| Hampton Style - July 11, 2008 |
The Who's Who of Making Your House a Home
July 19 marks the opening of the much-anticipated Hamptons Showhouse in Sagaponack, and accordingly we present a list of the men and women who toil in the fields of interior design and architecture. Some of them span both fields, and all of them excel at their craft. Working in concert, they create the homes that draw us out to the Hamptons every summer. Borrowing the brainpower of many of them, we have also compiled a Hamptons-based resource guide for compelling decorative elements and furniture.
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Charles Gwathmey
In 1965, using his own parents as guinea pigs, a young Charles Gwathmey designed his first house for the pair in Amagansett, the breakthrough minimalist home being a bold, Corbusian-inspired composition of cubes, cylinders, planar walls and cedar-covered, slanted roofs. The Hamptons would prove to be the site of many of his most celebrated residences in the ensuing years, with homes for the Cogan family and de Menils being joined in 1988 by the Georgica Pond home he created for Steven Spielberg. "Quelle Barn" is a reassembled 18th-century New Jersey barn sheathed in new shingles; the interior mirrors the stark, rustic facade, pairing the original exposed-oak frame with walls of smooth white gypsum board. But Spielberg isn't the only big-name client this post-modernist master has taken on. In 1992 Gwathmey turned his eye toward Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim Museum, accepting a commission to renovate and add on to the landmarked masterpiece. Some 40 years ago, Charles Gwathmey founded Gwathmey Siegal & Associates Architects with his schoolmate Robert Siegel. The 65-person firm has over 400 commissions to its name and nearly as many awards.
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Tracy Bross |
Nancy Corzine |
Milly de Cabrol |
Mica Ertegun |
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Thomas O'Brien
When the owners of a renowned Norman Jaffe house in Bridgehampton went looking for someone to refresh their home, it was a natural choice to select O'Brien, the founder of Aero Studios and former creative director for Polo Ralph Lauren. He takes a very lifestyle approach to designing, showing as much care to detail (lighting, bedding, glassware, furniture, fabric, bath fittings) as would any of his clients. Fortunately for the savvy Bridgehampton couple (and for the rest of us), Thomas actually designs all of the aforementioned. He is also a very busy designer of chic retail space, counting Donna Karan and Emporio Armani among his clients. 60 Thompson Hotel in Manhattan is his and if you stroll down the vivid red and white aisles of Target anytime soon, spend a little time in their home design section; O'Brien has even added his imprimatur to their well-priced offerings.
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