The seaside town of the Hamptons in New York is home to some of the most beautiful real estate in the world. Here, we invite you to step beyond the front door.
The sheer mention of the Hamptons in the state of New York, USA, allows your thoughts to drift off to its pristine beaches, glamorous lifestyle and exclusive parties. It’s a place frequented by New York City’s elite and now you have the opportunity to enter this dreamy world as I guide you through these magnificent homes and open the doors to a world of endless design possibilities right here on Aussie shores. This is where we bring the Hamptons home. It’s more than a design; it’s a lifestyle.
These mansions of the rich and fabulous are renowned for their beauty and detail from the onset. However, these homes are more than just a house, they represent status, privilege
and your place in the world; it is the “I’ve made it” home.
These summer homes of New Yorkers are designed like luxury resorts, with social calendars to envy. They entertain exclusive galas and lavish cocktail garden parties, and are the invites of the summer season. They represent not only status, but an opportunity to rub shoulders with celebrities, professionals at the height of their fields and even presidents.
The owners’ Manhattan residences are their day-to-day homes during the working week, while their Hamptons properties are where they escape the hustle and bustle of the city to embrace an enviable coastal/country lifestyle. The homes consist of numerous guest rooms, large-scale great rooms and expansive outdoor entertaining spaces to embrace the summer. Packing up their families and their household staff, owners live and entertain in these beautiful homes for three months out of the year. Party by night and beach by day — the perfect contrast to the busy New York working schedule.
The Hamptons in pop culture
Pop culture has greatly influenced our love of the Hamptons location and style. These homes were brought to our attention on the big screen in 2003, with the classic Hollywood romcom Something’s Gotta Give, starring Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton. The beauty of a shingle home grabbed our attention with its soft palette of blue and white striped rugs, layers of linen and the Shaker-style kitchen. The way the film captured these relaxed, stunning homes truly captivated our imaginations.
From there, a whirlwind of stunning images started circulating from the hit 2011 TV show Revenge — everyone wanted to be Madeleine Stowe’s character, Victoria Grayson, sitting in her wing-back chair sipping her afternoon wine while looking out onto the white sands of her Hamptons beach. It was this moment we all realised that our homes could reflect these stunning scenes. If not in a mansion, we could at least recreate the casual beach house aesthetic of main character Emily Thorne’s (played by Emily VanCamp) home, exemplifying the fact that this beautiful style of home can be replicated no matter the size of the house.
Notable locations and properties
Over the years, I’ve had the privilege to both holiday and work in the Hamptons, east and south and everywhere in between. It can be both relaxing and simultaneously overwhelming, with luxury retailers on every corner including Ralph Lauren, Restoration Hardware and Aerin Lauder, as well as interiors stores Serena & Lily, One Kings Lane and Hound Hill Design. And, of course, there is the spectacular Gurney’s Resort in Montauk for extra beachside appeal, while the opportunity to sail out in Sag Harbor to glimpse at the grand residences with their private beaches is one not to forget.
As for the homes, there’s the majestic estate known as Villa Maria in Water Mill. It is owned by fashion brand Nine West’s co-founder, Vince Camuto, and the restoration was designed
by my good friend, architect Andre Tchelistcheff. This landmark property is valued at US$75 million (roughly AU$108 million), and the craftsmanship and detail of the 2000-square-foot waterfront home are absolutely breathtaking.
It is certainly worth the long bike ride for a glimpse at the manicured lawns of suburban East Hampton, and to pop in for drinks at the Red Parrot Bar and Grill, owned by singer Jon Bon Jovi. Hidden in an alleyway behind the Ralph Lauren store, the Red Parrot has been described as a “quirky, laid-back Tex-Mex bar and restaurant”. You may bump into some famous faces inside, including Martha Stewart, Renee Zellweger, Bill Murray, Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker, who are among its regular patrons. Heading across Montauk, roadside lobster bars are no rarity and are always full of hungry beachgoers.
If it’s a bit of history you crave, you can’t go past Grey Gardens on Lily Pond Lane in the neighbourhood of Georgica Pond. The house was named Grey Gardens for the colour of the dunes, the concrete garden walls and the sea mist. It is famously known as the home of mother and daughter “Big Edie” and “Little Edie” Bouvier (portrayed in the 2009 film Grey Gardens by Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore), who lived together in increasing squalor and isolation for decades. The Bouvier family was related to former US first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
It is no surprise that this list of interesting beautiful locales, brimming with history, are in what is considered to be one of the most stimulating places in the world. And on the following pages, you’ll learn how to bring some of that world into your Australian home.
This article originally appeared Hamptons Living #1
