When New York designer Alexander Reid set out to design his client’s Hamptons country home, it was by all accounts his big break. The 32-year-old One King’s Lane alum started his own design business in July 2016, and first spoke to the homeowners, Fred and Hillary Gallo, in October of the same year. Today, of course, Reid has more than a few residential projects under his belt—all with the same chic nonchalance that he has perfected. But back then, it was a game of trust. The Gallos had just torn down a small cottage on the woodsy border between Sag Harbor and Bridgehampton, and were in the midst of building their brand-new home on the now-vacant lot, when they called Reid. “They had the bones in place, and I thought, What we can do to make those bones a bit better?” says Reid.
Said bones were decidedly modern, an aesthetic that architect Steve Yang of SYA Architects says came about naturally: “The theme of the house was about the experience of being in the woods, and architectural embellishment would become distracting,” says Yang. To avoid creating a monolithic building that overpowered the landscape, the architect conceptualized the home as three volumes: a welcoming entry hall; a bedroom wing marked by charred wood siding and expansive windows; and a massive double-height living area for entertaining—the homeowner’s professed favorite spot. Reid was charged with warming up those roomy interiors. “I told them, ‘You are a young family; you don’t want a bachelor pad,’” says the designer. He pushed them to layer the spaces with texture, select worn-in vintage pieces whenever possible, and punch in moments of color with original artwork.
A vintage desk from Beall & Bell pairs with a Phantom Hands chair to create a cozy workstation inside the master bedroom.
Throughout the project, both the designer and architect took cues from their surroundings. Yang’s approach was a holistic one, incorporating elements of substantiality and passive-house technologies whenever possible—and maximizing those enviable windows. Reid focused on aesthetics. A faux-bois rug stretches nearly wall-to-wall in the master bedroom, which contains a handsome sea-grass wall covering; distressed leathers and warm woods mingle with creamy neutrals and midcentury silhouettes in the living and dining rooms; a deep evergreen hue serves as a backdrop for one of the guest rooms; the list goes on.
In the end, though the perfectly edited interiors scheme alludes to the natural charm of the wooded lot that the Gallos first fell in love with—it has Reid’s name written all over it. “When a client hires a designer that’s early in their career, they just have to trust you,” admits Reid. And in this case, it was certainly worth the gamble.
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