Congratulations to the 2023 Hamptons IDAs Winners and Finalists

ARCHITECTURE
Winner: Stelle Lomont Rouhani Architects
The Bauhaus appears to have arrived in the Hamptons, as each of this year’s judges noted while they were considering this entry, dubbed “Light House.” From the outside, freestanding intersecting white and black walls, coupled with cantilevered elements, work in tandem to foster a bold geometric statement, while inside, elegant, minimal forms are positioned to embrace and underscore the site’s breathtaking water views. Judge Bryan Young describes this residence as “a new typology to emerge within Hamptons modernism,” while judge T. R. Pescod decrees it “a monolithic homage to the Bauhaus.” As for judge Joan Michaels, it’s simply “a visual sculpture.”

ARCHITECTURE
Runner-Up: BMA Architects
The house as statement piece, both inside and out—yet designed for easy-breezy summer living. Judges Melanie Roy and T. R. Pescod both recalled Piet Mondrian, noted for his precise, yet animated and unpredictable geometric compositions. Though notable for its vast expanses of glass, the house is wood frame, sheathed in a dark brise-soleil that works to unify its three wings, anchored on the rear elevation with a solid volume clad in handsome cedar. The sinuous, sculptural main staircase, positioned beside a floor-to-ceiling window and constructed from concrete, is a work of art in itself a “jaw-dropping” detail, says judge Joan Michaels.

ARCHITECTURE
Finalist: Bates Masi + Architects
Two simply articulated shingled cottages appear to work together as a wholly new form, but they intentionally reference 17th-century structures that once dotted the area and even marked this very site on a hill in Montauk. The earliest settlers among these heights established a cattle ranch, with livestock pens and dwellings made of local “rubble,” as the architects describe the native stone. Dramatically angled stone walls carve their way into the sloping meadow, suggesting “the traditional vernacular of East Coast architecture brought into the 21st century,” judge T. R. Pescod comments.

ARCHITECTURE
Finalist: BMA Architects
In this project, the architects put a special spin on the phrase “force of nature,” literally re-sculpting sand dunes in order to establish first-floor views of the ocean from a sprawling 11-bedroom house sited on five and a half acres in Southampton. The home’s signature is its airy double-height volumes, designed to take in dual water views from both front and rear rooms. This impressive feature serves as “the focus of the house,” says judge Jayne Michaels, allowing the structure to “blend quietly into the landscape.”

ARCHITECTURE
Finalist: Robert Dean Architects
How do you restore and expand a modernist masterpiece, in this case one designed by the late East End architect Harry Bates, and make it into a new home for a young family? Robert Dean and his team did so. The mid-20th-century house had deteriorated to the point of being regarded as a teardown, but Dean replaced the siding, decks, and glazing while cleverly enlarging the structure at the rear with a two-bedroom pavilion. “Harry Bates created a jewel,” enthuses judge Joan Michaels, “and the architects wrapped it in velvet.”

ARCHITECTURE
Finalist: Stelle Lomont Rouhani Architects
In keeping with Bridgehampton’s centuries-old agrarian DNA, whereby buildings with varying purposes were clustered on a site to give priority to the land itself, Stelle Lomont Rouhani Architects devised a group of simple, austere structures directly related to one another. The largest contains the home’s gathering spaces, a secondary volume features stacked bedrooms, and a third comprises a separate garage and pool quarters, all clad in durable yellow Alaskan cedar shingles. Both Jayne Michaels and Joan Michaels praise the residence’s “Shaker-style sensibility.”

INTERIOR DESIGN
Winner: Marie-Christine Design
Decorator Marie-Christine McNally created this tranquil abode for a family of five who relocated to the East End from Tribeca, employing “a largely neutral, soothing palette with lots of texture, making the rooms both stimulating and relaxing,” says judge Melanie Roy. “Refined” is how judge Jayne Michaels describes the interiors, adding that the “furnishings are comfortable, and nothing is too precious.” Judge Joan Michaels agrees heartily, fantasizing about “relaxing on the daybed with a glass of white wine” while admiring the introduction of vintage furnishing pieces, which “give everything a warm patina.”

