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New homes in the Hamptons often fall into two categories: cookie-cutter megamansions or super minimalist modern boxes. Architect Sarah Jacoby’s clients, a couple ready to retire after living abroad for years, wanted neither of those things when they approached her about building a home from the ground up on an undeveloped piece of family land near the beach in Bridgehampton.
Instead, they wanted a compact home that reflected the modest, traditional architecture of the region like the “saltboxes” and farmhouses. Jacoby delivered with a 3,000 square-foot home, recently completed after 13 months of construction, that has a simple rectangular footprint and pitched roof. The design is both classic and economical, and the shape of the roof helps manage the extreme weather conditions of Eastern Long Island.
“The house is clad in a natural knotty cedar that is unfinished and will continue to gray over time,” says Jacoby, noting that the material is a low-maintenance choice, “and the roof is a white metal seamed roof, again easy to maintain, but also visually bright and minimal.”
Inside, the first floor features double-height living spaces and the master suite, while two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a study, and television area are stacked above the kitchen and attached garage. To maximize the light exposures, custom windows in the main living space follow the roofline and flood the space with southern light.
“The clients wanted to build a year-round home that was efficient both in terms of maintenance and space planning, while still having a generous and gracious area for entertainment,” says Jacoby.
In addition, the east slope of the roof is covered in solar panels that provide almost 100 percent of the electrical needs. “An effort was made throughout to use sustainable and local materials when feasible,” says Jacoby, noting that about 1,600 square feet of flooring is reclaimed pine planks.
The clients had a vast collection of ornate antique furniture and lighting collected over years of living abroad that needed to be seamlessly integrated into the home. “We wanted to create a bright and modern space to complement and showcase these decorative pieces,” says Jacoby.
Tiles were a big source of inspiration for the architect, who cited the zellige tiles in the guest bathrooms, the subtle white-on-white cement tile in the master bath and the large format Mosa tiles in the laundry room as her favorites.
“We worked to make the bedrooms and kitchen a manageable scale but used the height of the large central space to give the public spaces that wow moment,” explains Jacoby. And she certainly achieved that contrast.
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