An All-Star Design Team Took Inspiration From a Notable England Architect For This Hamptons Home

A newly built Hamptons home on five acres near the ocean was shaped by the owner’s study of local houses, especially those in the style of Sir Edwin Lutyens, known for steeply pitched rooflines and prominent chimneys. The owner initially sought architectural inspiration and then pursued Kligerman Architecture & Design for the project’s lineage. Finding an interior designer required balancing creativity with organization for a 15,000-square-foot build involving many decisions. The owner reached out to London and New York-based Bryan O’Sullivan via Instagram, asking about U.S. projects and his upcoming presence in New York. After visiting the site and reviewing Kligerman’s drawings, the team connected quickly, leading O’Sullivan to open a Manhattan office and relocate his family to New York.

"With five leafy acres near the ocean as her canvas, the owner of this newly built Hamptons home turned to searching for architectural inspiration-studying photographs of local houses, especially those built in the style of Sir Edwin Lutyens, the British architect known for his country houses with steeply pitched rooflines and weighty chimneys."

"The homeowner knew just the architecture studio to carry that lineage forward: AD PRO Directory firm Kligerman Architecture & Design, widely recognized for its fluency in traditional styles. But finding the right interior designer for the planned 15,000-square-foot construction proved more elusive. She met with several candidates, yet few offered the combination of creativity and rigor she was seeking. "Building a house from scratch, it's like a million decisions-you need someone who is both creative and organized," she says."

"Looking further afield, to Lutyens' homeland, she set her sights on London and New York-based designer Bryan O'Sullivan (who revamped the iconic Claridge's restaurant in Mayfair, as well as the new Westmoreland Café at the Frick Collection), and sent him a message on Instagram. "Do you ever do projects in the US?" she asked, followed quickly by, "Are you going to be in New York anytime soon?" As it happened, O'Sullivan and his husband were due in the city just days later."

""We hit it off straight away," says the Irish designer. "Once we went to see the project, we were blown away by Kligerman's drawings and by the site itself. It feels like you're in this expansive countryside.""

Read at Architectural Digest