Summer colors, for the most part, fall under the category of stark whites and ocean blues. Yet at Seaview, Robert McKinley of Studio Robert McKinley’s newest project in Montauk, the designer decided to go beyond the aesthetically obvious. Instead, the interiors are dominated by simple clean lines, painted cream floors, white shiplap walls, submarine yellow books, and maroon upholstery, whose moody hue feels like the one that inspired the old sailor’s adage: “red sky in the morning, sailor take warning.” If you needed any further proof that this wasn’t your basic beach house, in the corner of the living room is a Joe Colombo “Tube” chair from the late 1960s, purchased in Italy.
Nicole Franzen
Nicole Franzen
The home’s location served as the design scheme’s starting point. Montauk is a fishing village, and the house features plenty of traditional New England architectural details, with cedar shingles and a wraparound deck boasting sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean. McKinley was taken both by the land’s dramatic seaside soul and Montauk’s own past. “I pulled color references from boats of all types,” he says. “This informed the small hits of red, a green stripe, and rich hand-oiled woods.” He also decorated the space with antiques sourced from secondhand shops in Long Island and New England, including pieces by artists like Ayan Farrah, Claes Oldenburg, Jack Greer, and Jasper Johns. Vintage pages from Vacation magazine adorn the lounge, while a moss green outdoor table from EQ3 sits on the porch. Centering the living room is a coffee table of reclaimed Italian marble, red quartzite triangle base, and a plinth of old-growth carved oak from McKinley’s own furniture line Monea.
Nicole Franzen
