East Coast Shingle-Style Design

Ask your friends what they think defines a Hamptons-style home, and they’ll likely pinpoint airy rooms with soft coastal colors and natural materials. But in an expertly created interior, there is also something indefinable, a spirit of fine living that is difficult to put into words. Interior designer Brittany Hakimfar recently created the interior for a shingled home on the North Fork of Long Island that solves this lovely dilemma: how to give voice to a special interior. For Hakimfar, the answer is twofold: First, dive so deeply into the homeowners’ wishes and dreams that the home is a complete, individual statement. “I’m looking for inspiration,” says Hakimfar, who operates Far Studio outside Philadelphia with her husband and business partner, Ben Hakimfar.

Second, she adds, don’t be afraid to incorporate another style. For this project, it was natural to bring in an echo of the East Coast, creating a sensibility in the “Hampton-esque” feel that is woven throughout. “I didn’t want it to be one style,” the designer says. “It’s important to feel unique and special.” Before the work began, Hakimfar estimates she spent 20 hours poring over images, “making sure I’m creating a home they love, and a home that is unique. After that— studying images—I knew right away that I could achieve what we were looking for.”

Some of the rooms appear soft and subtle; others impress with deep, unexpected palettes, such as the green shade that dominates the butler’s pantry and the dark blue gracing the husband’s office. Many of the rooms offer a pop of color, such as the orange chair in the office. Modern lights are a warm, consistent touch throughout the interiors. In the dining room, the elegance starts with a tonal toile wall covering and green velvet dining chairs. But then there is the jute rug and the modernist opal glass light fixture. Like the other first-floor rooms, strategically placed windows and doors allow for beautiful views and sunshine to bathe the rooms.

The large swaths of glass and wide-plank white oak floors throughout the home form the perfect foil for design touches and unique color palettes. “We wanted to take advantage of natural light,” Hakimfar says. Also important were beautiful, durable materials. “The owners didn’t want it to feel like a summer house. We didn’t want it beachy. We leaned into natural and neutral materials—stone, reclaimed wood.” Marble appears in several rooms, adding beauty and texture, including marble fireplaces. Hakimfar recalls the hours she and the clients spent at stone yards, picking out different marble for each room. Custom marble dominates the powder room.

“They wanted beautiful but durable materials,” Hakimfar says. The “durable” requirement was a natural given, since the couple have two small children. The kitchen’s creamy Calcutta vagli marble forms the perfect base for the green and brass pendant lights from Urban Electric Co. and white oak cabinets by Ciuffo Cabinetry. In the breakfast room, a Viscontea pendant by Flos Light hanging over the white oak table is an iconic look.

On the second floor, the main goal was to situate the children’s bedrooms on one side and the primary bedroom on the other. The primary bedroom has a beautiful wraparound porch and marble bathroom. The children’s bathrooms were personalized and designed with little ones in mind. Down the hall is a playroom for the kids. Set on a spacious two-acre property that sweeps to the water’s edge, the house, with its eye-drawing roofline, looks like it has been here forever. And in fact, the Hakimfars’ team was involved with the homeowners from the very beginning. Working with architect Brian Glasser, Far Studio helped with overall design, final finishes, and interior architectural details. In the end, the house is unique and inviting. As Hakimfar says, “It’s a home with soul.”