Nature's colors and tranquil views turn this beach house into the ultimate chill space

• Homeowners: An NYC couple posted their project to renovate a 2,000-square-foot Amagansett beach house on Sweeten
• Where: Long Island, New York
• Primary renovation: A complete redo of the kitchen and bathrooms, floor refinishing, and wall resurfacing and painting throughout
• Sweeten general contractor in the Hamptons area
• Sweeten’s role: Sweeten matches home renovation projects with vetted general contractors, offering guidance, tools, and support—for free.

“After” photos by Lena Yaremenko

Gathering the renovation team

When the homeowners of this wood-shingled house in the Hamptons began their renovation journey, their main goals were to update the kitchen and bathrooms, along with an overall aesthetic modernization, including some minor changes to the existing floor plan.

To start, they hired designers, Charlotte Sylvain and Shikhar Thakur of Studio Fauve in Brooklyn. The couple then hired a general contractor to turn their vision into reality, and “help maximize the impact of dollars spent,” their Sweeten post read.

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Charlotte took charge of the interior design for the four-bedroom, two-bathroom Amagansett House, which had been purchased as a summer home. In addition to a more modern feel from room to room, they wanted to update the home’s color palette.

A minimal interior with natural materials would connect with the property the home sits on, which is wildly populated by maple, oak, beech, and sycamore trees. The designer’s goal was to create a neutral, light-filled space with a subtle beachy feel where the homeowners could watch the seasons change outside.

Natural wood kitchen cabinets, regionally sourced

To accomplish this, she looked to design wide, open spaces in the Amagansett beach house. Beginning in the living room, with its spacious layout and high ceilings, Charlotte used inspiration from the Hamptons’ oceanside.

White textures and blonde plank-wood detailing combined with soft, comfortable furniture in quiet colors. Designs were kept minimal; its warmth would come from different materials in natural tones. The designer chose and sourced the materials regionally when possible, and chose small furniture designers and builders.

The kitchen has an airy feel but is solid with its Douglas fir joinery and cabinetry, and matte-finish white countertops. A stain-proof quartz was a perfect work-surface choice to top the natural wood kitchen cabinets; the homeowners wanted a durable kitchen for entertaining.

The home needed to be a relaxing place, a weekend and summer-season escape from the owners’ primary residence in New York City. To this goal, Charlotte painted the natural-wood window framings white to make them disappear.

Installation of additional new windows as well as vertical columns of glass at the top and bottom of the enclosed staircase offer views-as-art glass framings throughout the house.

Waterproof bathroom materials

The centerpiece of the upstairs is in the master bathroom—a giant picture window that overlooks the house’s rear woods and flanks a giant soaking tub. Waterproof tadelakt plaster walls and teakwood planking allowed use of the same surfaces in the bathroom’s wet and dry areas.

The designer pulled more tadelakt plaster into the guest bathroom for the vanity, pairing it with handmade zellige tile. Accoya wood plays a key role in this bathroom as well. 

Throughout the home, hints of black connect with the white canvas for a modern feel. Original oak floorboards received a color-corrective refinishing to lessen the honey tones. Additional teak and Accoya wood accents round out the natural wood hues in various interior spaces.

The biggest challenge of this renovation was working on it remotely. Despite this, Amagansett House was completed giving the homeowners the serenity they were looking for.

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When you’re ready to get started on your kitchen or home remodel, work with Sweeten to renovate with the best contractors.

Sweeten handpicks the best general contractors to match each project’s location, budget, scope, and style. Follow the blog, Sweeten Stories, for renovation ideas and inspiration and when you’re ready to renovate, start your renovation with Sweeten.

Renovation Materials

KITCHEN: Douglas fir cabinets: Reform. Flooring: Dinesen. Bertazzoni professional induction cooktop and electric oven in Bianco: Appliances Connection. Puccio 712 stool: Billiani.

MASTER BATHROOM: ​​Natural large wicker ball lamp: HKliving. Vivid slimline fixtures: Phoenix Tapware. Wheat Fields flooring: Royal Oak Flooring. 

LIVING AREAS: Vertigo suspension lamp: Constance Guisset. Mags soft sofa: HAY. Sand, natural, and black rug: Pampa Paloma.

The post Natural Wood Throughout in an Amagansett Beach House appeared first on Sweeten.

Last week, we took a peek at Amy and Nick’s sparkling new kitchen. This week, we’re exploring their new bathroom, which takes a style cue from a previous Sweeten story.

Project: Refresh an outdated bath in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn

Before: After purchasing their 2-bed, 1-bath condo, it became clear to Amy and Nick that the old bathroom needed to be given new life. The layout worked, but the tile and fixtures were tired and out-of-style, and a low ceiling made the space feel cramped.

After: The Sweeten contractor who had successfully renovated their kitchen (and who they’d found on Sweeten, a free service matching renovators with general contractors after posting their project) got to work on the bathroom remodel. The layout was preserved but the footprint was expanded; one wall was moved and the ceiling was raised to make the space feel larger. The old tile was ripped up and replaced with a hex tile bathroom floor paired with high-contrast white grout. White subway tile was installed in the shower, along the side of the tub, and across the lower half of the walls. All new fixtures in polished chrome gave the space a bright boost. A new sink and vanity with a Calacatta gold marble countertop was placed center stage (the marble was also added to the windowsill and threshold), while a wall-mounted faucet provides a sleek, contemporary look. It took a couple of tries for Amy and Nick to find the right toilet that would work with their piping; Amy explained, “We knew from the beginning we needed a horizontal connection—just not all the horizontally piped toilets we bought worked for our specific connection. Eventually, we just had our contractor pick one out for us and switched the handle so it was more in line aesthetically with what we’d originally picked out.” A large, recessed medicine cabinet was added above the sink in addition to customized storage; “I like the two built-in nooks (in the shower)—it makes it easy to separate bath products by person and height. We’re also both really pleased with the way the side table/vanity turned out,” said Amy.

Bonus: The vanity was fashioned from a West Elm side table customized to fit a countertop and pedestal sink. Amy was inspired by Sweeten homeowners Ellen and Ben who created their own custom vanity in a similar way.

Style finds: Hex floor tile in a matte finish: Home Depot. Medicine cabinet: Home Depot. Polished chrome shower and tub fixtures: Appliances Connection. Side-table-turned-vanity: West Elm.

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The bathroom floor is one spot where an unexpected tile choice can add style and personality without overpowering the look of your space.

Sweeten handpicks the best general contractors to match each project’s location, budget, and scope, helping until project completion. Follow the blog for renovation ideas and inspiration and when you’re ready to renovate, start your renovation on Sweeten.

The post A Modern Bathroom Remodel Gets Creative appeared first on Sweeten.