Making the decision to move out of New York City after many years can be bittersweet, but interior designer Brooke Abrams hasn’t looked back. When the pandemic hit, she and her family fled to their two-bedroom beach cottage in Montauk. It wasn’t long before they realized that this is where they wanted to be year-round and embarked on their search for a larger, permanent home nearby.
After a long hunt, they landed on a 3,600-square foot, four-bedroom ranch built in 2006. “When we first saw the house it was so dark, with deep red floors and gold walls, but I saw the potential,” recalls Abrams, an Indiana native who worked for Todd Klein, Thom Filicia, and Thierry Despont before striking out on her own in 2014. “It had good bones, a perfect layout, amazing ceiling heights, and four fireplaces,” she says. “I actually designed the entire concept on a plane ride back from California. Once I put pencil to paper, it came to life immediately.”
The most critical and transformative task was restoring a striking vaulted ceiling in the main living space, which had been lowered to accommodate a cupola at some point. “In the living area, we opened up the ceiling, applied paneling, and then installed a series of French doors that lead to the pool area,” explains Abrams. In fact, thanks to the structure’s U-shaped floor plan—which features a wing containing the primary suite and kitchen, and another with both the daughter’s room and a guest room—many of the spaces are connected to the pool area, encouraging indoor-outdoor living. “We love to cook and entertain, and this floor plan fits our family’s lifestyle perfectly,” continues Abrams. And for those times when privacy is a necessity, Abrams converted the fourth bedroom into a study that can be closed off from the living room.
Other notable areas of construction were the dated primary bath and the kitchen, which now sports an elegant combination of light oak and white cabinetry, brass hardware, Danby marble, and bronze light fixtures. “The kitchen can be seen from the living area, so I didn’t want an upper cabinets,” says the designer of her choice to install a marble shelf for displaying dishes and glassware instead. “I’m a neat freak, so I love everything to look clean and styled at all times.”
Chairs from Pottery Barn surround a table from RH in the dining area. The chandelier is from Gallery L7.
In the living room, custom sofas from Maxvil Upholstering & Draperies are covered in a Perennials fabric from David Sutherland.
In the kitchen, bar stools from Black Creek Mercantile & Trading Co. surround an oak island by Coastal Cabinet Works. The sconces are from In Common With, and the range is from Wolf.
In the primary bedroom, a ceiling fixture from Wyeth creates a dramatic focal point. The bed covering is from French Presse.
The powder room’s wall covering is Blockprint Grasscloth by Elizabeth Eakins. Sconces from In Common With flank a brass mirror from Anthropologie.
The kitchen reflects the rest of the home’s materials palette, which is decidedly neutral but comes across as anything but boring. “There’s character in every finish,” notes Abrams. “I love the warmth that wood lends. The flooring is wide-plank light oak with lots of knots, as is the ceiling in the kitchen. It makes such a difference when you can add treatments to the walls and ceilings. I didn’t want the house to feel too sleek or too modern.” On that note, the designer brought in a mix of old and new items. One of her favorite finds is an antique wood cabinet from France that holds pride of place in the dining area. “It fits so perfectly on that wall and serves as a focal point of the space,” says Abrams.
The designer also added character through a variety of textural elements, such as a raffia block-print wallpaper in the powder room, a jute rug and clay light fixtures in the study, and fabrics ranging from bouclé and sherpa to leather and Perennials outdoor linen—a luxurious yet durable choice for a family living near the beach with a child and a dog. And this proximity to the sand and surf has without doubt crept into the overall design scheme in more ways than one. “The palette includes some beachy shades of sand, off white, and gray, but I also didn’t want to take it too far since it’s our full-time residence as opposed to a vacation house,” explains Abrams. “Being near the water has been so inspiring and calming. We’ve found a very grounded lifestyle here in Montauk.
