When bicoastal interior designer David Netto decided to keep his Hamptons home, it was because he had lost a bet. Had he won the bet against fellow designer Will Meyer, who argued the home should be salvaged, he would have torn down his hexagonal beach house before it gained the cult following enjoyed today.
“I lost, I’m happy to say,” says Netto after the Amagansett house had been renovated from its humble 1980s beginnings. The unusual home that had annoyed his design instincts became a source of pride.
“It anchored me to the place… I love it so much that it makes me feel good no matter where I am,” Netto tells Behind The Hedges.
Netto’s hexagonal beach house in the Amagansett Dunes is one of five unique homes guests will tour at the 39th annual East Hampton House & Garden Tour on Saturday, Nov. 30. The tour, held from 1 to 4:30 p.m. costs $95 per person, and will be teased by a cocktail party, which has already sold out, at the Maidstone Club in East Hampton Village on the evening of Friday, Nov. 29.
The events benefit the East Hampton Historical Society, which oversees seven of the most significant historical sites in East Hampton and Amagansett, such as the Mulford Farm and East Hampton Town Marine Museum.
For the same cause of historic preservation, the hexagon house was reimagined by Netto with Meyer Davis Studio into a modern take on an old style of beach-living. “When I bring people there, no matter what they have, they walk in, they grip my arm, and they say ‘I want to live this way.’”
The house was originally built in 1980, and the comprehensive renovation was undertaken in 2012.
It is hexagonal and was always hexagonal, “a sort of a feng shui things that originated around the view,” the owner has said of the home. “There was no fighting the hexagons – the plan was the plan – so the first thing the house needed from me was an image. I love the kind of 1950s architecture one sees in Bermuda and Florida: one-story houses in stucco with tile roofs and casement windows with big square lights, elegant but very light. I thought it would be interesting to interpret the Caribbean neo-traditional style in wood shingles with white wood trim – regionally.”
Inside the home, a center column is clad in coiled rope. Influenced by painted furniture by Jean Prouve, its how he decided to paint the pole blue. Bleached fir horizontal boards, which Netto says reflect the horizon line of the ocean, is featured throughout the home.
“It’s an anti-bourgeois house, it’s like camping,” Netto continues in his interview with Hedges. “That is what makes it sweet, it’s not materialistic.” Sitting along the always-changing ocean-bordered sand dunes, the main bedroom offers 360-degree views, “It’s like being in a lighthouse.”
The four other houses are among the most iconic in the area: The carriage house of Grey Gardens fame, the “Pink House” on Egypt Lane, the chic oasis in Springs and a historical gem on Main Street.
Down a long driveway on Main Street is a home framed from an 18th century barn. The vaulted ceilings in English tudor style and the horse chestnut tree onsite – believed by some to be the oldest of its kind on the East Coast – give guests a rare glimpse into old East Hampton.
Hidden from the ordinary passerby in Springs is perhaps the chic capital of the area. The recently renovated, tastefully colorful oasis of detailed design sits on over three acres of land. A massive Louis Vuitton trunk and Socia gazebo designed from curved logs define this luxurious property.
Against the test of time, the elegant Colonial style home, known as the George Eldredge House and built by East Hampton’s premier builder of the summer colony in 1876. , delivers unparalleled style. The pink-tinged home on Egypt Lane reflects the nearby beach through driftwood-colored floors and playful pastels throughout the home. The self-taught architect shows off the extravagance of the area with wide halls and doorways.
The Carriage House in Grey Gardens was built right before the 20th century, in 1896. After decades in the Beale estate, the homestead has since ended up in the hands of a family that has transformed it into a celebration of modernity in an old-school setting.
Across centuries and economic classes, the 39th annual East Hampton House and Garden Tour offers a look into the culture and history that has influenced its design.
Tickets for the self-guided tour can be purchased online at easthamptonhistory.org/events/annual-house-garden-tour-benefit/. Then, pick up your tour program starting at 10 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 29 at the Clinton Academy at 151 Main Street in East Hampton.
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