A Creative Couple’s Long Island Beach House "Bubbles" With Life

Julie Satow, author of a history of New York’s Plaza Hotel, and Stuart Elliott, founder and editor in chief of the real estate news outlet the Real Deal, enjoyed spending vacations with their two kids at their old fishing cottage in Jamesport, New York.

Stuart grew up on Long Island, and he loves the informality of the North Fork area, which feels more relaxed than the fancier Hamptons at the island’s other fork. The family would wake up and lounge in sandals in the screened-in porch of the two-bedroom cabin overlooking the beach. But they wanted a little more space, and the kids were getting old enough to need separate rooms, so they asked Eric Liftin, founder of Mesh Architectures, to design an extension.

Liftin’s firm had renovated the family’s loft in the West Village, as well as the offices of the Real Deal, and he had also updated other houses in the North Fork area. They liked his dynamic, colorful aesthetic, which feels modern without being austere.

Ultimately, they agreed there was not enough of the existing cottage worth saving, so they began discussing how to carry on its spirit in a new build. "There was an element of that loft aesthetic we wanted to bring to the beach," Stuart says.