{"id":852005,"date":"2026-06-08T03:07:28","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T03:07:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/852005\/"},"modified":"2026-06-08T03:07:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T03:07:28","slug":"this-hamptons-cottage-is-infused-with-fire-island-spirit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/852005\/","title":{"rendered":"This Hamptons Cottage Is Infused with Fire Island Spirit"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Estimated4 min read<\/p>\n

Above: In a Hamptons cottage, Peter B. Staples upholstered the living room\u2019s bespoke sofa in Dedar fabric and Rietveld-inspired armchairs in a custom Le Manach textile from Pierre Frey. The cocktail table is by Roger Capron, and the Floris Wubben side table is from The Future Perfect. A Palm floor lamp by Blue Green Works sits in the corner, while a spherical Noguchi lantern hangs overhead. <\/p>\n

While Peter B. Staples of Blue Green Works specializes in crafting poetic lighting collections,<\/a> the self-taught designer rarely turns down the chance to flex his other creative muscles. One of his earliest projects after founding his New York\u2013based design studio<\/a> in 2021 extended far beyond illumination. It was a total reimagining of a timeworn but charming cottage that a young Manhattan couple purchased in the Springs, a quiet corner of the Hamptons.<\/p>\n

It all started when Staples, who serves as the firm\u2019s creative director, was vacationing with the couple when they told him they were looking for a weekend retreat and asked for his input on location. \u201cThere\u2019s something about the Springs that feels beachy,\u201d he says. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t feel as urban or overhyped as some of the other parts of the Hamptons.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"HouseJoe Kramm<\/p>\n

Located in the Springs, the shingle-clad home dates to the 1700s but underwent an expansion in the late 1990s.<\/p>\n

Amid their search, the couple came across a gabled, shingle-clad residence originally built in the 1700s that had been awkwardly enlarged in the late 1990s. They let Staples tour the property virtually, via a five-minute FaceTime call, seeking his opinion. After getting his endorsement, they moved forward with an offer. But once the sale closed, the true extent of the renovation came into sharp relief.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was funny because it\u2019s a beautiful house with great bones, but as we walked through it together, they were beside themselves,\u201d Staples recalls. \u201cUpon real examination, there was an Ikea kitchen and a Home Depot bathroom. No shade\u2014it just wasn\u2019t quite the fantasy they had imagined.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ContemporaryJoe Kramm<\/p>\n

The living area\u2019s Gerrit Rietveld\u2013inspired armchairs and custom dining table, created by Staples. The Paul Loebach dining chairs are from MatterMade, and the artworks are by Pacifico Silano (left) and Tabboo! (right).<\/p>\n

Undeterred, Staples laid out his vision for the 1,600-square-foot cottage: He\u2019d meld the country-infused elegance of the Hamptons with Fire Island modernism. \u201cI wanted to find the tension between those things and still keep it fresh,\u201d he says. \u201cThey wanted the house to be used for guests and entertaining, so it needed to respond to that lifestyle while also being able to evolve over time.\u201d<\/p>\n

He began by making minor tweaks to the floor plan\u2014moving doors, adding built-in benches and shelving\u2014before gutting the kitchen. He enlisted Justin Allen of Shepard Co., a local millworker, to help craft wainscot-inspired cabinetry and a smoked-oak island. \u201cI wanted to bring warmth into the space,\u201d says Staples. \u201cThe biggest surfaces in that room are the countertops, so I wanted something that would develop a patina over time. All these nicks and chips are going to be part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ModernJoe Kramm<\/p>\n

Staples worked with Justin Allen of Shepard Co. on the kitchen\u2019s smoked oak island and countertops. The pendant is by Atelier Vime and the photograph is by Wolfgang Tillmans.<\/p>\n

Because the project timeline overlapped with pandemic-era supply chain delays, Staples designed and fabricated many of the furnishings himself, borrowing inspiration from luminaries such as Gerrit Rietveld and Franco Albini for chairs, sofas, and lighting. The upholstery pieces, in particular, offered Staples the chance to stir in some of the easy Hamptons elegance he was after, using rich textiles from C&C Milano, Dedar, and Pierre Frey.<\/p>\n

\"CozyJoe Kramm<\/p>\n

The sunroom\u2019s built-in bench comes with a cushion upholstered in C&C Milano fabric. The Daisy sconces are by Blue Green Works; Marc Hundley plant stand.<\/p>\n

Staples mixed those bespoke furnishings with vintage finds from local dealers such as John Salibello<\/a> and Laurin Copen Antiques,<\/a> ensuring minimal delivery wait times. Among the pieces are the dining area\u2019s 18th-century French wooden cabinet, a ceramic cocktail table by Roger Capron, and a bamboo dresser that sits in one of the three bedrooms. \u201cI\u2019m interested in things that feel like they could belong to many different time periods at once,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Art also played a major role, injecting the residence with a bit of Fire Island flair. \u201cThe homeowners primarily collect gay photography,\u201d he says, noting they already had pieces by Wolfgang Tillmans and Jack Pierson they wanted to use. \u201cOne of the ideas behind the house was providing a neutral backdrop to hold this growing collection.\u201d Additional artists now in the home include Pacifico Silano, Howard Fonda, and Tabboo!, plus a commission by Julian Caridi.<\/p>\n

Inside a Hamptons Cottage with Fire Island Spirit\"RattanOpen Gallery\"\"<\/p>\n

While making it clear he\u2019s not an interior designer, Staples nonetheless relished the opportunity to channel his inner decorator, curating everything in the house down to silverware and bed linens. \u201cI went out recently for the photo shoot, and they hadn\u2019t changed a thing,\u201d he says. \u201cEverything was how I left it, which is a great compliment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staples is especially grateful to the homeowners, who gave him the chance to experiment with a fully realized space. \u201cThis project was an interesting way to further my design education in real life,\u201d he reflects. \u201cEven though we\u2019re a lighting design studio, our interest is in design as a whole. Who knows what else is going to come our way?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Geoffrey Montes is an associate editor at ELLE Decor with a serious love for all things real estate and design. Before that, he worked at Architectural Digest, Galerie, and Preservation magazines, covering everything from jaw-dropping listings to world-famous architects and design events like Salone del Mobile and Homo Faber.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"4 min read Above: In a Hamptons cottage, Peter B. Staples upholstered the living room\u2019s bespoke sofa in…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":852006,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[32],"tags":[648,1032,2392,347970,1033,1201,171,311952,2875,288037,347969,248410,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-852005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-content-type-feature","tag-contentid-bc7a8a29-f986-468c-9ca7-bd8b09dc664a","tag-design","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-entertainment","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-us","tag-read_time-6","tag-shorttitle-inside-a-hamptons-cottage-with-fire-island-spirit","tag-subsection-house-tours","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116712286118655156","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=852005"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852005\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/852006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=852005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=852005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=852005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}