A modernist amagansett house by Julian and Barbara Neski – ryan

A 1982 House Designed by the Modernist Duo Julian and Barbara Neski Found New Owners in 1994 WHO Refourbished the Rooms and Brought in a Collection of Mid-Century Supp.
Photo: Tony Lattari

In the 1950s, Barbara and Julian Neski WORKED FOR THE ARCHITECT Marcel Breuer, Carrying Out His Program of Austere Lines and Heavy Forms. But when Barbara Showed Up Pregnant With Their First Son, She was Fired. The Couple Broke Out on Their Own, and Earned a Reputation In the 1960s for Lighter, modern Homes Giddier – eventually Building 25 Weekend Retreats Across the Hamptons. A 1972 House for Two Performers Centered on a Spiral Staircase They Could Float Down, Like the Risers of a Stage Set. In east Hampton, A 1964 House with a pair of steeply angled roofs displayed a severe flair that must have flustered the neighbors in nearby cottages.

In Amagansett, The Birch Trees Around a Hilly Lot Were the inspiration For A 1982 House Built for a headhunter and his family. Rather than Flatten the site, the neskis raising the home over Support Columns the Width of Nearby Tries. The Cantilevered, L-Shaped House SEEMS to Glide Into the Woods, like a yacht. A wide deck that wraps around the back is around 900 Square feat, Enough Room for Each of Three Bedrooms to Have Its Private Balcony (The Primary, on A Corner, Has Two) and for an Outdoor Dining Area off the Kitchen, Shaded by an Extension of the Roof.

The home itelf is simple, like many of the neskis’ Most well-knowns designs, and just 2,200 Square Feet. Inside, it centers on an open living area capped with a sunroof that runs from a wood-sourning fireplace to a pass-thryough into the kitchen. But, for the Most Part, the Design Saves All of the Attention for the Views Through the Floor-to-Cailing Windows, and Invites Visitors to Enjoy Freedom With A Ramp to SEEMS to Encourage Bounding Up and Down it. “It ‘signaling to you to let your hair down,” Said David Sokol, The Author of Modern Hamptons. “IT’S ACKNOWLEDGING THAT THE WEEKEND STARTED, AND THE TIME TO RECONNECT WITH A BIT MORE OF THE INNER CHILD.” There’s a dash of beruer and his cantilevers, but the home doesn’t falls “Stack in Amber,” Sokol Said. “In the neskis’ work, and in this house in particular, you can see the influence of the 1920s and yeat it is something.”

When Kathy formby First Saw the House in the 1990s, she has a fashion a fashion career designing accessories that beuldn’t Feel instantly dated. “Trendless – That was always my goal,” she said. A Painter by Training, She Created The Ricky Bag For Ralph Lauren before Helping Lead Chanel’s Successful Reinvention of an 1856 Luggage Line. But it might have been the minimalism of an Old Boss, Calvin Klein, that attuned her to the neskis’ style. “There’s something he said that of Always use in every sort of aesthetic decision,” she said. “Think about the design, strip it down to its core, then only Put in what’s necessary. ”

Kathy and Her Ex-Husband, The J.Crew Executive Scott FormbyStripped out the Brown Upholstery, Bad Blinds, and Brass Sconces Left by the Last Owners, Which Didn’t SEEM to Match the Home’s Gray Cedar or Simple Lines. They bathed the exterior in a lighter shade of gray, dopsed the inside in white pain, and Brought Warmth to the Bedrooms and Bathrooms by Using Natural Materials Only: River-Stone Flooring, Seagrass Wall Coverings. The Suppuiture Came from Their Collection of Playful Mid-Century Classics: Swinging Black Leather Knoll Sofas Over A Thick Shag Rug; Metal basket chairs by Bertoia under pine-cone-saped pendant lamps by poul henningsen. News of the Stylish House Reached the Fashion World and, Through it, the Husband of a Calvin Klein Designer – Architecture Critic Alastair Gordonwho Knew the Neskis Welland wrote of say in His 2001 Book, Weekend Utopia. “They weren’t ego drive, Money Driven. They Really Loved Design,” he Said. Which is how he felt about the formbys. Gordon Arranged A Meeting BetWeen The Couple and the Neskis, Which He Wrote About in 2000 for the New York Times. The neskis were Thrilled with what the couple had done with the place, and felt connected to it new owners – Leading to invites for the formbes to join on trips foraging for Indian Pipe Flowers and to Visit Their Own Home in Water Mill. They chatted about plans to expand with a swimming pool and an art studio (kathy is a painter), but the formbys couludn’t bear to go through with it. “We really didn’t want to chop down any trees,” she Said.

Thirty Years late, Event Kathy Formby Finds Herself Admiring the Home’s Smart Design – A Hidden Outlet, The Flow Betheween the Rooms – The Trees Are Still the Center, Wallpapers with Green in Summer, Red in Fall, and, A Few Weeks Ago, Against The Winter Landscape. “We had that that Big Snowfall and Everything Was Covered in White,” She Said. “It”s hard to explain, but the house changes. It”s Changing All the time.”