If walls could talk, oh, the stories they could tell—particularly those in the Water Mill, New York, home of interior designer Anthony Squatrito and his partner, Paul Horn. The late 18h-century cottage was in a deep state of disrepair when the couple purchased it from its 81-year-old owner, and to make matters more complicated, a historic lien on the structure imposed stringent renovation restrictions. As one of the first houses built by Hamptons settlers, it could not be altered or expanded—only preserved and restored—turning a “fixer-upper” project into an epic labor of love.
“Scale is critical—you must respect the room you’re given,” says Squatrito. In the long living room, he created cozy conversation zones by selecting fewer—but larger—pieces of furniture like the six-foot vintage sofa, towering ladder-back chair, and plush armchairs upholstered in a large-scale William Morris print. He anchored the space with an oversized a painting of a barn by Dan Van Landingham, picked up at the Granary Gallery on Martha’s Vineyard.
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William Morris’s Blackberry wallpaper packs a lot of punch into the small mudroom. The verticality of the design is accentuated by the muted stripes of the Rogers & Goffigon linen shade. The desk is by Demiurge New York and the English stool and table lamp are both antique.
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A pair of Catesby botanical prints and an antique shotgun found in the Berkshires hang above the dining room fireplace. The table is set with a mix of old and new pieces including heirloom plates and silverware from Horn’s family, candles from Dienst & Dotter, glassware from Bloom in Sag Harbor, and linens from Hive Palm Beach and Loaves & Fishes.
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“No one could understand why we would want to tackle this and, admittedly, there were times I wondered the same thing,” says Squatrito, who enjoyed a long career with Victoria Hagan and Robert Couturier before launching his eponymous Manhattan-based firm less than a year ago. “But we wanted more than just a weekend home, we wanted a project—especially Paul. He is a banker, but loves to build things by hand. During college and briefly after, he worked in construction where he gained valuable knowledge and experience. Between the two of us, we knew we could transform it into something special.”
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Crisp white cabinetry coupled with French limestone counters and floors refresh the formerly cavernous kitchen. Simple bronze pendants and an antique lantern scored at Brimfield Antique Market further illuminate the light-filled space. The chairs are antique and the marble-top table is from Ruby Beets in Sag Harbor. Benjamin Moore’s Caliente makes the door pop.
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An antique oil portrait from the couple’s former home in New Jersey hangs above the original brick fireplace. Little is known about its provenance, but after 15 years, the couple now claims the sailor as family. The antique copper pot and bronze fireplace tools were discovered at Brimfield.
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Over the course of five years, including two winters without heat and countless weeks without power, the couple painstakingly deconstructed the house to reveal and restore many of its original architectural features. In the kitchen, they removed the decomposed sheetrock ceiling, raised it five feet, and reused the oak beams as collar ties to brace the new cathedral ceiling. Parts of the fireplace were rebuilt using antique bricks salvaged from the old summer kitchen that had been ravaged by Hurricane Agnes in 1972. Less intensive was the process of patching and refinishing the original wide-plank pumpkin pine flooring and the solid wood interior doors. Although the exterior doors were beyond repair, the couple painted them in a vibrant shade red reminiscent of their original color.
“I loved the challenge this home presented,” Horn says. “I had worked on old houses before, but never a 225-year-old house! I felt a strong connection to the original builders and previous owners, and felt an obligation to honor them by bringing the house back to life.”
William Morris’s Fruit wallpaper, which covers the stair hall, was one of the first selections Squatrito made during the design process and helped inform the entire interior palette. “It has a lot movement without being busy,” he explains. Humble antique furniture lends structure to the playful pattern.
Andrew FraszWhen it came time to decorate, Squatrito assembled a scheme that simultaneously felt authentic and fresh, leaning on a palette of golden yellows, warm caramels, apple greens, faded reds, and blues of every hue. The colors are woven through the linens, cottons, and velvets of the upholstery and window treatments; a purposeful hodge-podge of floral, striped, and checkered patterns are balanced by heavily textured solids. In sparsely furnished spaces, like the mudroom and stair hall, the designer used punchy William Morris wallpapers to maximize visual impact.
The walls are also enlivened with centuries worth of oil portraits and landscapes, photographs, and botanical and nautical prints with a few modern pieces thrown into the mix. Old and new lighting in rich metallics illuminate the interiors while antiques and vintage furnishings—primarily American and English, the result of “relentless shopping” at antique fairs, estate sales, and antique galleries across New York and New England during the five-year restoration period—instill them with integrity.
“This is our refuge—a place where we can be surrounded by the things we love like art and books,” says Squatrito of the primary bedroom. The hardy antique furniture is softened by the soothing textures and hues in the Crosby Street Studios rug and bedlinens by Ralph Lauren, Yves Delorme, and Fishers. A contemporary photograph by Bill Emrich adds an unexpected touch of modernity.
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For the primary bathroom, Squatrito chose modern fixtures and fittings, like a flush-mount light from Ralph Lauren and sconces by Visual Comfort. “Using new fixtures in an old space shows its evolution, so the look isn’t contrived,” he says. The soaking tub is by Randolph Morris and the vanity is RH. Window shade fabric, Claremont.
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The guest room palette was pulled from the antique painting above a vintage headboard wearing its original blue finish. A hand-drawn map on the back of the canvas suggests that the painting depicts an “imaginary” neighborhood comprised exclusively of homes belonging to the artist’s extended family members. The antique quilt from Nantucket Antiques and Claremont pillow add to the room’s charm.
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“As a designer, I spend every day composing beautiful rooms, but in my own home, I let the rooms shape themselves,” he says. “I buy what speaks to me then go from there, so the decorating process is more of an experiment than an approach. I appreciate the interplay between different styles and elements—old and new, masculine and feminine, rustic and refined. The mix feels natural and comfortable to me. It feels like home.”
Rather than trying to make the space look larger, Squatrito played up another guest room’s tiny footprint to create a cocoon-like ambiance. A pair of punchy orange abstracts by Christopher Milne inject energy into the soft white space peppered with muted earthtones extracted from the John Robshaw quilt and Claremont shade.
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