INTERIOR DESIGN
Runner-Up: BoND Architecture + Interior Design
A yearlong gut renovation of this historic cottage in East Hampton involved a major architectural change: incorporating a series of internal archways that span the length of the first floor. By doing so, New York City-based BoND Architecture & Interior Design achieved the project’s primary objective of enhancing the overall spatial flow, which is underscored by a series of judiciously decorated rooms imbued with a Scandinavian serenity. “The materiality is extremely thoughtful and well detailed,” comments judge Bryan Young.

INTERIOR DESIGN
Finalist: Oza Sabbeth Architects
In many of the renovation projects Oza Sabbeth Architects undertakes, the firm adheres to what it calls “radical reimaginations,” whereby the team works to retain as much of the original bones of a house as possible, instead of demolishing and rebuilding. The same principle applies to interior furnishings—in this instance, an array of pieces collected over the years by the clients and reintroduced to the home in different ways. Not surprisingly, notes judge Joan Michaels, “the colors of the furniture are harmonious with the architecture of the house.”

INTERIOR DESIGN
Finalist: Stelle Lomont Rouhani Architects
"The interiors of this house,” say its designers, “were conceived in tandem with the architecture, with the exterior layering of planes and volumes continuing inside through the use of platforms and walls to create an interplay between privacy and openness.” The tone is set in the entry, which features a stunning water view as its focal point while also dividing the home into public and private areas. Throughout the structure, a palette of white oak enhanced by black and white accents in wood, tile, and plaster lends a “stark, graphic, artful” appeal, notes judge Jayne Michaels.

INTERIOR DESIGN
Finalist: Tamara Magel Design
Black and white are at their best in the hands of decorator Tamara Magel, who used both colors to maximum effect in this new house in Water Mill. Here, otherwise daring black walls are intentionally offset by a white coffered ceiling, delivering both graphic punch and a dreamy living area enhanced by furnishings and accessories from sources such as Monc XIII, StudioTwentySeven, and Holly Hunt. Jayne Michaels admires how the “nice balance of soft shapes and constructed elements” creates an effect that’s “strong, yet inviting.”

INTERIOR DESIGN
Finalist: Tara Kantor Interiors
“Lovely, comfortable, and dreamy” is how Joan Michaels describes the interiors of this new build in the heart of Amagansett. Decorator Tara Kantor fashioned clean-lined, thoroughly modern rooms rich in texture and natural materials, imbuing every nook and corner with a sense of calm and elegance. The edge of the kitchen island, for example, is softened with a subtle curve; a few steps down, the dining area neatly functions both as its own entity and as connective tissue to the home’s other public areas; and a beautiful materials palette is employed throughout, down to the flush backsplash in the powder room.

GARDEN DESIGN
Winner: Hollander Design Landscape Architects
Judge Joan Michaels describes the terrain in this garden design as “not unlike a fairy tale.” Throughout the thoughtfully mapped-out project, bees, birds, and butterflies are as welcome as the occupants of the house are, in distinct areas ranging from an orchard walk to a flowering meadow to restored wetlands and a pond. Adjacent to the house, borders and beds comprise planting materials known to thrive in “high-activity areas,” the designers say, which judge Bryan Young takes note of in his comment, “So elegant. The transitions blur together effortlessly, from wild to manicured, soft to hard, colored to monochromatic.”

GARDEN DESIGN
Finalist: James Doyle Design Associates
The dramatically steep slope on which this decidedly contemporary house sits is mitigated by plantings of ornamental grasses and evergreen shrubs—in effect, taming the site while simultaneously retaining its shape. Situated on the edge of conservation land in Amagansett, the property required considerable attention and, the design team says, “a sense of place,” achieved by plantings and hardscaping that connect the street-side upper level of the house with a rear garden on the lower elevation. “The use of plant materials to create interest on different planes is very strong,” says judge T. R. Pescod.

