Picture the scene: a classic shingle-style cottage in the historic and artistic Springs district of the Hamptons. A softly landscaped garden of meadows, roses, and lavender-lined paths wraps the house, evoking an English secret garden.
The home’s interior design also embraces the heirloom look and feel, with layered, comfortable transitional style and an eclectic mix of vintage furniture. ‘The brief was very straightforward,’ says interior designer Melissa Lee, of Bespoke Only, ‘the young family, living and working in New York City, wanted a homey, cozy country abode that feels lived-in and personal.’
Take the tour as designer Melissa highlights the key elements that helped her get the look.
(Image credit: William Jess Laird)
There’s a warm welcome from the off in this house. The front door is painted in an earthy red (try Benjamin Moore’s Country Redwood for a similar shade), and in the entryway beyond are some charming cottage elements, including a 1940s Fritz Hansen rocking chair, quirky rug, and a fresh, leafy wallcovering with a painterly touch.
‘The Springs district is a quiet area celebrated for its artistic heritage,’ adds Melissa. ‘This setting inspired a design that caters to the authentic and unpretentious atmosphere of the area. The approach was both tender and precise: to craft a home that felt inherited rather than installed, imbued with patina, memory, and a distinctly human scale. What results is a home not designed to impress, but to receive.’
(Image credit: William Jess Laird)
The covered back porch is equally inviting. It’s used as a garden room and is simply furnished with a few well-chosen new pieces alongside the clients’ existing favorites, with rattan and bamboo furniture, and sisal flooring all perfect choices for a room that links indoor and outdoor worlds.
‘We loved the opportunity this home presented to really embrace our very own design ethos: a space that, like a well-loved novel, grows richer with time and touch,’ says Melissa. ‘It is both a beginning and a continuity – a canvas shaped as much by restraint as by resonance.’
(Image credit: William Jess Laird)
Strong midcentury furniture gives the living room a real sense of tradition. The two armchairs are early 1940s Jindrich Halabala designs, and the Sergio Asti rosewood coffee table dates from the 60s. The Maiden Home sofa is new, but it reflects the midcentury styling.
‘Rather than impose a singular narrative, the design unfolds as a collected anthology: vintage furnishings gathered over time, no theme; art and ceramics layered not for visual punctuation but for rhythm,’ adds designer Melissa. ‘Each object exists not as ornament, but as evidence, of travel, of intuition, of memory and of life itself.’
(Image credit: William Jess Laird)
The existing kitchen was in good shape, and instead of a full refi,t Melissa opted to paint the cabinets and add a new backsplash of white subway tiles. She also sourced two iconic vintage Alvar Aalto K65 stools for the kitchen island, adding a vintage bell pendant above to tie the look together.
Light wood flooring makes a forgiving and easily maintained surface for family living and adds a contemporary update to the space.
(Image credit: William Jess Laird)
A standout element of the design is the custom millwork, including a Shaker-inspired bench in the dining room.
‘This piece evokes the simplicity and grace of a church pew and, alongside other carefully curated elements, enriches the space architecturally and enhances the vintage program,’ says Melissa.
The slab-top Brazilian trestle table dates from around 1960, and the oak dining chairs are Victorian antiques and have been reupholstered in mustard velvet.
(Image credit: William Jess Laird)
Helping to give the primary bedroom a crafted look, the main event is Birch Lane’s Benbrook spindle bed, which, Melissa explains, ‘perfectly echoes the heirloom feel the clients desired for this project’.
She sourced a 1970s arched rattan vanity with mirror, and says, ‘One of the joys of designing this home was selecting an eclectic mix of vintage furniture, gathered with a sense of freedom and creativity, to form a spectrum of different eras and styles, to create a layered and storied look.’
(Image credit: William Jess Laird)
At the other side of the bedroom, a sumptuous chintz print window seat offers a versatile built-in storage solution with a pretty (and comfortable) face.
‘Without altering the home’s original structure, the design leans into a quietly radical softness,’ says Melissa. ‘The choice of furnishings played a key role in achieving this effect.’ She contrasts the large-scale chintz seat cushions with a smaller-scale sprig print wallpaper, layering up the florals with confidence and style.
(Image credit: William Jess Laird)
The cottage florals continue in this guest bedroom. ‘We drenched it in a floor-to-ceiling floral pattern wallpaper with windows framing the wilderness on the outside,’ says Melissa. ‘Here, the outdoors do not frame the home – they continue it.’
The distinctive blue floral print wallcovering is the Bird design from Watts 1874, with a pair of leather chairs and a distinctive table lamp providing the vintage elements and a warm color contrast.
(Image credit: William Jess Laird)
‘The home’s outside spaces are just as important as the indoors,’ says Melissa. ‘The clients inherited a beautifully lush landscape, inspired by an English secret garden aesthetic with wild flower meadows, climbing roses, and winding narrow paths lined with lavender and other native blooms with loose, organic movements. We really wanted to lean into this soft, romantic feel.’
Melissa selected two umbrellas from Business & Pleasure, while at the other side of the yard the lounge chairs are from Gubi, with an outdoor sofa and side tables from Sika Design.
Shop the look
In the entryway, a trailing ivy-print wallpaper sets the tone for the home’s country-style décor. AS Creation’s Hedera Green Painterly Vine wallcovering would create a similar rustic effect.
The covered back porch is simply furnished in a rustic style, with rattan and bamboo furniture. On the table is a decorative pitcher. This one, available from Wayfair, would give a similar look.
Leaning in to the living room’s midcentury style notes, a vintage bar cart provides for easy entertaining. For a similar look, try this chrome finish option from Ashley Furniture.
A few well-chosen updates added character to the existing kitchen, including a vintage industrial-style pendant light. This antiqued black iron option is new but would give a similar effect.
In the primary bedroom, a modern swivel chair from Lulu and Georgia adds a sense of fun with its bright tiger print design.
Like the house interiors, the garden has a traditional cottage vibe and includes vintage-style outdoor furniture. This scalloped-edge umbrella is the perfect summer accessory.
Interior design: Bespoke Only
Photography: William Jess Laird
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