A Midcentury Sears Kit Home in New York (Mostly) Shakes Off a ’90s Hangover

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Project Details:

Location: Fire Island Pines, New York

Architect: BoND / @bond_architecture

Footprint: 1,100 square feet

Builder: Vicenzo Pepe

Landscape Design: Liam O'Malley Davy

Photographer: Chris Mottalini / @christmottalini

From the Architect: "Located in Fire Island Pines, a longtime haven for the New York City LGBTQ community, BoND have transformed a midcentury Sears catalog kit house into a contemporary refuge for art and artists for collector Ilan Cohen. A modest, 1,100-square-foot white building with two bedrooms and a gently peaked roof, the home was originally constructed in 1959.

"When Ilan Cohen bought the property in 2021, he was drawn to the building's slim profile inspired by the California midcentury modernism. However there were still remnants of a 1999 renovation, including jewel-toned laminate kitchen cabinetry, and as one of the oldest dwellings in the area the interior needed updating and reconfiguring.

"BoND’s aim was to simplify the interior while also blurring the boundaries of the rigid modernist floor plan. BoND started by stripping away the colorful finishes left from the previous renovation, then moved the stovepipe fireplace to the other side of the 600-square-foot main room to create distinct spaces for lounging and dining. Most of the overhead shelving and cabinets were removed, and kitchen appliances—including the refrigerator and freezer—were sunk low in an island and adjacent cabinets to create unobstructed sight lines and allow conversation to flow easily across the open floor plan.

"Along one wall of the living area, they installed wood paneling at contrasting vertical and 45-degree angles in homage to Horace Gifford, the architect of many in-demand historic homes in Fire Island Pines. On the ceiling, a fresh coat of glossy white paint reflects aquamarine from a saltwater pool set into the front deck. The only areas left unchanged were the twin bathrooms, with their royal blue tile and voyeuristic ribbed-glass wall, through which the adjacent showers are foggily visible to one another."