2016 Winners

Winner

LaGuardia Design Group

LaGuardia Design Group

Winner
Website

It might be possible to live well in a house without walls. This glass cabana and wood arbor, situated high on a Montauk bluff, argues the point, incorporating cozy seating and dining areas, a TV lounge, and a kitchen.

It also includes a private spa, bath, and novel surfboard storage area.

“The perfect summer pavilion.” — Matthew Patrick Smyth

Winner

Dale Cohen Design Studio

Dale Cohen Design Studio

Winner
Website

What was once a cramped attic space in Southampton is now an “ethereal and otherworldly” bath, thanks to frameless glass panels, large-scale Baltic stone tiles, and striated marble countertops.

“Clean and simple, and I love the use of light,” — Aerin Lauder

Winner

Marbella Credenza KAVANTE


Marbella Credenza KAVANTE

Winner
Website

Kavante’s credenza features a heady mix of shagreen, charcoal bird’s-eye maple, and stainless steel. It’s as versatile and functional as the origami motifs that inspired it.

Winner

Pembrooke Fine Landscapes

Pembrooke Fine Landscapes

Winner
Website

This backyard retreat in Mattituck already had deep roots as a working farm, so Pembrooke Fine Landscapes chose to keep that expanse of land as the primary view—despite pool-fence zoning regulations, which were met with a ha-ha variation that sits low to the ground.

A pergola was fashioned of rough-sawn red cedar, one of several natural materials that speak to the property’s 19th-century barn and the neat rows of plantings.

“The scheme is most respectful of the indigenous environment and context” — Lee Mindel

Winner

L&L Designs

L&L Designs

Winner
Website

The owners of this well-proportioned spec house in Sag Harbor asked for a beach retreat with “more than a touch of glam, a place where they could entertain friends and family,” recalls designer Laura Michaels.

She responded by creating a mostly gray palette that judge Michael Haverland describes as “soothing and consistent.”

“striking, handsome materials and textures.” — Matthew Patrick

Winner

Stelle Lomont Rouhani Architects

Stelle Lomont Rouhani Architects

Winner
Website

Who says eat-in kitchens need to be located indoors? The owner of this kitchen wanted to cook for his guests on the deck overlooking the ocean, so the architects installed an island large enough to accommodate all the requisite appliances.

The pièce de résistance: a double-sided wood-fired stove that also acts as a fireplace. Judge Matthew Patrick Smyth says would “love to be invited to dinner.”

“waiting for the party” — Ron Wendt

Winner

Bates Masi + Architects

Bates Masi + Architects

Winner
Website

In the Hamptons, size does matter. But the owners of this Amagansett residence wanted a house just large enough for their family—and one that responded to its site amid rolling dunes.

The result: “a regional architecture based not on style, but on environmental factors,” says principal Paul Masi, who incorporated sculptural, yet functional louvered windows that accommodate cross breezes while regulating sunlight.

The panel used such adjectives as “striking,” “elegant,” and “beautiful” to describe the project’s façade, which judge Aerin Lauder likens to a backgammon set.

An open and airy floor plan takes advantage of all the natural light.

Finalist

Julia Roth Design

Julia Roth Design

Finalist
Website

In this East Hampton residence, Julia Roth was careful to stick to a palette of earthy materials: stone, steel, concrete, and wood, as evidenced by a dramatic two-story fireplace clad in ipe. The owner’s antique wood sculptures and abstract paintings serve as sources of color throughout, along with select pops of vibrant hues in the furnishings. Wendt praises the project’s “horizontal lines and great, fun colors.”

Finalist

Martin Architects

Martin Architects

Finalist
Website

A lot of living can be done in a small space when it is “organized and very well thought out,” which is what Smyth says of this East Hampton pool pavilion. The streamlined structure, which fully embraces its narrow site and responds to the natural terrain, features many of the same materials found in the main residence, including mahogany and aluminum.

Finalist

Stelle Lomont Rouhani Architects

Stelle Lomont Rouhani Architects

Finalist
Website

Montauk’s Bluff Hollow, built in 1980, was renovated by architecture firm Stelle Lomont Rouhani with the intention of creating a peaceful, contemplative retreat—and now surfboards hang from the ceiling of what was once a photographer’s studio.

Smyth is ready to move in, exclaiming, “This is my dream house—it’s all I need!”

“Shows respect for the generic Hamptons silhouette” — Lee Mindel

Finalist

Kim Outdoor Side Table Max ID NY


Kim Outdoor Side Table Max ID NY

Finalist
Website

One might be surprised to learn that this seemingly masculine table was inspired by women’s high heels. The base of the teak structure contains high-polished stainless-steel insets, which lend extra support.

Finalist

Koi Fish Rug Vivid Blueprint


Koi Fish Rug Vivid Blueprint

Finalist
Website

Burnt orange accents energize the wool Koi Fish rug, designed by East Hampton–based Vivid Blueprint and handwoven in Nepal. The pattern is a nod to designer Temidra Willock’s father, a landscaper who is a fan of koi ponds.

Finalist

Dale Cohen Design Studio

Dale Cohen Design Studio

Finalist
Website

To renovate this kitchen, designer Dale Cohen virtually started over, relocating the oven, refrigerator, wine cooler, and pantry to a back wall, installing minimal furnishings, and opening up the space to the house’s living room and media area. This “subtle and perfect solution for the house,” remarks Smyth, is “simple, clean, and unpretentious,” says Groves.

Finalist

Jolie Korek & Company

Jolie Korek & Company

Finalist
Website

The client for this kitchen, who hosts frequent parties and fundraisers, wanted a space that the designers describe as “urban cool in an otherwise serene beach house.” Black-stained oak shelves, an ample island, and reclaimed beams evoke a sleek, downtown vibe, something judge Russell Groves calls “very dramatic.”

