Design house: An elegant summer retreat in New York – beautifully restored to perfection

The renovation of this summer home in Southampton, New York was truly a labor of love for the owners, whose wish it was to restore the character and charm to this once remarkable property. 

To do so, the owners entrusted Becca Casey of Becca Interiors to complete the redesign. After developing an ability to blend the reclaimed with refined and the ordinary with ornamental, Becca has developed a unique design ethos. With that, her approachable designs and refreshing honesty has captured an array of clientele. 

We speak to Becca Casey about the design project. 

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The property

When the family first purchased the home, the original allure of this village property had been stripped of any character by the previous occupants.

Sadly, what once was a charming cottage, had been turned into an open-plan layout that was devoid of coziness. 

When my clients approached me to redesign this space, they wanted to restore the homes original charm whilst creating a floor plan that would work for their growing family.

I immediately know that I wanted to section out most of the first floor – to create comfortable pockets within the home – for the family to find space away from the inevitable chaos of family life. 

The day we installed this beautiful space, was also the day that New York State announced an imminent shut down. 

We hurried to get everything placed and ready to present only to find out that the clients would indefinitely be escaping their city loft, to stay at their new summer home for months ahead. 

The timing was rather serendipitous, and we were just so relieved that they have a beautiful home to seek refuge in, and away from city life.

Living room

We restored the living room space to its original layout, with the fireplace serving as the heart of the room. 

Although we could not reconstruct the original fireplace, we sourced an antique pine mantle, paired with hand picked vintage brick to frame the firebox and add an antique affect. 

A mixture of found vintage accessories are staged throughout, mostly sourced from vintage stores and markets in Connecticut and New York.

Finally, the majority of the rooms in this property were clad in shiplap to visually extend the heights of the ceiling and create an added layer.

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Dining room

After spotting an antique white breadboard table which was out of budget, we commissioned our carpenter to recreate a similar style, and add a build up of coats of white paint to give it an older affect. 

Here, the dining table is surrounded by Mid-Century wishbone chairs in a grey washed stain and rush seat. 

The antique fishing baskets are repurposed as pendants over the table, with a teak dining server to hold food for social gatherings, while an vintage indigo rug was sourced for the space to bring the continuation of blues through the home.

Kitchen

The kitchen was in relatively good condition, but to give it more character we opted to paint the existing cabinets and add aged brass hardware. The soft blue-gray color contrasts beautifully against the assortment of cupboard latches and brass pulls. 

Antique Hungarian kitchen pendants hang over the island, and an antique hemp runner adds a softness underfoot. 

Lastly, accessories from our online shop Ayr Barns are decorated throughout. 

Breakfast room

The breakfast room was an extra room created from the original open floor plan. We were able to partition part of the family room off to create this space which looks out onto the families pool. 

A custom designed banquette holds blue ticking stripe loose seat cushions, with the back cushions hung by an iron wall rod. 

A collection of vintage oil portraits brighten the space with sea colors, most of which were sourced from local flea markets by the client. 

To add the character back into the space, an antique table was re-stained in a warmer nutmeg color, with vintage cane dining chairs from a French Cafe. 

Guest room

Keeping in with the neutral theme in the rest of the home, we included a custom Verellen fold-out couch – upholstered in a flax linen – with layered hemp rugs underneath for texture. 

As this room is often used for guests, we wanted to ensure that the furniture wasn't taking up unnecessary amounts of space. Here, a pair of storage ottomans can be picked up and moved with ease. 

Interior design / Becca Interiors (opens in new tab)

Photography / Rikki Snyder (opens in new tab)