For the lucky few invited to peek beyond its manicured hedges, Woody House reveals itself to be so much more than an average Hamptons home—fabulous as that may be. Tucked between pristine beaches and much-coveted Lily Pond lies an extraordinary sprawling garden and home. A design adventure that’s unfurled over decades, the estate’s five-acre garden imbues the entire property with a looking-glass quality, complete with winding allées, ponds, and English meadows.
It’s hard to leave the dreamy embrace of such gorgeous grounds, but the updated 1930s house is no shrinking violet. Recently, the unassuming structure has undergone a series of glow-ups, designed for the unerring tastes and ever-expanding art collections of its owners. New York architect Pietro Cicognani, known for precise, historically focused restorations, masterminded each phase. “It was the opposite of an ego trip,” he says of the process. Always attuned to the home’s history as a private hideaway, the commission “was more like a sensitive, nature observing trip, which is never as easy as it sounds.”
Here in the Hamptons, such restraint is sometimes cast aside when it comes to blue-chip real estate. But Woody House—maintaining its single-room wide layout, low-slung profile, and intimacy with the sublime natural setting—retains its soul. This harmonious character, Cicognani believes, gives the structure its seductive power. “No corridors, no filters, always looking at nature. Wild on one side, domesticated on the other, the home’s split personality makes it very fulfilling.”
The house’s sensuous interior scheme, presided over by design legend Peter Marino, also channels a joyful timelessness in its pairing of pieces. Unlike his iconic uniform of head-to-toe biker leathers, Marino’s rare residential commissions don’t cohere to a single, easily identifiable aesthetic. Rather, they become expressions of the designer’s vast knowledge of the visual world and enviable ability to effortlessly weave styles together.
For Woody House, Marino, a fellow horticultural obsessive, collaborated with the client to conjure layered rooms that cast a romantic, almost ethereal spell. And just like the garden, with its far-flung inspirations, the home’s chicly crafted spaces are layered with delightful furniture, objects, and enticing textures that come together to create a dynamic, wow-worthy whole.
Shop the full curation of pieces inspired by the Woody House from the latest issue of our print publication, Magazinish. To read all of Magazinish, click here.
Lead image: Photography by Tria Giovan, from Out East-Houses and Gardens of the Hamptons
