Inside Jobs

With real estate the number one industry on the East End, and the constant transfer of properties,  interior designers abound – both local firms and émigrés from New York.

Steven Gambrel, the designer behind the Watchcase Factory, has a long portfolio of Hamptons projects – from a contemporary Bridgehampton beach house where he used materials with character” as a foil to the large glass walls to an 1835 sea captain’s house where he used as much of the original detailing as possible. Among some of his grandest renovations is that of Linden, an important Southampton estate built in the 19th century by architect Grosvenor Atterbury.

Tom Scheerer has also had a hand in shaping the interiors of numerous Hamptons dwellings. Known for his “underdecorated” spaces with minimal embellishment, his low-key style is a reaction to “the overblown, grandiose houses of our age,” according to his sleek coffee table book, Tom Sheerer Decorates, published last year.

Randy Kemper, a former fashion designer who dressed the likes of Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Tony Ingrao, an architect, are more than pretty faces splashed across party pages. They have designed the homes of such boldfaced Hamptonites as Kim Cattrall, Donny Deutsch, and Howard Stern, for whose Southampton mansion they emulated their own nearby cottage, albeit on a larger scale. No project is too big for the duo who have been known to work on a $50 million budget.

Libby Langdon is a prolific interior designer and media darling who has designed Hamptons homes along with those in locales such as Newport and Dallas. An industrious entrepreneur, Langdon also hawks an upholstered furniture line, lighting collection, wall coverings and rugs. Her home décor line, which is available at Walmart, has raised the bar at the retail behemoth.

Design House is a homegrown design team led by Suzanne Caldwell and Maria Greenlaw, which was established in Southampton in the early 90’s. Besides overseeing their many design projects, the duo also have an exceptional retail space on Main Street where they sell an eclectic collection of one-of-a-kind home decor, fabric, wall coverings, lamps and accessories.

New kids on the block Deborah Srb and Iris Zonlight have combined their fashion, industrial and graphic design experience to launch Blue Ocean Design. Known for their striking interiors, they strive to source from local businesses – Fisher’s Home Furnishings, English Country Antiques, and Antique Lumber Company of the Hamptons, a Wainscott firm that has made them a table from a barn door among other things – whenever they can. They even support national chains with local outlets such as Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn and West Elm. For the model homes they decorated at new development Southampton Meadows Estates, they borrowed works on consignment from Southampton gallerist, Mark Humphrey, and Sag Harbor photographer, Robin Saidman. They pride themselves on “finishing a home in under two months,” says Srb. “In this resort community people want a turn-key situation so they can move seamlessly into their house.”

– Zoe Langstrom