This Beach House Is a Sea of Beautiful Block Prints
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Alexander Reid has a non-negotiable rule for all of his design projects: "Function first, beauty second." The renovation of this beach house in Bellport, New York, was no exception. The first order of business was "to define how my clients were going to use the square footage, each and every inch," he explains. Figuring out the right flow for the family came easily to Reid, who had previously worked on the homeowners' primary residence, a loft in Tribeca. Now, the clients sought a seaside retreat to escape the bustle of New York City life, relax with their three school-age children, and host their friends and family.
In Reid's view, buying a weekend home is "investing in your family, giving your kids a place to make memories." To create such a hub for bonding, he transformed the dining room into a mudroom, the office into a guest room, and the spacious living room into a dining room for relaxed dinner parties.
Once the blueprint of the house was out of the way, the designer leaned into its aesthetic. "When you have multiple homes, it's important to tell different design stories in each," he says. "It’s like going on vacation but in your own house."
For this 5,000-square-foot retreat built in 1910, Reid drew inspiration from the antique clapboard and shingle houses that dot the coastal town. In order to pull off a subtle seaside feel (no oars or anchors allowed), he mixed beachy materials—seagrass, rattan, and bamboo—with his signature custom-upholstery-meets-vintage-case-goods style. "By not using anything trendy, you avoid having to redecorate in 10 years," he says.
Also informing the design: his clients' roots. "The family is Indian American, so I wanted to give nods to their heritage," Reid says. To that end, he sourced yards and yards of block print fabric from a vendor in Jaipur, India, custom printed to match their chosen color scheme. "I wanted to create a quintessential beach house," Reid says, "but one that looks like it had been handed down in the family, slightly timeworn yet timeless."
Living Room
Pictured above: Custom back-to-back sofas create two distinct spaces. Paint: Crisp Linen (trim), AMR White (walls), and Cool Breeze (ceiling), Benjamin Moore. Chairs: Palecek. Armchair: custom, in Fabricut fabric. Rug: Stark. Sofas: custom, in Rogers & Goffigon linen.
Sunroom
Custom black steel side tables lend some modernity alongside wicker seating. Fan: Serena & Lily. Lamps: Oka, with custom shades. Sofas, chairs, cushions, and pillows: Mainly Baskets, in imported block print and Fabricut (stripe) fabric.
The owner's didn't love the terracotta floors that were original to this area of the house. Reid's advice? "Lean into the thing you think you hate." Drawing from the floor, he "pulled the red tones that dictated the whole sunroom."
Upstairs Den
Inspired by the vaulted ceiling, which gives the space a birdhouse feel, Reid covered the walls in Pierre Frey Bengali bird wallpaper. Paint: Cool Breeze (ceiling) and Baltic Sea (trim), Benjamin Moore. Chandeliers and sconces: Barn Light Electric. Sofa and pillows: custom.
Kitchen
Floors throughout the house are painted a pale green, but in the kitchen Reid specified this pattern, inspired by Bunny Mellon. Pendants: Barn Light Electric. Tile: Artistic Tile. Backsplash: Solar Antique Tiles. Floor pattern: Shelly Denning Decorative Painting. Stools: Schoolhouse.
Dining Room
"I love a touch of black," Reid says about the custom china cabinet. "It makes everything around it pop." Chandelier: Barn Light Electric. Sconce and chairs: vintage. Dining table: custom. Draperies: custom, with Houlès hardware.
Guest Room
A modern light fixture lives in harmony with the "grandma" wallpaper from Mulberry Home, thanks to a color-matched coat of Benjamin Moore’s Silken Blue paint from the trim. Bed: Hillsdale Furniture. Table: vintage bar cart.
Kid's Bedroom
Nautical wallpaper nods to a local sailing school. Paint: Thayer Green (trim) and Sweet Celadon (floor), Benjamin Moore. Wallcovering: Mulberry Home. Lamp: Oka. Bed: Birch Lane. Rug: vintage Oushak.
Bedroom
Block print fabrics imported from India appear throughout the house. The imported fabric "gave the whole house this cozy time worn eclectic feel," says Reid, who had the fabrics turned into drapes and cushions in his Brooklyn workroom.
Library
This room is the house's original blueprint and is "a great place to play board games." The ceiling, walls, and bookshelves are painted the same gray-green (Oil Cloth, Benjamin Moore) for a cocoon effect. Floor paint: Sweet Celadon, Benjamin Moore. Table: Soho Home. Chairs: Ethnicraft, in imported block print fabric.
Bathroom
Wicker luggage provides storage—and old-school vibes—in this bathroom. "People want a sense of nostalgia, of character," says Reid.
Exterior
While the shingled exterior is similar to many houses in town, inside the home is classic, coastal, and culturally relevant to the family.
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