{"id":78077,"date":"2025-08-12T21:25:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T21:25:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/78077\/"},"modified":"2025-08-12T21:25:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T21:25:15","slug":"the-amagansett-home-called-the-switchblade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/78077\/","title":{"rendered":"The Amagansett Home Called the Switchblade"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Great Rooms<\/a><\/p>\n

\n A visual diary by Design Editor Wendy Goodman.\n <\/p>\n

\n The Grounds At the home of Hilary Evans, the design firm RRP preserved the original pitch pines, eastern red cedars, and black oaks and planted native grasses beyond the Grigio Olivo pavers of the pool. \u201cIt\u2019s as though the house quietly emerged from the land rather than being placed upon it,\u201d says RRP senior associate Regina Cassorla.
\n Photo: Scott Frances\n <\/p>\n

As a child, Hilary Evans learned to swim on a stretch of beach in Amagansett<\/a>. Decades \u00adlater, she and her husband noticed a for sale sign nearby for a plot of land. There was a clearing on a bluff with a view of the water. It had belonged to a French creative director who had secured permits from the town for a house with a pool but never saw the plans through. The couple pounced\u2014though there was a hitch.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a footprint of square footage already \u00adapproved, but then it took us nine months just to get on the calendar to get the variances,\u201d says Evans, who is a retired lawyer. The \u00adpaperwork came through when she told the board that she had spent her childhood summers in the Springs<\/a>, her family supports land-preservation organizations, and the \u00adcouple did not intend to build a spec house.<\/p>\n

\u201cOriginally, I thought we might just make a glass box,\u201d says Evans. \u201cThen I thought we\u2019d better have room for the kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

Red tape was not the project\u2019s only early challenge. The setbacks and elevation of the location \u00adpresented their own limitations. Evans and her \u00adhusband enlisted architect Steven Harris<\/a>, who had \u00addesigned their Brooklyn townhouse and whose practice is known for tackling tricky landscapes, including \u00addesigning \u00adwaterfront properties that face Long Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe site was difficult,\u201d Harris says. He and project architects Eliot Lee and Andrea Leung worked within the constraints of the plot for close to two years. \u201cYou are always keeping track of how to take advantage of what\u2019s available to you,\u201d \u00adHarris adds.<\/p>\n

He calls the finished house \u201cthe Switchblade\u201d for its elongated L-shape. The upper level serves as the primary wing and includes a sitting room as well as a bedroom and bathroom spanning over the pool. There are two bedrooms downstairs, each with its own entryway, for the couple\u2019s grown daughters. \u201cWe don\u2019t have a guest room, which is both good and bad,\u201d Evans says. She sought a mid-century style for the interiors, which were designed by Lucien Rees Roberts\u2019s RRP<\/a> (firm partner David Kelly and senior associate Regina Cassorla conceived the landscape and pool design).<\/p>\n

\u201cRemember the movie The Ice Storm? I sort of wanted it to look like that,\u201d Evans says. The first level features a sunken living room. Upstairs, glass windows allow for \u00adunobstructed views of the water. \u201cYou spend as much time outside as in,\u201d says Harris. \u201cIt was very important that rather than make the house look like a piece of sushi on a platter, you make something that created a space outside of itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n The Living Room \u201cI kept finding pictures of these mid-century-modern, very homey houses,\u201d Evans says of her inspiration for the interiors, which were done by RRP. The sunken living room is defined by a cedar louvered wall, a custom sectional, and a sculptural fireplace with a bronze hood.
\n Photo: Scott Frances\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n The Dining Area The custom walnut dining table was designed by RRP. The vintage 1940s chairs in oak and woven rope are by Adrien Audoux and Frida Minet. A -Clifford Ross Wood Wave hangs on the wall.
\n Photo: Scott Frances\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n The Kitchen The counters have Blue de Savoie marble from BAS Stone. The cabinets are white oak, and the reflective stainless-steel wall contains the fridge and storage. K4 Koi barstools are in leather.
\n Photo: Scott Frances\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n The Primary Bedroom The still life above the custom mahogany dresser is by Sidney Laufman and the smaller oil painting is by Robert Kulicke . The wall-mounted lamp is from Christian Liaigre.
\n Photo: Scott Frances\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n The Corner Sitting Room At one end of the second story, RRP designed a cozy sitting area with a custom sectional sofa and a Tobi-Ishi Coffee Table in brushed white oak. The mid-century 1960s swivel pod chair is by Overman.
\n Photo: Scott Frances\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n The Indoor Stairs The staircase from the lower level to the main living room floor has been designed with open risers to \u201callow light from the skylight to filter down, creating interesting shadow play at various times of the day,\u201d says project architect Eliot Lee.
\n Photo: Scott Frances\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n The Outdoor Stairs \u201cThe irregular steps are reclaimed Pennsylvania bluestone with all natural faces. They are dry set on a sand setting bed over a gravel base,\u201d says Cassorla. \u201cThe bordering grasses are beach grass.\u201d
\n Photo: Scott Frances\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n The Pool It spans the length of the upper level, which serves as the primary wing and includes a sitting room, bedroom and bathroom.
\n Photo: Scott Frances\n <\/p>\n

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