GARDEN DESIGN
Finalist: LaGuardia Design Group
Forget about a conventional lawn and think instead of a meadow, the defining natural element of this landscape design, which Bryan Young describes as “soft and wild, something very difficult to achieve without it feeling forced.” To make the meadow, the design firm planted native grasses and colorful wildflowers, creating a sumptuous habitat for wildlife at the same time. Anchored at one end by a smattering of small trees, the meadow also “serves as a low-maintenance alternative to traditional lawns,” the firm says, “reducing the need for watering and chemical applications.”

KITCHEN DESIGN
Winner: Tamara Magel Design
Good cooks create memorable fare, and good designers develop recipes for success, no matter what the challenge. For this Sagaponack kitchen, designer Tamara Magel whipped up a five-star confection anchored by a pink-veined marble that serves as the space’s pièce de résistance. Judge Bryan Young marvels at how the marble “elevates the bold kitchen, making it both surprising and elegant,” while judge T. R. Pescod says simply, “It makes me smile.” A substantial white concrete island within easy reach of a sparkling brass range and a deep farm sink “is a lovely touch,” adds judge Jayne Michaels.

KITCHEN DESIGN
Finalist: HRH Design Group
This project, raves judge Joan Michaels, is everything a kitchen should be: “spacious and clean, soft and airy, with good materials and lighting. It will stand the test of time.” Designed for a busy family that loves to cook, the multifunctional space is kitted out with ample room for making and baking bread, a separate butler’s pantry, a beverage center, and an adjacent dining area. An oversize gray Carrara marble island meshes beautifully with cabinetry in white-lacquered rough-cut white oak, and the entire kitchen is bathed in natural light, thanks to a surfeit of windows.

KITCHEN DESIGN
Finalist: Stelle Lomont Rouhani Architects
After years of living in this house in the Amagansett dunes, its owners decided to make the kitchen the focal point, given their penchant for cooking and entertaining. What was once the dining room has now been transformed into an expanded kitchen area incorporating a long bleached-walnut island positioned as a kind of bridge to an adjacent courtyard for alfresco dining. “The bleached walnut,” comments judge Melanie Roy, “is the perfect complementary material for a home in this location, and the ample built-in shelves seamlessly merge the cooking and entertaining areas into a cohesive whole.”

BATH DESIGN
Winner: BMA Architects
Bathrooms don’t typically offer the best views from a house, but this primary bath happens to take in the entire sweep of a bay in Southampton and its adjacent wetlands. The overall experience is one of serenity and peace, amplified by carefully considered details including slatted skylights, a dedicated seating area, a harmonious materials palette anchored by various marbles, and a deep soaking tub, the kind that invites lingering for hours. It’s a “thoughtful and gracious” space, notes judge Jayne Michaels.

BATH DESIGN
Winner: HRH Design Group
The secret to the success of this primary bathroom is HRH Design Group’s ability to employ innovative materials and fixtures within a traditional bath schematic. Always-popular gray Carrara marble is used for flooring, for example, but in the form of a new “pillow-topped” large-format tile, it takes on new meaning, especially when juxtaposed against walls clad in hexagonal porcelain tile. A floating double-sink vanity, an element Jayne Michaels cites as “simplicity at its best,” is framed by LED lighting, and custom cabinetry made of rough-cut white oak provides a “nice contrast,” notes judge Melanie Roy.

BATH DESIGN
Finalist: Studio Zung
It’s no surprise that Studio Zung principal Tommy Zung is a dedicated surfer. The marble used to clad this primary bathroom in Amagansett is not unlike the wave patterns of the rolling surf along nearby Atlantic Beach, made even more seamless by its use on the walls, floor, and step- in shower behind a glass divider. Melanie Roy praises how the space has “lots of movement between the marble and soft wood tones,” while judge Bryan Young admires the room’s overall “dynamic quality.” It’s “a serene and airy environment,” adds Jayne Michaels.