When Susan K. Reed bought a house in North Haven, N.Y., in 2002, she viewed it as a fun escape from her primary home in Brooklyn.
“I had never really been to Long Island, but I came out to visit some friends and it was just so beautiful,” said Ms. Reed, now 68.
Situated just north of Sag Harbor and a short ferry skip south of Shelter Island, North Haven impressed her with its relaxed, beachy vibe. So it almost seemed like kismet when she noticed that the small house next door to her friends’ home was on the market.
“It was a quiet ranch house, with zero design,” probably built in the 1970s from a catalog, Ms. Reed said. She bought the 1,400-square-foot home for $450,000 and began visiting every weekend she could.
But the more time Ms. Reed spent in North Haven, the more she loved being there. After concluding her run as editor in chief of Golf For Women and O, The Oprah Magazine, she moved on to writing and consulting on books, which afforded a more flexible lifestyle.
In 2014, she decided to move to the North Haven house full-time. “I wrote two books sitting at the dining table in the little living room,” she said. “But when I knew I was really going to stay here, I wanted to do something to the house.”
Specifically, she desired more space, style, and generously sized rooms that would feel more connected with the outdoors. She interviewed a few architects, only to find that she didn’t see eye-to-eye with any of them. Then, in 2017, she visited another friend’s recently renovated home.
“I walked in and thought, ‘This is it. This is exactly what I want,’” Ms. Reed said. The architect who had overhauled it was Pete DePasquale, co-founder of the firm Garnett.DePasquale with his wife, Becky Garnett.
Ms. Reed tracked down Mr. DePasquale and told him she wanted to renovate her house with a similar point of view, but personalized to her taste and the features of her property. Over the following year, Mr. DePasquale and Ms. Garnett reimagined the home inside and out.
“Susan lives by herself but is always hosting friends and having dinners, so it felt important to create something at just the right scale,” Mr. DePasquale said.
Specifically, they didn’t want the house to feel too big and empty when she wasn’t entertaining. “We wanted to make something that could expand and contract seamlessly for her,” Mr. DePasquale said.
On the ground floor, the architects designed two small additions: one to create an entrance hall and provide space for a guest bedroom, and one to support a larger primary suite.
The main living space is one big open room under a vaulted ceiling, with spaces for living and dining near a kitchen with a large central island topped by Atlantic Lava Stone quartzite. The walls, ceiling and cabinet doors are finished in white nickel-gap paneling, and expanses of new windows offer views of the gardens outside.
The private area, containing the primary bedroom and bathroom, a walk-in closet and a library that doubles as a home office, is on the other side of the house. Four pocket doors allow these spaces to be opened up or closed off from the more public areas, depending on how much privacy Ms. Reed requires.
“I never knew the word enfilade before,” Ms. Reed said, which describes a procession of rooms through lined-up doorways. “And I didn’t think it could apply to a ranch house — but Becky and Pete did.”
Their design opens sightlines from one end of the house to the other when all the doors are open. “It’s just beautiful,” Ms. Reed said.
On the previously unfinished lower level, the architects introduced two more guest rooms and a light well lined with plants and full-size windows that make the space feel less subterranean. They also added a mudroom and laundry area with a dog shower for Ms. Reed’s wheaten terrier, Ellie. In total, the design increased the living area to 3,665 square feet.
SCI Builders began construction in December 2018, at which point Ms. Reed moved into a nearby rental. Covid-related shutdowns extended the construction timeline, and the house was finally complete in August 2020 for a total cost of about $1.8 million. Ms. Reed then worked with an interior designer friend to furnish the home and hired the landscape designer Geoffrey Nimmer to create a new front yard of fescue grasses for a slightly wild look that requires no mowing.
The result is a home that’s equally appealing for hosting large crowds and spending contemplative days alone. “It’s blissful,” Ms. Reed said. “It’s a great place to have friends over, but when I come back from traveling or I’m just here on regular days, it has a Zen peacefulness to it that keeps me sane.”
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