The Kitchen Issue - February 1998
The New World Pathfinder
Architect Donald Billinkoff builds a linear seaside getaway that links indoor and outdoor spaces
ANYONE WHO thinks a Mitteleuropa shtetl and a new, shingled house in East Hampton, New York, don't have much in common has not spoken to Donald Billinkoff since his student days, the New York-based architect had wanted to design a modern house "that was basically a path along which you had rooms attached." Last year, two successful women, an investment banker and a psychologist, gave him the chance. When the house was finished, a neighbor likened the architectural cluster of rooms to the tightly grouped houses of the Jewish villages that once dotted the rural areas of parts of Europe. Billinkoff designed the 5,500 square-foot house, with its step-down living room, so that the public and private zones would be separate but linked by a dramatic two-story kitchen. "Together, the pieces of the house create a village," he says.

The ingenious plan unfolds from the front door. To the left, French doors lead to the spacious master bedroom wing, which includes a bedroom and sitting area, a large bathroom, an exercise room, a private deck, and an office for the psychologist. To the right, a cabinet-lined corridor leads from the dining area to the soaring two-story kitchen, the guest bedrooms, and an upstairs office for the investment banker. "She likes to be in control," says Billinkoff, "so her office was designed to be like those in factories where the manager sits above the floor." In this case, she has a bird's--eye view of the kitchen, pool, decks, and tennis court. "She works a lot on weekends," adds the architect, "and this way she can be on the phone and still feel part of the activities."

The long, galley-like kitchen is a light--filled open space that links the wings of the house and functions as its anchor. The floor is blue slate; the tall, glass--fronted cabinets made from two woods, maple and walnut, are stained to look like driftwood. "I have a notion that no matter what you put behind glass, it looks good," says Billinkoff. "Glass makes the pieces one displays feel precious."

The color scheme throughout the house is based on the natural elements to which the psychologist was drawn--sand, water, sky, and grass-and which the architect interpreted in pale blues, greens, grays, and beiges. "They are all extremely neutral colors that work as shadows for themselves," says Billinkoff of the serene palette. "None of them screams at you." There are, however, a few surprises. In the dining area, the schoolhouse chairs are stained purple and red; the mosaic-tiled fireplace in the master bedroom is a bolt of blue; and the floral wallpaper that frames the front door is the kind of whimsical design detail that makes visitors stop in their tracks. Any doubts they might have had are gone: they're definitely not in the old country anymore.