Modern History
Written by Robert Leleux | Photographed by Patrick Cline | Produced and Art Directed by Michelle Adams
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Hotelier Ari Heckman infuses a historic seafaring retreat with shimmering 21st-century style
The dining room’s rustic features are cleverly juxtaposed with midcentury artworks. An oversize spherical light fixture offers a geometric counterpoint to the ceiling’s linear beams.
Last year, Ari Heckman and Ethan Feirstein purchased an 18th-century house in the hamptons abounding with cozy, vintage charm. Located just next door to Feirstein’s parents' home, the three-bedroom residence—built in the late 1700s by members of Sag harbor’s whaling elite—constituted an ideal weekend retreat for the enterprising Brooklyn couple. “Ethan and I had been eyeing the house for a long while,” says Heckman, a real estate developer and designer who specializes in crafting interiors that playfully blend periods and styles. “It had all the makings of a dream house for us.”
Soon after moving in, Heckman—with design assistance from Will Cooper, then creative director of Heckman’s ASH NYC firm—embarked on a process of refining the home’s appealing period elements, such as its wide-planked floors and beamed ceilings, while pairing them with bright, iconoclastic touches. He covered walls with coats of white paint, hung colorful contemporary art and photography, and incorporated, he says, “at least one conversation piece into each room’s decor.”
Today, Heckman describes his renovated refuge in terms that combine the best of the Old World and the new. “Particularly during the holidays,” he says, “it’s a place to settle in beside a roaring fire and embrace the house’s sense of tradition while celebrating its fresh, modern style.”
“Particularly during the holidays, it’s a place to settle in beside a roaring fire and embrace the house’s sense of tradition while celebrating its fresh, modern style.”
In the distance, a bright, modern canvas enlivens a soothing, neutral palette.
Seasonal gourds and simple white pillar candles produce an elegant, understated tablescape for Heckman and Feirstein’s Thanksgiving celebration.
In a historical house, balance history with modernity, Heckman suggests. The contrast between original features like beamed ceilings and clean, modern lines is exciting and prevents an interior from feeling like an artifact.
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Heckman’s sun-dappled living room contains an artful array of periods and styles. Traditional touches, such as a Federal-style mirror and wide-planked floors, are counterbalanced by an alcove hung with modern art and photography.
Crisp white walls and overstuffed furnishings combine to create a sense of expansiveness and warmth. In the fireplace, an oxidized copper sphere serves as a whimsical conversation piece.
A chandelier in the shape of a Spanish galleon adds audacious flourish to the couple’s sophisticated kitchen.
Don’t dwell in one era, Heckman insists. Your interior should be a harmonious collection of pieces from different time periods. Bringing multiple styles and periods together lends an interior a layered and curated vibe.
Richly hued velvet headboards contribute a dose of masculine comfort to the guest room’s rustic decor.
Vintage textiles are an amazing way to add color to an otherwise neutral interior, Heckman says. They don’t feel contrived or “decorated.”
An Alex Katz lithograph provides vibrant contrast to a distressed antique mantelpiece.
Heckman responded to the particular spatial challenges of the room’s vaulted ceilings by selecting a gracefully low-slung bed.
A faux-fur throw and stacked black-and-white photographs imbue the tranquil Primary bedroom with touches of rock-and-roll glamour.
