Throwback Home Tour: Ari Heckman's Weekend Getaway

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. All photos by Patrick Cline/Lonny.

In 2011, 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."

Ari Heckman (left) and Will Cooper, creative director of Heckamn's ASH NYC firm, outside Heckman and Feirstein's Sag Harbor Home.

Soon after moving, Heckman—with design assistance from Will Cooper, 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 incorporaed, he says, "at least one converstation piece into each room's decor." 

In the distance, a bright, modern canvas enlivens a soothing, netural palette.

Today, Heckamn 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." 

The dining room's rustic features are cleverly juxtaposed with midentury artworks. An oversized spherical light fixture offers a geometric counterpoint to the ceiling's linear beams. 

A chandelier in the shape of a Spanish galleon adds audacious flourish to the couple's sophisticated kitchen. 

"Vintage busts add personality and character to any room," Heckman says, "whether placed on the floor or on a desk."

This petite bathroom abounds with luxurious elements, including gleaming chrome accents and a vintage neoclassical mirror. 

A whimsical wire vanity chair in the shape of a French legionnaire conveys warmth and wit. 

Heckman responded to the particular spatial challenges of the room's vaulted ceilings by selecting a gracefully low-slung bed.

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