In the Hamptons, Julie Hillman Balances Shingle-Style Architecture with Bold Contemporary Artworks

Shingle Style houses, with their charming asymmetrical façades, varied rooflines, and eponymous siding, are practically an architectural requirement in certain enclaves of Long Island’s East End. Often tailored for generously entertaining friends and family, many of these homes are indisputably large and rambling, and for designers tasked with outfitting the interiors it can be challenging to create a welcoming, human-scale feel.

For a project in the Hamptons overseen by designer Julie Hillman, that test began right inside the front door. The newly built residence, conceived by a developer as a high-end spec house, features a soaring double-height entry with a staircase and large doorways that open to the adjacent living spaces.

“Walking into that environment, I really wanted to soften it and make it feel comfortable and homey,” says Hillman. Her strategy focused on bringing in lots of vintage furnishings while emphasizing natural materials and rich, organic textures. Helping to add personality—as well as some wow factor—she also arrayed the spaces with high-caliber contemporary art, a combination of works from the clients’ existing collection and new acquisitions.

In the entry, which Hillman warmed with gridded paneling painted a crisp white, visitors are met by lively Jeff Koons and John Baldessari artworks on either side of the front door. A Jean-Michel Basquiat painting, distinguished by his unmistakable figures and text on a golden ground, hangs above an antique Swedish Gustavian bench, while one of Mark Grotjahn’s colorfully painted bronze box sculptures rests casually on the floor. Overlooking it all, along the upper part of one wall, is The Bruce High Quality Foundation’s clever Andy Warhol homage, The Wives, a series of vibrantly hued portraits of the spouses of famous white-collar criminals.

At the heart of the space, Hillman installed a table, a classic decorating gesture, although the playfully gloopy white-polyurethane design by Louis Durot is far from traditional—and not exactly typical for a Hamptons beach house. “I wanted this to feel different from the other homes you see there,” says the designer.

For example, in the formal dining area, off the entry and one of the first rooms one encounters, Hillman created what she describes as an unexpected mix anchored by a custom raw-edge teak slab table surrounded by sumptuously upholstered vintage Jansen chairs, with a pair of twisting, vine-inspired chandeliers by Jeff Zimmerman floating above. Punchy Richard Prince “Joke” paintings flank the mantelpiece topped by a François-Xavier Lalanne monkey sculpture, leavening the mood of the space, which the designer calls “serious and fun.”

Because the clients have children, everything needed to be kid-friendly—elevated but not too precious. A prime illustration is the family room, a space also adjacent to the entry, “where everybody hangs out—kids playing, the TV always on,” says Hillman. Here, she installed a comfy slipcovered custom sofa and lounge chair and a beanbag-like leather pouf alongside refined vintage pieces such as Guillerme et Chambron chairs and a Jacques Adnet side table. On opposite sides of the fireplace, a Rudolf Stingel silver foil artwork with graffiti scrawls and a Doug Aitken light box depicting a shattered iPhone make a jaunty pairing. Overhead, a massive vintage Verner Panton capiz-shell chandelier becomes a gentle wind chime whenever the sets of French doors leading to the rear terrace are opened.

The family spends much of their time here and in the nearby kitchen, which the designer outfitted with whitewashed timber ceiling beams salvaged from a barn in Vermont “to add some soul to the space,” as she puts it. Meals are enjoyed at a 19th-century Belgian oak farmhouse table bordered by a long, cushioned bench and midcentury rush-seat chairs in the style of Charlotte Perriand.

Throughout the living areas, Hillman stuck to a predominantly neutral color palette, allowing the artwork to provide occasional contrasting chromatic pops. Organic textures abound, from driftwood and rough-hewn wood tables to rope mirrors and abaca rugs, even rattan shades on a graceful pair of vintage Jacques Adnet leather-wrapped sconces.