Finalist

Dale Cohen Design Studio

Dale Cohen Design Studio

Finalist
Website

“Simplicity is hard to do, and this does it,” says judge Russell Groves of Dale Cohen’s concept for a Southampton saltbox. After spearheading the home’s renovation, Cohen took advantage of the large, vaulted spaces, hanging iconic wallpaper patterns from Knoll, imbuing the rooms with various shades of blue, and employing modernist textiles worthy of a design museum. “Well-edited and refined,” concludes Smyth.

Finalist

Lear + Mahoney Landscape Associates

Lear + Mahoney Landscape Associates

Finalist
Website

It’s hard to believe that only a few years ago a dated ranch house stood on the same Southampton plot as this newly built Palladian-style villa with picturesque formal gardens. “It has a classic style, but one that looks fresh and beautiful,” says Smyth.

Lear + Mahoney’s expertly delineated spaces include an entrance courtyard, multiple terraces, a sitting garden with a fountain, a pool and spa, a variety of fruit, herb, and vegetable gardens, and a butterfly garden.

Finalist

Pembrooke and Ives

Pembrooke and Ives

Finalist
Website

For a master bath located in a new addition to a historic Sag Harbor home, Pembrooke and Ives decided to reference the past, pairing wide-plank oak flooring against modern elements like a marble shower, a sleek vanity, and an egg-shaped soaking tub.

Finalist

Paris K Design

Paris K Design

Finalist
Website

The owners of this Mattituck residence were game for stripping down their existing bath to the studs, but they weren’t willing to part with their Jacuzzi. The layout was reconfigured to accommodate a two-person shower, a vanity with a cantilevered counter, and floors with radiant heat—plus the Jacuzzi, which holds a prominent position adjacent to a wall of windows.

Finalist

Barnes Coy Architects

Barnes Coy Architects

Finalist
Website

Barnes Coy refers to its positioning of this East Quogue residence on a dune as “the most intimate relationship with the beach possible.” Indeed, the house, which Lauder characterizes as “soft and fluid,” references the kind of mid-20th-century modern design that once defined the Hamptons. Essentially, the structure assumes two shapes that work in perfect harmony: a two-story cylinder joined with a rectilinear box.

3rd place

COOKFOX Architects

COOKFOX Architects

3rd place
Website

In addition to the obvious natural attractions of the ocean and dunes, one of the most conspicuous landmarks in Westhampton is the Double Diamond house, which was designed by Andrew Geller in 1959. By the time CookFox Architects began its restoration, redesign, and reorientation, the house had devolved to near collapse. The architects set the diamond-shaped components on new stilts, added a courtyard, and built a boardwalk and pool. Newly revived, the house is once again “a dynamic, sculptural element in the landscape,” says judge Ron Wendt.

2nd place

Susanne Kelley Design

Susanne Kelley Design

2nd place
Website

For an architecturally distinctive house in Amagansett, designer Susanne Kelley maximized textures while minimizing colors, adding warmth to otherwise streamlined rooms. She chose not to compete with the vistas through the floor-to-ceiling glass walls and instead allowed the landscape to become another element of the design. “I love the open views to the trees beyond, which reflect the grays inside,” remarks judge Ron Wendt.

2nd place

Martin Architects

Martin Architects

2nd place
Website

This kitchen’s elements are minimal and sculptural, with a concrete island that appears to float inside the space, positioned to take in views through the floor-to-ceiling glass walls. “The island is well situated and nicely proportioned,” says judge Michael Haverland, while Wendt remarks on the “beautiful relationship” that the component parts have with the exterior.

2nd place

LaGuardia Design Group

LaGuardia Design Group

2nd place
Website

Anyone entering this garden adjacent to a private home in Sagaponack will likely feel transported to an exotic oceanfront resort. In other words, “soothing, lush, natural, and relaxed,” according to judge Matthew Patrick Smyth.

LaGuardia Design Group configured the garden along a central axis, off of which lies an apple orchard and a series of outdoor rooms, each with a distinct function. An infinity-edge pool helps link the spaces visually.

2nd place

Quandry Table Berg Design Architecture


Quandry Table Berg Design Architecture

2nd place
Website

Berg Design Architecture channeled M. C. Escher when creating this glass-top table, the base of which—available in clear ash or American walnut—has the quality of an optical illusion.

2nd place

Stelle Lomont Rouhani Architects

Stelle Lomont Rouhani Architects

2nd place
Website

During the day, sunshine pours into a frameless skylight above a marble-clad shower, and at night, the starry sky reveals itself. No wonder judge Russell Groves admires this Amagansett bath’s seamless “connection to the outdoors.” A simple, elegant palette of materials defines the space, down to white-oak floors that reference the balcony decking beyond, while glass walls and sliding mahogany doors frame panoramic views of the dunes.

2nd place

Alicia Murphy Design

Alicia Murphy Design

2nd place
Website

Surf’s up at Ditch Plains in Montauk, where this two-bedroom, two-bath, 810-square-foot trailer functions perfectly for a young family of four.

The black-and-white decor and handsome cedar-clad exterior are “simplicity at its best,” says judge Russell Groves.

“successfully restrained and casually elegant.” — Michael Haverland

2nd place

Blaze Makoid Architecture

Blaze Makoid Architecture

2nd place
Website

Tradition takes on new meaning at this Southampton home. From the outside, two gable-roofed structures form an L shape, which cradles a modernist glass box.

Rooms contained within the L portion are classically proportioned, while those in the more modern wing assume an open plan. Blaze Makoid expertly melded traditional forms with novel ones, right down to the interior moldings. Judge Russell Groves sums up the architecture as “sharp, with pleasing proportions and a contrast of materials.”