Designer Roundup in Southampton

What do Tory Burch, Daniel Romualdez, and Jeffrey Bilhuber have in common? Several things probably, but oddly enough, they've all had their hands on one magnificent beach house plot on Southampton island, New York.

Let's first talk about the address: Meadow Lane. Meadow Lane is home to billionaire after billionaire. Curbed mapped the entire street here, calling it "where the 1 percent of the 1 percent summer". It's true. Property here starts in the 8-figures, and changes hands very infrequently.

Tory and her ex-husband Chris bought a house on Meadow Lane while married, the existing house (an impressive 14,000 square feet) needed work, but with 4.5 acres of prime Atlantic Ocean views, 200 FEET of white sand and coastal frontage ... it's hard to pass up the opportunity - especially when you're loaded and friends with designer and architect Daniel Romualdez.

The house the Burch family purchased. The Atlantic Ocean at the rear, and the Shinnecock Bay at the drive. The family vacationed here until Chris and Tory divorced. The settlement details of the divorce are unclear, but Tory seemed to have been saddled with (1) maintaining a residence in Southampton and (2) paying Chris the then appraised value of the house in order to keep it. After doing so, the house apparently suffered some extreme water damage, meaning the only suitable option was to tear the house down. Tory hired Daniel Romualdez to design a brand new, more more traditional house on the property, 1/2 the size of the original. They spent years getting permission of the Southampton Board of Approvals to tear down the original structure, built in the 1980s.

It was met with some resistance. This sort of thing always is, but the approval finally came through just months before Tory put the house on the market. A 7100+ square foot traditional architecture symmetrical beach house complete with multiple balconies and porches to soak up those views.

Unfortunately, there are no greater images of the plans available on the internet, at least that I could find. But this lower level features the bedrooms of the house, what looks to be a total of 5, plus two more master suites on the second floor.

Being close to the parking area of a public entrance to the beach, many people have posted pictures of the new structure both during construction, and after construction had been finished.

This eagle eyed instagrammer, keen on architecture, snapped this pretty sunset photo of the house shortly after construction of the exterior had been finished, and all trucks and equipment were gone from view. What I want you to pay attention to is the porch railing. I know, I know, such a small thing to keep on your radar. But you'll see why in a second.

I remember seeing this house plan and thinking "I wonder what the interiors are going to look like?" No doubt if Tory had actually stayed put in this house that Romualdez built, he would have helped to design it. But after selling the lot and the plans, who would the new owners choose?

Remember why I said to keep those railings in your frontal lobe? The answer came when Jeffrey Bilhuber posted this image to his instagram account. The dining room of the new Romualdez plan.

And here, the living room of the new home. Every sneak peek is more stunning than the last. Jeffrey installed the house in March of 2018, and it has yet to be published, and it seems that nobody (even the builder) is posting pics of the house online. The only additional photo I could find was  a bathroom fully decked in marble slabs:

Needless to say, I'm sure that AD is gearing up to feature the whole house at some point - and it seems, we'll either have to wait until then or hope that Bilhuber posts a few more sneak peeks on his instagram in the mean time.

If you've found these interiors beautiful, you definitely should take a peek at some books authored by Jeffrey, and a few others on the Hamptons that I think are top notch: 

I spent hours, literally, researching this post. Diving in and trying to find photos of the house (finished and during construction). All of that searching let me empty with photos of the house, but rich with inspiration in creating the perfect beach-side getaway. 

Block Printed Linens and Textiles in Blue and White

Jute and other Natural fiber rugs with fringe details

Blue and White Chinoiserie accessories

See my list of really affordable pieces on Amazon at this post

http://niagaranovice.blogspot.com/2019/01/blue-and-white-porcelain-for-less-than.html

Linen Drapery without Pattern

Modern Brass accessories 

Straw bags for everything! From shoes to blankets ... 

And if you're not lucky enough to own a beach cottage ... 

This is a lot less expensive!