Design on a Deadline

For Dan D’Agostino, AIA, architecture has always been about more than the structure of a house. As founder and principal of New Jersey-based Plan Architecture, D’Agostino approaches design with the philosophy of “from curb to counter.” His focus is on the entire experience of a home, from its first impression outside to the smallest details within. 

That all-encompassing sensibility recently found its way to Bridgehampton, where D’Agostino led the interior design of a 3,500-square-foot Colonial-style summer residence. Completed in spring 2025 after work began in fall 2024, the four-bedroom, four-bath home was designed for a family of five, for whom Plan had previously built a home in Bergen County. The brief: make it feel distinctly Hamptons, unmistakably summery and, above all, fun.

D’Agostino’s path to design began with drawing. As a child, he showed such an aptitude for it that his family initially refused to believe he had drawn a particularly detailed picture of a bird himself. He dreamed of becoming an artist, but “my father quickly shut that down: ‘no money,’” D’Agostino recalls.

“Through things like Lincoln Logs, erector sets, and Legos, I realized I loved engineering.” Rather than abandoning his creative instincts, he found another outlet in combining art and engineering. He went on to attend a special architecture program at High Tech High School in Hudson County before earning his degree from the Hillier College of Architecture and Design at NJIT

Although architecture became his profession, D’Agostino never saw interiors as entirely separate from it. “I was always an architect, but honestly, I always considered interior design to be part of it,” he says. “But in the industry, of course, there’s a traditional divide.” Before founding Plan, the architecture firms D’Agostino worked for were laser-focused on the creation of buildings — the structure and layouts, but not necessarily the aesthetics and finishes. “With Plan, the interiors side of the business started seven years ago once I realized that I wanted to stretch that creative muscle more,” he notes.

Today, that philosophy informs the firm’s approach to residential projects. D’Agostino describes his aesthetic as “modern-tradition,” drawing inspiration from a wide range of movements, from modernism to romanticism. “I ask new clients, ‘Imagine you’re driving up to your new home. What do you see? What do you feel?’” D’Agostino said. In Bridgehampton, that meant creating a home that felt elevated without becoming overly precious. And the clients wanted their new property furnished quickly, which, for a designer accustomed to specifying custom pieces, could have been limiting. “You can’t special order pieces; you need wallpaper that will arrive in days, not weeks,” D’Agostino explains. 

Yet, the family also gave D’Agostino considerable creative freedom. The house is a seasonal retreat, within walking distance of the beach, and they wanted a coastal theme to run throughout. The challenge was to evoke the seaside without turning the interiors into a literal beach house. “We didn’t want to go too overboard on the ‘beachy’ stuff, so we snuck in some other moments,” he said. “There’s some quiet luxury in there, and some pops of color.” Wallpaper became one of the project’s defining elements, helping give each room its own personality while creating a sense of cohesion throughout the home. Durability was equally important. With three children and a dog, the clients needed interiors capable of handling real life — and all the sand, paws and activity that come with a summer house in the Hamptons.

The result is playful without being kitschy, polished without feeling formal. Among D’Agostino’s favorite spaces is the family room, where the oceanfront concept is perhaps most apparent. “It’s got coastal vibes,” he says, and is “drenched in a maritime blue, with white furniture and breezy curtains.” Rather than stopping there, however, he introduced unexpected texture through rattan sculptures, giving the room an eclectic quality that keeps the palette from feeling predictable.

But the most challenging part of the project had little to do with aesthetics. Finding local handymen and installation help on the East End in a limited timeframe proved difficult, meaning D’Agostino and his team did much of the work themselves. And when the final installation arrived, there was no leisurely, weeks-long styling process. The entire house came together in just 48 hours. “It was a complete whirlwind, and I felt like I was on a design reality show,” D’Agostino says. “It was really fun.”

For the family, the payoff was immediate. They loved the finished house, he assures, particularly the way it reflected their personalities and lifestyle while introducing the sense of playfulness that makes a summer home feel different from everyday life. “They felt the home really captured the family’s personality and interests while also bringing in that touch of whimsy that you want when you’re on vacation,” D’Agostino says. 

Photography by Josh Goetz