That theme continues upstairs, where Hillman furnished guest bedrooms with fiber-woven beds, “keeping it very country and warm,” she says. In the double-height primary bedroom, the emphasis is on softness and serenity, with everything in muted complementary hues. A bespoke linen-upholstered bed is joined by Paul Dupré-Lafon barrel-back chairs covered in hair on hide atop a luxurious silk rug, all overlooked by an exquisite abstract painting by the monochrome master Robert Ryman. “I always feel like you should be able to walk into these main bedroom spaces and just have this ahh relaxing moment,” says Hillman. “You’re in this sanctuary.”

The entire residence has a sanctuary quality about it, not least when you’re unwinding outside by the pool, surrounded by the fields of an adjacent agricultural reserve. “This house is just meant to be really, really comfortable,” says Hillman. “Ultimately, I wanted it to have a sense of, I’m not sure exactly where I am, but it feels good.”

A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2025 Summer Issue under the headline “Full House.” Subscribe to the magazine.

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In the Hamptons, Julie Hillman Balances Shingle-Style Architecture with Bold Contemporary Artworks

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For a Hamptons home conceived by designer Julie Hillman, uninterrupted views of a verdant preserve set the tone for the intentionally muted sitting room. “I wanted everything else to pale in comparison to it,” she says of the vista. Custom sheer drapes, a 20th-century Swedish chair, and a Paavo Tynell desk lamp forge a serene atmosphere buoyed by a graphic Christopher Wool silkscreen.

Photograph by MANOLO YLLERA

“If you were to put a soft watercolor up there, you wouldn’t notice it,” says Hillman of the landing above the stair, visible from the front door. Instead, she chose a light box by Doug Aitken, the California artist whose freewheeling portfolio spans underwater pavilions, reflective hot-air balloons, and hypnotic multidimensional works the artist deems “electric haikus,” including Now (2013/24).

Photograph by EVAN BEDFORD, © DOUG AITKEN, COURTESY OF REGEN PROJECTS, LOS ANGELES, 303 GALLERY, NEW YORK, GALERIE EVA PRESENHUBER, ZURICH, AND VICTORIA MIRO, LONDON

The living room needed “a little edginess,” explains Hillman, who placed an etched Rudolf Stingel work and an Yves Klein table to contrast softer elements like a swooping sofa by Vladimir Kagan and a pair of Jacques Adnet sconces. “They’re great transitional pieces and help integrate the room with the strong artwork in the entry.”

Photograph by MANOLO YLLERA

While assisting French sculptor César in the late 1960s, Louis Durot channeled his interest in engineering into mastering techniques for working with polyurethane foam, specifically making the fragile substance more stable so it can be fashioned into tables like the one in the entryway. “His pieces have a very distinct look to them,” Hillman says. “I’ve used them as tables in kitchens and playrooms.

Photograph by COURTESY OF 1ST DIBS

Hillman describes the screened-in porch as “beachy, but it could also go ski lodge.” The addition of storm windows means the room can be used year-round, but organic textures and materials—such as the round Christian Astuguevieille mirror clad in natural rope above the fireplace—conjure a coastal vibe befitting its Hamptons locale.

Photograph by MANOLO YLLERA

Trained in classical Venetian glassblowing, American artist Jeff Zimmerman has pushed the medium’s boundaries for more than three decades. His exploratory approach yields wonderfully intricate lighting sculptures imbued with natural patterns and illusions of the cosmos, both of which are intensely realized in this chandelier from a recent solo exhibition at R & Company in Manhattan.

Photograph by LOGAN JACKSON, COURTESY OF R & COMPANY

French midcentury furniture maker Guillerme et Chambron balanced conservative silhouettes with unexpected moments of flair, as seen in the two armchairs that anchor the family room. The designers, Robert Guillerme and Jacques Chambron, were keenly attuned to how their pieces would be used in everyday life. “They’re durable and comfortable,” says Hillman.

Photograph by COURTESY OF MAISON GERARD

Seeking rustic accents to evoke a lived-in feel, Hillman handpicked the kitchen’s vintage ceiling beams from an old barn in Vermont. “Without those, it’s a different kitchen— Hamptons megamansion to Westchester country house,” she says. The woodwork complements crisp touches, including Christopher Peacock cabinetry and a trio of 1950s barstools from Tom Gibbs Studio.

Photograph by MANOLO YLLERA