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1840s Bridgehampton Farmhouse
Bridgehampton, New York
This newly renovated residence sits on a prominent corner in the Village of Bridgehampton, New York. We transformed an existing, disjointed structure into a home that fulfills a young family’s vision of a summer retreat and fits their modern lifestyle. The central mass of the Main House was built in the 1840s as a simple colonial farmhouse. At the same time, an older schoolhouse was relocated to the site to form the North Wing. The South Wing is the result of two subsequent additions, in the 1870s and in the mid-to-late 1900s. The latter concealed some of the original Colonial elements behind Italianate details.
What followed was a complete metamorphosis of the main house and two accessory structures. The main house was taken down to studs, and the interior was completely reorganized. On the exterior, eclectic detailing and additions were removed to establish a unified style, using original Colonial details as a guide. The transformation continued behind the home, where two utilitarian garden sheds were repurposed into a sophisticated pool house and entertainment pavilion. This renovation brought new life to an aging Hamptons farmhouse and created a home that this young family will cherish for many years to come.
The new façade maximizes the historic attributes of the house, while making it more stylistically cohesive. However, the most impactful gesture was elevating the front lawn so that the front porch, previously perched awkwardly above the lawn, now sits comfortably at ground level.
The incongruous tower and shed additions were removed. A cross gable mass was added to allow for a new primary suite and a large living room with a fluid connection to the rear yard.
The success of this project relied not only upon a transformation of the house but also a reimagining of the site. The driveway and auto court were shifted to the opposite side of the property making it safer and less conspicuous. Once open to the busy intersection, the front and side yards are now concealed behind a deep wall of privet and holly, creating a private oasis. With the new parking area discretely screened from the house behind mature boxwoods, the front yard was transformed from an underutilized zone to an active part of the landscape.
In the main Entry Hall, the original front stair was refinished, and more light was introduced via a half-glass Dutch door, new windows, and interior openings. The Dutch door was repeated at the informal entry into the mudroom.
The new mudroom provides a comfortable, yet presentable space for the every-day entry used by the family and guests. A wall of half-glass doors and panels separate the powder and laundry rooms from the mudroom, but still allows for shared natural light between the spaces.
The mudroom door is directly on axis with the new living room at the back of the house. While we raised the landscape in the front, we lowered it in the rear. This allowed us to sink the living room below the adjacent mudroom and kitchen to give it as much head height as possible.
The Living Room’s footprint was enlarged, and windows were added on two sides. Despite these alterations, we were able to preserve the quirky charm of the original winding staircase, which leads to the bedroom suites.
Glass doors fold open along the rear façade, opening the living room to the backyard.
Formerly the living room, the new kitchen features a wall of sliding windows that open to the skylighted porch.
THE DINING ROOM
The historic Schoolhouse returned to a simpler massing, and the space was renovated to provide a one-and-a-half story den.
New clerestory windows allow additional exposures of natural light into the space.
In contrast to the first floor, which retains the original ceiling height, the primary suite has a vaulted ceiling thanks to the added cross gable on the rear and space borrowed from the attic above.
A sleeping porch in the primary suite, has a desk nook with a view to the rear yard and pool.
Two pre-existing sheds were rebuilt, maintaining their original footprints.
The repurposed structures now serve as a pool house and entertainment pavilion for the family.
The color palette of the house helps it recede into the privet hedge.
A kota stone terrace provides space for outdoor dining adjacent to the pool house.
Once an unused, unwelcoming afterthought, now the narrow leg of the L-shaped property is a sophisticated environment for outdoor entertaining and hospitality.
