, terracotta vessel by Myungjin Kim (2024), and a vintage bench.
A connection with the serene parklands is cultivated by inserting French doors into the guest house, allowing all rooms, including the bedrooms, to access the gardens without using the main entrance. An essence of openness is also achieved through the intricate interplay of ceiling heights, enabling natural light to radiate through the spaces while creating warmth and spaciousness within the various zones of the residence. “One of the key features of the design is the clever use of architectural elements, like the vaulted peaked ceilings in the bedrooms and bathrooms. This treatment elevates the sense of space, making even the most intimate rooms feel open and airy,” Lonstein explains.
Steering away from the typical coastal aesthetic, Lonstein wanted to embrace the parklands throughout the home’s interiors. “The serene colour palette all draw the eye to the views beyond, creating a space that feels at peace with nature rather than competing with it”, Lonstein says. Grounding the house further within its natural environment, oak timber floors are in dialogue with the neighbouring forest.
Warmth is embedded through layered textures and materials that furnish the home, through a gentle blend of modern and antique furnishings, lighting, VJ panelling, traditional hardware and pedestal sinks in the bathrooms, and wallpaper. An extensive collection of artworks and photographs colours the spaces, delivering a sense of a home that has been collected and lived in over time.
Through its strong connection with nature and considered material palette, Lonstein has crafted a spacious yet intimate guest house.
The lounge room features window treatments by Boaz Sharoni in fabric by de Le Cuona, an extra-large Louis Poulsen Artichoke lamp designed by Poul Henningsen, a custom Montauk Sofa in fabric by Rogers & Goffigon, Vigilant Design custom coffee table in blackened steel and glass, a Danish mid-century vase by Kähler Keramik, a custom ottoman, a 1950s Austrian Dornstab floor lamp designed by J.T. Kalmar, Christopher Maschinot leaf table lamp crafted with hand-built stoneware, and a Holly Hunt medium bar reading lamp in bronze patina.
The bedroom features a Patterson Flynn Martin rug, an oak Lawson Fenning Chiselhurst bed with headboard fabric by Pat Mcgann Neeru Kumar—handwoven from tree ivory, a pair of handcrafted oak and walnut night stands, Workstead shaded Vault sconces, a Studio Tashtego ‘Insung Yoon’ Moon Jar n. 3, Hans J. Wegner model 671 lounge chair, and ‘Giclée’ (2006-2009) by John James Audubon from Oppenheimer Editions.
Waterworks fixtures, a Jamb Mulberry Globe pendant, Workstead Park III bath sconce, and vintage 1970s Swedish table lamps in solid pine in the bathroom.
The outdoor patio features Munder Skiles Cantor Collection lounge chairs, a c.1900s stone drum for a stool with an interlocking design, Michele Verian turned marble water pot and fumed round ceramic pot, and Cape Cod ceiling lanterns CCL4204 in dark brass and frosted glass.
