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Slimmed Down for Summer *

In Southampton, New York, architect Walter Chatham gave a 1960's house a streamlined new look—and a European accent

Raul Barreneche -- Interior Design, 6/1/2004 12:00:00 AM

"My first everything-down- to-the-towels project," is how architect Walter Chatham describes the weekend house he revamped for a retired executive and his wife in Southampton, New York. The single-level structure—please don't call it a ranch—was built in the 1960's for the Nederlander family, of Broadway theater fame, and set among the shingled manses of the village's tony estate district.

But this modernist gem was also flawed or, as Chatham puts it more succinctly, "A wreck." The 7,000-square-foot house had good bones, lots of natural light, and a huge U-shape pool, but shoddy construction had caused the window frames to rot in the salty air. ("Behind ' every great building," asserts Chatham, "there's an OK architect and a great builder.")

Still, despite structural woes and folksy knotty-pine ceilings and beams at every turn, the house reminded the wife of a Frank Lloyd Wright–esque residence that costarred in Alfred Hitchcock's thriller North by Northwest. Not that they fancy themselves Eva Marie Saint and Cary Grant, but the owners do have a sophisticated eye and a taste for 1930's deco furniture, as evidenced by the impressive collection in their Manhattan apartment.

Given the sorry state of affairs in Southampton, Walter Chatham Architects retained only a few choice elements. The floor's platforms and sunken areas created the up-and-down movement necessary, Chatham felt, to compensate for the pancake-flat former farmland outside. And the clerestories between the exposed ceiling beams would require nothing more than new glazing.

After stripping away virtually everything else, he essentially rebuilt the house, seamlessly adding a master suite, a service wing with maid's room and three-car garage, and a pool house in the process. In the original part of the structure, he installed full-height steel-framed windows and glass doors that, in conjunction with the existing clerestories, leave the rooms positively "swimming in light," he says. It's like a loft in the country.

He continued his thorough update by painting the knotty pine white and replacing the floor's rustic pine with quartersawn pickled oak. New baseboards of brushed aircraft aluminum give a sharper edge to the funky rec-room aesthetic of the original interior. "It's very modern but not stark," he says. The fieldstone used for fireplace surrounds prevents the impression from becoming overly slick.

So does the paint on the walls. The off-kilter grays, pale yellows, and pistachio greens came principally from the "color keyboards" that Le Corbusier, the ultimate "white" architect of the International Style, developed for monochromatic Salubra wallpapers. (Chatham consulted the luxurious samples in Le Corbusier—Polychromie Architecturale, a three-volume set.) Gio Ponti's unorthodox modern palette ' contributed to the scheme, too.

The furniture collection pays homage to the golden age of European and American mid-century modernism, especially the underappreciated female designers. Found at some of New York's best galleries, rare pieces include Charlotte Perriand's wall-mounted bookshelves, a floor lamp and table by Greta Magnusson Grossman, and a Serge Mouille ceiling lamp, all circa 1950. Osvaldo Borsani's adjustable Tecno armchair dates from 1954.

The collection moves closer to the present as well. Mira Nakashima, the daughter of George Nakashima, designed the hefty American walnut dining table—surrounded by Hans Wegner's teak chairs. The late Lloyd Schwan contributed cabinetry as well as all the beds in the house.

Sabrina Schilcher of Salon Moderne, a New York showroom, designed the family room's sofa and club chairs in the square, clean-lined spirit of Jean-Michel Frank. Because one of Chatham's bugaboos is upholstery with patterns and prints, the seating is covered with chenille in solid gray and camel tones. For the living area's furniture, Schilcher ' took T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings as her model. "The house is all about windows, so we kept the furniture light—and classic, to tie in with the vintage pieces," she explains.

The kitchen's plywood cabinets were inspired by Schwan's plywood furniture, the room's layout by a more controversial design icon, Martha Stewart. In completing residences for Stewart and her daughter, Alexis, in happier times, Chatham has picked up a few good tips: why the golden rule of the "triangle" functions best and how many dishwashers are needed to make life easier. "Martha," enthuses Chatham, "really knows how to lay out a kitchen."

In the family room, Sabrina Schilcher's chenille-covered sofa and club chairs, recalling Jean-Michel Frank, are grouped with a cork cocktail table by Paul Frankl and a floor lamp by Greta Magnusson Grossman. A neutral palette cedes center stage to Danish ceramics and Auguste Herbin prints.

In the family room, a French 1950's advertising poster hangs on the fieldstone fireplace surround. Across the way, Jean Prouvé's swing-arm lamp surmounts Charlotte Perriand's wall-mounted bookshelves in oak and painted metal.

Walter Chatham replaced the glazing of the clerestories and the wood of the floor; it's now quartersawn pickled oak. Pierre Paulin designed the lounge chairs and ottoman.

A curvy lounge chair by Osvaldo Borsani faces the more formal living area's chairs, designed after T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings.

The dining area's Serge Mouille ceiling fixture in enameled steel hangs above Mira Nakashima's table of American walnut.

Hans Wegner's teak chairs seat 10. Center: The late Lloyd Schwan designed the master suite's bed, with its velvet-upholstered headboard. Nearby sit a chair and ottoman by George Nelson.

The kitchen features aluminum-edged plywood cabinets and slate counters and flooring.

Around the U-shape pool, one of the property's best original elements, Chatham built bluestone terraces that echo the varying floor levels inside.

ASSOCIATE DESIGNER: EVANS SIMPSON. CUSTOM CHAIRS, SOFAS (FAMILY ROOM, LIVING AREA): SALON MODERNE. RUGS: DAVID SHAW NICHOLLS. BOOKSHELVES, SWING-ARM LAMP (FAMILY ROOM), CEILING FIXTURE (DINING AREA): THROUGH DELORENZO 1950. TABLE (DINING AREA): GEORGE NAKASHIMA WOODWORKER. SCONCES (MASTER SUITE): ARTEMIDE. CARPET: F. SCHUMACHER CO. STOOLS (KITCHEN): KARTELL. RANGE, REFRIGERATOR, DISHWASHER: VIKING RANGE CORPORATION. CABINET PLYWOOD: NORTH AMERICAN PLYWOOD CORPORATION. SEATING, TABLES (POOL AREA): RICHARD SCHULTZ DESIGN. CUSTOM WINDOW BLINDS: ALLSTATE GLASS CORPORATION.