The Village of East Hampton is dotted with late-19th- and early-20th-century homes that have come to embody the quintessential design language of American summer communities across the Eastern seaboard. So when we were asked by a family with deep local roots to design a new residence on possibly the prettiest property in all of East Hampton, we set out to create a home that could stand alongside the iconic properties that line Lee Avenue and Lily Pond Lane.

To ground our design decisions, we chose a moment in time as inspiration: the inflection point between Colonial Revival, characterized by robust and fairly formal details, and the romantic and sometimes quirky compositional flourishes of the Shingle Style. The balance between the two stylistic influences makes the house difficult to place and identify that it is, in fact, of the 20th century.

Taking our cue from the spectacular setting, we formulated a one-room deep plan across most of its length so that each room captures views south across Hook Pond and over open land toward the Atlantic. Subtly angled to embrace a circular gravel driveway on the entry side, the house presents a modest but formal face toward the Village. The opposite is true on the pond side, where a broad porch extends across its length, terminating in a large seating area to the southwest and punctuated by an octagonal breakfast room with a bell-shaped roof.

Inside, a grand stair with alternating twist, rope and fluted balusters, attenuated pilasters, floor-to-ceiling paneling, and arched doorways all nod to the influence of Stanford White. Look closely, or you’ll miss it. There are such signature details as hand-carved whaling scenes that grace the carved plaque on the library mantel and the frieze over the living room’s bay window. In a house that’s utterly at home in its surroundings, they’re just two examples of our homage to East Hampton’s history and architecture.