HAMPTONS WITH A TWIST

Adding a dash of refined Scandinavian style to this holiday house resulted in a serene space for family time

This New York City-based family’s weekender in the Hamptons is packed with designer cred

Drawn in by the romantically long driveway, Andrea Safirstein and her husband Adam found this Hamptons property nearly four years ago. “We fell in love with the privacy and the beautiful backyard that backs up to protected land and hiking trails,” says Andrea, a professor of psychology at New York’s Columbia University. “The backyard has so many di erent birds, hydrangea bushes and beech trees.”

The original home’s surrounds ticked all the boxes, set in a picturesque street in Amagansett, one of the small beach towns that make up the Hamptons. However, the interiors left a lot to be desired – built in 1992, the two-bedder didn’t suit the needs of their young family, even as a holiday home away from the city.

“The master bedroom upstairs had a den and a huge master bathroom – that was the whole floor,” says Andrea, who, with her husband Adam, a doctor, has three children – daughters Isabel, 16; and Piper, 13; and son Japhy, 9. “We needed three bedrooms upstairs, and an extra bathroom for the kids. Now my son has his own room and my girls share a bunk room – they love sharing it. We live in New York City, so we don’t mind smaller spaces. They’ve never known any di erent!”

Andrea and Adam found Jessica Helgerson of Jessica Helgerson Interior Design (JHID) online after seeing Jessica’s own house and being inspired by its design. Although she’s based on the other side of the US in Oregon, Jessica was in New York at the time they contacted her. She met the couple and immediately wanted the job. “After hearing Andrea’s aesthetic aspirations, I wanted to pour my design energy into radically transforming the home,” says Jessica.

Partnering with New York firm TBD Architecture + Design Studio, Jessica and Chelsie Lee, JHID’s senior designer, came up with a plan for the home. “Nearly every room shifted,” says Jessica. “We moved the kitchen to the site of a screened porch, adding space to the footprint. We opened up the staircase and added two bedrooms and one bathroom. Then we added two rooms with built-in sofas for reading and relaxing.” Says Chelsie: “We wanted this home to reflect our stylish clients and become a backdrop to their weekend visits, where they like to spend time as a family.”

Retaining the best of the original house, the oak floors were bleached and Jessica added wooden planks and beams to the ceilings. “The palette is very restrained – pale wood, whitepainted wood, handmade white tiles, marble and brass,” she says. To complement this pared-back colour scheme, Jessica selected natural tones for the interior, with the inclusion of warm leather

accents for the living areas and bedrooms, raw-wood furniture and nubby wools for floorcoverings. “We were inspired by Andrea and Adam’s taste when selecting the furniture, lighting and art,” she says. “It’s a mix of trendier modern pieces and timeless Scandinavian pieces.”

Many homeowners find it di cult to let a professional assume the style and design direction of their home, but Andrea and Adam were grateful to hand over that responsibility. “Adam and I are doctors, so there isn’t much design inspiration in our work environments! As long as the space didn’t resemble a waiting room, we were happy,” says Andrea.

She couldn’t be happier with the result, either. “There are so many parts I love that it’s hard to pick a favourite,” says Andrea. “I love the big dining table, the kitchen island, the custom sofas and the bunk beds in the girls’ room. I also love the Hans J Wegner ‘Circle’ chair in the living room, and the small Galvin Brothers stool in the sunroom. I could go on and on!”

The exterior was also revitalised. “It received minor changes, such as new windows, a new portico and front porch, and new paint,” says Jessica. Adds Andrea: “It dramatically changed the look. We also had one area of the garden professionally landscaped and I spent hours pruning and weeding and planting the rest.”

And so a tired old Hamptons girl has become the holiday home of Andrea and Adam’s dreams. “To us, home is where you can go and always be safe and loved and hide from the rest of the world,” says Andrea. “The environment a ects our mood, and if we love the look of where we are, we are much happier people.” For more of Jessica’s work, visit jhinteriordesign.com. To see other projects by TBD Architecture + Design Studio, visit tbddesignstudio.com.

EXTERIOR (left) An all-white paint job, new windows and a new front porch have done wonders for homeowners Andrea and Adam’s getaway. LIVING AREA Raked ceilings open up the space, creating an airy, breezy feel. The Jardan ‘ Wilfred’ sofa and ‘Alby’ ottoman are paired with the sculptural Hans J Wegner ‘PP130 Circle’ chair, ‘PP120’ stool and ‘CH28’ armchairs for PP Møbler (try Cult) for a Scandi-meets-mid- century vibe.

KITCHEN (below) “We like the visibility the custom high table gives, rather than a massive island bench that loats in the room,” says Chelsie Lee, senior designer for Jessica Helgerson Interior Design (JHID). It’s surrounded by Pinch ‘Imo’ bar stools (try Spence & Lyda). SUNROOM (opposite) Andrea loves the ‘(Perfectly) Imperfect’ stool with a single turned leg by UK designers Galvin Brothers, while custom built-in sofas by JHID allow plenty of space for the family to relax.

KITCHEN (above left) The rustic look comes through in simple painted cabinetry with a marble benchtop, bleached oak loors and a subway-tiled wall, o set by a Bertazzoni cooker and rangehood. ENTRY (above) The spacious entry features a timber-and-leather armoire designed by JHID. DINING AREA (opposite) The updated home features open-plan family living at its best, with a table and bench from the UK’s Another Country (try Luke Furniture) and Sibast ‘No 8’ chairs (try Hub Furniture), presided over by an Apparatus Studio ‘Trapeze 10’ chandelier (try Criteria Collection).