Architectural Digest Italy: April 2024
Discovering Southview House, a splendid beach house in Amagansett not far from the residence that hosted Marilyn Monroe and other movie stars.
BY SONIA S. BRAGA | PHOTOGRAPHS BY READ MCKENDREE
Signature touches and plein air charm for this beach house
In June 1956 Marilyn Monroe and the writer Arthur Miller got married in Westchester County, New York, and even twelve months later the couple was one of the most popular among the paparazzi, capable of any madness to portray the star and author of Death of a Traveling Salesman. The lovers most desired by magazines are increasingly looking for privacy and living with the intrusiveness of the media is a truly difficult task.
Precisely to escape the constant attention of the press, Arthur and Marilyn decide to rent a house on the beach in Amagansett, Long Island, in the summer of 1957. It is an old mill built in the mid-nineteenth century and became a guesthouse in the 1950s. The ideal place for an escape. Within the walls of that home, Marilyn prepares the part in one of the most iconic films of her career, Some Like It Hot, a film that has become immortal to the tune of I Wanna Be Loved by You, a song sung by Norma Jeane with lots of famous (and sensual) Boop-boop-de-boop.
The beach of the stars
Over the years, the same house has hosted, among others, Ralph Lauren, Kurt Vonnegut, and Terence Stamp, all seeking peace and quiet just steps from the beaches of East Hampton. And the reserve that distinguishes Amagansett has, in more recent times, also captured the attention of other famous people such as Paul McCartney, Scarlett Johansson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Suzanne Vega, Bill and Hillary Clinton.
The inimitable charm of this outpost on the ocean also won over a successful sixty-year-old lawyer from the Big Apple, who was looking for an ideal home for weekends and summer holidays for his three grown children and five grandchildren. The choice fell on a splendid architectural jewel close to the beach, in a beautiful tree-lined street south of Montauk Hwy.
The owner brought Alicia Murphy Design on board in 2017, just after the purchase. She intended to modernize the interior while retaining the stunning traditional details already present in the house. Furthermore, for him, it was very important to create environments suitable for a large family, capable of withstanding the continuous flow of guests, small children and pets.
Vintage contemporary
Designed and built in 1999 by Steven Gambrell, Southview House features fine finishes and solutions and vintage signature touches that make it paradoxically very contemporary. Without a doubt, the features that convinced the new owner to purchase: «The porch outside the kitchen, for example, is a very special meeting place, where you can hang out outdoors even in winter, says Alicia Murphy. It has a heating system positioned under the floor and ceiling radiators that allow the customer and his friends to enjoy time together in a comfortable way.
After the first, necessary steps that distinguish every renovation that respects the pre-existing, the designer's attentions were perfectly synchronized with the new design brief: «Phase two of the project involved the creation of a new wing, a section reserved for the master suite - with bathrooms and changing rooms for him and her - and the overhaul of the veranda, which is the true heart of the entire house, and a careful study of the interiors, starting from the colors to be included in each room," continues Alicia.
The color palette appears sober and discreet, in line with the typical homes of this area. The design solutions for the patio, the bedroom, and the inviting swimming pool are suggestive, simple, and practical.
An interesting mix
Even for Southview House, the difficulties to be faced were many and not always easy to overcome, not only in research and in obtaining materials. The work lasted over two years and largely took place during the pandemic. For Alicia Murphy, it wasn't easy to deal with the other professionals involved in the project. David Hottenroth, the architect, the builder John Hummel and Associates, and the landscape designers Bayberry and David Seeler have used the Internet on numerous occasions to communicate with each other and successfully complete the project. «I wanted to create a reinterpretation of a family home in the Hamptons explains Alicia. For this reason I decided to propose an interesting mix of antique pieces combined with more modern and contemporary ones. In doing this, I also took into consideration the particular natural context of Amagansett, a location that I would define as "bucolic". I think the result proves me right."
The statement is confirmed by the enthusiasm with which the owners welcomed the overall project of their new home: We couldn't be more satisfied, we are thrilled with the result. This place has become the headquarters for the whole family. Children and grandchildren now frequent it, happy to be able to be together and enjoy the beach when the weather permits."
We were won over by the splendid dining table en plein air , a privileged space from which to admire, in total relaxation, one of the wonderful sunsets in Amagansett, identical to those immortalized by the skilful brush of Thomas Moran , an artist who dedicated many of his works to these enchanting places. his works.
