Architect | Studio Rick Joy |
Location | Bellport, New York, United States |
Area | 648 m2 (6980 sq.ft.) |
Photographs | Esto, Jeff Goldberg |
Facing southeast toward the bay, the house sits openly exposed amid a grassy field so as to allow views onto the protected wilderness area on Fire Island across the bay. The social spaces, generously glazed to the exterior, indulge visitors in a rare glimpse of the Great South Bay.
The clients wanted a weekend retreat away from the city. The design details, such as a cedar-lined car “porch” carved from the stone wall to provide shelter from the weather and a robust entryway, create an atmosphere of serenity. In the interior, the living, dining, and kitchen spaces are bisected into two equal parts by a massive fireplace that acts as the house’s center of gravity.
Exposed, weighty Douglas Fir timbers frame the ceilings, which extend to open up to two copper-clad belvederes positioned at each side of the chimney. Sunlight flooding in from above lends a soft warmth to the hand-brushed beams and flamed stone of the interior. In its materials, the house takes some cues from the history of Bellport while also inventing an aesthetic all its own. A steep slate roof sheds rain and show in the same way as the 17th-century wood-shingled houses of the area once did, but the white-painted, ship-lapped wood siding that has come to identify Bellport seaside homes is reinterpreted as stacked white granite.
The central space of the home is bookended by bedroom suites to the northeast, and a covered screened porch to the southwest. Both of these spaces allow the owners to do what they enjoy most. Between the bedroom suites, a close spatial arrangement creates an intimate gallery for displaying photography, while the screen porch is designed specifically for relaxed reading, lunching and enjoying the breeze.