Haven in the Hamptons
Art, wine, and music come together in a Long Island beach house.
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ShareJune 1, 2008
Sagaponack, known as the quiet part of the Hamptons, is a place where farmhouses and potato fields share the land with trophy homes, the beach is blissfully uncrowded, and a general store serves as the hub of social activity. Truman Capote once dismissed the village as nothing more than "Kansas with a sea breeze," but for music industry mogul Antonio "L.A." Reid and his wife, Erica, the lack of trendy shops, restaurants, and clubs found in other Hampton enclaves proved to be a selling point when they first saw the house that would become a weekend retreat from their busy Manhattan lives. "I love the serenity here, with the open fields and sunsets," says L.A., who has, through Arista Records and now Island Def Jam Music Group, signed some of the biggest names in R&B music.Originally built in the 1970s, the two-story residence has grown into a nine-bedroom spread. The home sits at the end of a long driveway on 3.3 acres of land that includes a swimming pool, a tennis court, and a pond. "Although the house was in great shape when we bought it," says Reid, "it felt a little choppy from all the additions. We wanted to smooth it out." The Reids turned to Colombian-born artist and interior designer Fanny Haim, who had worked on the couple’s homes in Manhattan and Miami.
"We needed to redefine the spirit of the house to the way L.A. and Erica live," says Haim, whose design firm is based in North Miami Beach. "The idea was to create a casual, contemporary space that felt like it belonged at the beach but avoided the usual beach house clichés."
Reid was planning to host his 50th birthday party at the house, which meant that Haim had to work with a deadline of only six months. In that time frame, she had to remodel the bathrooms, rearrange the lighting throughout the home to accentuate various works of art, and stain the cherry wood floors to a darker, richer shade. But because the Reids are very social, one of Haim’s first priorities was to create several intimate spaces conducive to entertaining. She closed off the opening between the living room and the kitchen, then, in the dining room, divided the space by adding a wall, where the Reids display their collection of contemporary artwork. Downstairs, in a previously unfinished basement, she added—along with a play area, home gym, and music room—a 2,000-bottle wine cellar to house the couple’s extensive collection of French and California wines.
The subtle connection with the beach is most evident in the living room, where Haim grouped clean-lined sofas and chairs upholstered in sand-colored linen around two coffee tables with weathered wood tops. She covered the floor with a pebble-textured rug and transformed the traditional fireplace into a long, horizontal surround of honed slate. A few Asian antiques, including a Chinese opium bed, add an exotic element, and dominating one wall is an arresting portrait of a woman by internationally collected artist Kathleen Morris.
Haim made the high-ceilinged family room cozier by cladding the walls in stacked quartzite and incorporating furniture upholstered in textured fabrics such as chenille, suede, and leather in neutral white, taupe, and mushroom tones.
For the Reids, who rented in the Hamptons for several years
before finding their Sagaponack retreat, the wait was worth it. "This is a place
we can decompress by ourselves or enjoy with our friends," says Reid. "It’s what
escaping the city is all about."
Fanny Haim and Associates, 305.937.0815,
www.fannyhaim.com
