Interior Designer James Huniford

By Janelle Zara

The living room is the heart of the home. “Especially when you’re at the beach,” says Manhattan interior designer James Huniford.

Because of the particular joys of entertaining in the Hamptons—a mood set by the sun, the sea, the thrill of the getaway—Huniford’s approach to a Hamptons living room creates a relaxed environment geared towards social gatherings, from intimate moments with one or two friends, to large parties where a never ending parade of guests may be marching through the front door.
In either case, within each Hamptons project, the furniture layout is essential. “For smaller groups, the furniture plan allows for flexibility in creating more intimate and cozy areas, including pulling up a few chairs by the fireplace or using the table in the kitchen for dining,” says Huniford. In his own beach home, he repurposed the antique stools of an artist’s studio as versatile additions to his living room. Lightweight, they can easily be moved around the space, and perform double duty as either seating or small tables. Expressing Huniford’s fondness for pairing the old and the new, the rough with the refined, they live alongside the clean lines of a sofa of his own design, inspired by an 18th-century English settee and modernized with a skirt and streamlined silhouette.

“My house is a laboratory for color and texture,” explains Huniford, who also added an Ingrid Pitzer collage, reclaimed pine floors, Northern California pottery, and 1950s Italian chairs to the mix. The “strict architectural detail” of the ceiling beams also adds a new dimension to the space, particularly in opposition to the plushness of the sofa. “I love the tension in the room,” he says.
Elsewhere, in an East Hampton project, the clients’ art collection plays a major role in the living room. There, Huniford assembled a collage of found pieces, antiques, and modernist furniture that would complement the artwork; an acrylic painting by Deborah Kass plays surprisingly well next to a cranberry rake repurposed as a wall-mounted sculpture, both of which frame the rich Huniford Collection armchair that sits at the head of the space.

For those grand occasions in which guests outnumber the seats in the living room, “All the areas in the house flow together and correspond well so that conversation flows freely from one space to another,” says Huniford. Color is also an essential component when entertaining guests. To promote flow he keeps the palette simple. “I favor using one paint color for the whole house—it creates a sense of calm and cohesion,” he says.

Color also creates warmth. In Water Mill, for a project designed from the ground up in collaboration with architect James McChesney, Huniford chose a subdued grey enlivened by hints of olive green, which complement the earthy textures of the oxidized metal pendant lamp, reclaimed wooden floors, and rustic farm table that anchor the main space. In his own home he opted for a vibrant shade of white. “When I’m beginning to conceptualize a new project in the Hamptons, one of the first steps is to analyze how the nooks and shadows of a house will translate in the light throughout the day—it’s essential in selecting a paint color,” Huniford explains. In every project, the palette reflects an inspiration drawn from the environment. In this case, it’s the Hamptons sea and air, which are, after all, the two things that bring our guests there in the first place.