To unveil their brand-new Sag Harbor home, ALT for Living showroom owner Analisse Taft and her husband, restaurateur James Gersten, threw a cocktail party for some of the industry’s top decorators. Treating guests with dinner and poolside cocktails, it’s safe to say that guests were impressed.
Taft lays out table settings in the open dining area and living room, which includes a custom Jonas sofa covered in an Anne Kirk Textiles linen, a pair of vintage Edward Wormley for Dunbar armchairs, a walnut cocktail table from Thomas Hayes, and a custom-black-lacquer President’s chair and ottoman from Palecek.
The vintage leather and oak side table in the primary bedroom is from Wyeth; the headboard, covered in an antique African textile, is a custom ALT for Living piece.
Custom ombré cashmere pillows from ALT for Living, sateen sheets from Brooklinen, and a roman shade from the Shade Store soften up a guest room.
The print on the wall is by Alexander Calder.
Shawn Henderson and Marie-Christine McNally test out the Ping-Pong table in the garage-cum-game room, while Gachot and Robert Stilin cheer them on.
Analisse Taft and James Gersten opened their new Sag Harbor home to design-industry friends.
Watermelon margaritas got the party off to a fun start.
A beautifully laid-out cheese board.
An oyster tray with all the trimmings. The Sag Harbor restaurant Baron’s Cove, a favorite of Taft and Gersten’s, provided the food. “I love being around my friends and everything else about entertaining,” Taft says, “from deciding on the menu to putting out the right dishes and glasses.”
Baron’s Cove executive chef Nicholas Vogel and Gersten man the grill, cooking rosemary-and-lemon marinated lambchops.
Mini lobster rolls are a Sag Harbor must-have.
Grilled asparagus with pea hummus.
Swordfish skewers with a chimichurri sauce.
Dessert was old-fashioned strawberry icebox cake, made with graham crackers, whipped cream, and sliced strawberries.
“Sag Harbor has become a town of year-rounders,” she muses, “and because people are choosing to have their primary homes here, we need full-time designers and showrooms, in addition to all the retail stores.” So, Analisse Taft, who has ALT for Living showrooms in New York City and Los Angeles, has plans to open a new sister location in Sag Harbor. And what better way to celebrate such a grand accomplishment than with a cocktail party in the Hamptons?
“To me, home is the most important place on the planet. I grew up in a house with minimal furnishings, so I really gravitate toward lots of layering and decorating”
The Sag Harbor restaurant Baron’s Cove, a favorite of Taft and Gersten’s, provided the food. The menu featured local seafood staples, including oysters, mini lobster rolls, and swordfish skewers. For dessert, guests savored an old-fashioned cake, made with graham crackers, whipped cream, and sliced strawberries.
