Back in 2017, when Louis Marra, co-founder of the stylish home accessories retailer Maison 24, and his partner, AJ Lang, who oversees vendors at 1stdibs, decided to build a home from scratch, friends advised against it. Building comes with a lot of headaches, they said, but what Marra and Lang wanted just could not be found on the market.
Dedicated modernists, they had their hearts set on something mid-20th-century modern, which is in limited supply where they wanted to live on Long Island. But during his daily bike rides, Marra had noticed a mid-20th- century-style house going up, so he took Lang to see it. As it happens, there was a contractor’s sign on the front lawn. Marra called the number of local builder Dan Loos, who offered to put the house hunters in touch with the home’s owner and architect, David Gresham. The men met and hit it off. Marra and Lang decided to build instead of buy, with Gresham as architect and Loos as builder. “It was a collaborative effort between us and them,” says Marra. “We can’t imagine having done this project with anyone else.”
A portrait by Robert Loughlin hangs above a 1950s Florence Knoll black-lacquer and grass-cloth cabinet in the entry.
The graphic kitchen is defined by Mozambique wood and a wall of black ceramic tile.
Marcel Breuer Cesca chairs from DWR surround the dining table. The buffet and cabinet are 1960s pieces from Lane.
A rare photograph of Rock Hudson and Doris Day hangs above an Adrian Pearsall sectional in the living room, which also includes a pair of Florence Knoll chairs with original upholstery and a Noguchi coffee table. An abstract work by homeowner AJ Lang hides the television.
A Gyrofocus fireplace, designed in 1968, rotates to heat both the living room and an outdoor sitting area.
Marra and Lang’s “cocktail pool” beckons just behind the house.
On the terrace, a Curtis Jeré wall sculpture hangs behind a 1960s Russell Woodard bar set made of spun fiberglass.
An outdoor shower adjoins the primary bathroom inside.
The primary bedroom features a mid-1970s Pueblo headboard and a classic Le Corbusier lounge chair from DWR.
Also in the primary bedroom, a dresser by Lane and a 1960s Warren Platner chair.
The molded fiberglass chair is by Cedrimartini and the plastic chest is by Broyhill.
A 2008 Super 8 Jaguar is parked in the carport of Louis Marra and AJ Lang’s brick-and-cedar home in Mattituck.
But where would they build their dream house? “I had lived in East Hampton for years,” says Marra, “and that’s what I was thinking.” Lang, however, grew up on Long Island’s North Shore, so off they went to explore.
“We found a piece of land in Mattituck a block from the water,” recounts Lang, “and knew it was perfect the minute we saw it. The North Fork is a chill place to live. We’re surrounded by vineyards, and the town is incredibly friendly.”
The couple broke ground on their 1,600-square-foot three-bedroom in November 2018. It features lots of glass and two types of structural conceits: Whitewashed brick walls run roughly north to south, in contrast to perpendicular walls of cedar. “The idea was for the house to look like it had been there since the 1960s or ’70s,” Marra says.
Skilled shoppers, the couple started stocking up on furnishings from their favorite period. “We were actually shopping before we broke ground,” Lang says with a laugh. “We bought things sight unseen from all over the country and had them shipped to a storage unit. We didn’t even see some of them until the day we moved in.”
“We tend to spend a lot of our vacation time at FedEx,” Marra adds.
Given the men’s expertise, finding desirable furnishings didn’t pose much of a challenge. Many pieces are vintage, and most come with serious design pedigree, from a Florence Knoll credenza and George Nelson Marshmallow sofa to 1970s pieces from Lane. Mixed among vintage Platner and Fornasetti are current-production furnishings by Le Corbusier, Breuer, and Saarinen, as well as readily available items from RH, West Elm, and CB2. Unsurprisingly, a lot of the decor comes from Maison 24 and 1stdibs.
“I saw a vintage Adrian Pearsall sofa with attached end tables that I wanted for the living room,” Marra recounts of one shopping episode, “but AJ wouldn’t let me buy it—he said it was too soon to commit. And when it wasn’t too soon, we came across an even better Pearsall, with a built-in table and two attached planters.” While on a trip to Palm Springs, Lang adds, “we shipped a huge lamp in a box the size of a refrigerator. People at our hotel thought we were stealing the furniture.”
Originally conceived as a weekend getaway, the house is the couple’s only residence at the moment and just might stay that way. Maison 24 now focuses on e-commerce, so Marra has moved its inventory close to his new neighborhood, and Lang has been able to work remotely since the COVID-19 shutdown. “After spending so much time in the new house,” says Marra, “we made a decision to try it full-time. Now it would be really hard to convince either one of us to go back to being here only on weekends.”