East Hampton interplay

East Lake House has an intrinsic connection to, nature defines which defines this Montauk holiday house, East Hampton, New York. The owners purchased two adjacent lots that were sold as one and instead of building one oversized house, RYA created two separate buildings, a main house and a guest house/garage on the property, leaving space in the middle, creating an unobtrusive scale and an overall feel that’s the opposite of a garish mansion.
While the main house’s living spaces are nestled within the landscape, the three guest bedrooms sit over the garage/boathouse, with panoramic northern and western vistas from up high, contrasting with those offered by the main house.
Despite those varying experiences, one factor keeps everything cohesive: materials. Natural materials were selected with an eye to how they’ll develop over time. Wide, rough-sawn cedar planks on the exteriors are left untreated to let the sun bleach them out to the silvery hue of driftwood; raw zinc roofs will also develop a mottled patina in time; and solid bronze hardware will stand up to the marine environment with little care and will become more beautiful with time and use.
Inside, there’s an interplay of modern and rustic: An exposed structural steel frame spans large expanses of energy-efficient solar glass, adding a feeling of lightness while supporting a series of heavy solid wood roof trusses, painted white. The neutral palette of whites and bleached woods with dark accents makes for an aesthetic that’s at once serene and active.