Red Cottage

No commission comes to Selim Koder Architects without strings or constraints. The challenge presented here was to transform an otherwise modest structure into an elegant retreat for a young Manhattan couple.

This three bedroom cottage is located in Bridgehampton, New York at the end of a cul-de-sac. The structure floated in a quasi-suburban landscape and had little relationship to its surroundings. The interior public spaces were crammed, the living and dining rooms were separated by walls and doors, the kitchen and the laundry shared a small space in the rear. A ground floor bedroom took over much needed public space.

Koder removed most of the doors on the ground floor, opened the living and dining rooms onto each other. A larger entertainment space was thus created where at one end; a sun room was added to the house and faced the rear yard. The sun room enhanced the relationship of the public spaces to the garden. The kitchen was enlarged to include a breakfast area with openings leading to the dining room. A smaller rear addition included the laundry and a new mud room and connected directly to the garage entry. The ground floor bedroom was replaced with a TV room thus enabling a better flow of public activities on the ground floor. The garage was placed on the bias to follow the edge of the cul-de-sac. A rose arbor grows at the colonnade separating the garage from the rear yard.

To stay on the brighter side of life, the entire façade was painted fire engine red, and the asphalt roof shingles were replaced with copper sheeting.