A fantasyland in the Hamptons by architect Pietro Cicognani
Woody House, a romantic bluff-top 1930s abode in East Hampton at the nexus of the Atlantic Ocean and Georgica Pond, is renowned for its five acres of magnificent gardens, which were inspired by Mughal gardens, the garden designs of Gertrude Jekyll, and Sissinghurst Castle Garden, among others. Cicognani Kalla has been involved with the house for more than thirty years and also converted an existing boathouse into a guesthouse, as well as contributing some of the hardscaping.
The one-room-wide main house was originally the guesthouse of Juan Trippe, the founder of Pan Am Airways, and was in disrepair when Cicognani first saw it. Cicognani Kalla first addressed the main house, making it more symmetrical. He then added a freestanding octagonal tower with 360-degree views on the east side of house, linking it underground to the main house. More recently, he designed a wing that includes a second-floor library and a fir-paneled master suite. It connects to the tower via a wooden bridge with a Chippendale-style railing resembling that of the house’s main stairwell. Below it and facing north is a new two-story Mughal-inspired pergola that looks as though it has always been there.
Peter Marino oversaw the interior design of the main house. There are stenciled “rugs” and walls in the living room and dining room, as well as the foyer, where Cicognani designed a double-height window that floods the entrance with natural light.
Cicognani also wholly renovated the windswept guesthouse, now called Pond House, which was originally Trippe’s boathouse—only the rope-handled spiral wooden staircase of which remains. Inspired by a Scandinavian version that the owner had admired, it was decorated by Genevieve Faure.
Most of the hardscaping and landscaping was designed by the owner, Katharine Rayner, her team, and CKA, but Cicognani helped with the pool, the main outdoor entrance, a pedestrian bridge, and the brick-banded stone posts at the property’s entrance, which are topped by canine sculptures chosen by Rayner, an inveterate dog lover. And, in a structural feat, he excavated ten feet of packed sand beneath the foundation on the west side of the main house to add a huge storage room with light sheds, an office, and specially designed shelving for the legendary hostess’s china. What will be next?
This is an extract from Pietro Cicognani by Karen Bruno, with photography by Francesco Lagnese and a foreword by Isabella Rossellini (Vendome, October 2020). Buy a copy here.
Francesco Lagnese1/16The entrance to the property is flanked by stag statuary and white flowering plants in urns, a nod to the White Garden at Sissinghurst Castle.
Francesco Lagnese2/16In the dining area, an ornate metal chandelier with glass pendants and the curlicue floor lamps echo each other.
Francesco Lagnese3/16In the kitchen, the walls are stenciled with hens and illuminated by a tole chandelier. In the dining area, an ornate metal chandelier with glass pendants and the curlicue floor lamps echo each other.
Francesco Lagnese4/16The rope-edged spiral staircase is the only extant element of the original boathouse. The work in the stairwell was made by the legendary gallerist and artist Betty Parsons, who was Mr. Rayner’s aunt.
Francesco Lagnese5/16The interior of Pond House, decorated by Genevieve Faure, features an inviting combination of blue-stained pine paneling, Scandinavian folk art and furniture, charming stenciling, painted floors, and a veritable menagerie of ceramic and stone animals. Cicognani added a double-height window in the living room, allowing natural light to pour in. The black-and-white ceramic fireplace surround adds graphic punch. Chairs with swan arms, a ceramic rooster, and a stone boar reflect the owner’s love of animals
Francesco Lagnese6/16In the entrance hall of the main house, Cicognani added a double-height window. The Chippendale-style railings are original to the house and are echoed in the railing on the bridge that leads to the octagonal tower. Architect and interior designer Peter Marino designed the oriental “rugs” on the main floor.
Francesco Lagnese7/16The top floor of the Douglas fir–lined tower is an enviable art studio with 360-degree views.
Francesco Lagnese8/16In the ground-floor potting room, its walls exuberantly painted with botanical motifs, a stone goat rests on a coffee table in front of a fireplace with a limestone surround designed by Cicognani.
Francesco Lagnese9/16The new wing includes a tray-ceilinged second-floor library with bleached knotty pine bookcases. Marino selected the Indian print fabrics and durries.
Francesco Lagnese10/16The fir-clad, east-facing master bedroom is beautifully detailed with built-in bookcases and beams. The door on the right leads to the master bath. The dog portrait is but one of many throughout the house.
Francesco Lagnese11/16Marino took his cue for the richly layered décor of Mrs. Rayner’s west-facing bedroom from a fabric she found in Mumbai. It covers the chaise and the chair beside the bed.
Francesco Lagnese12/16A bedroom on the second floor has blue-painted wicker beds, a checkerboard-painted floor, and
an array of predominantly red floral-print fabrics.
Francesco Lagnese13/16The view from Woody House toward Georgica Pond encompasses the Cicognani-designed pool, a stone sphinx, an ornate tufa wall flanking an iron gate, a stone stag resting above an arched fountain in the Italian garden, and a statue of Lady Bountiful with her net and fish.
Francesco Lagnese14/16Cicognani transformed a dirt-floored boathouse into this dreamy guesthouse, inspired by a boathouse that Mrs. Rayner had admired on a trip to Sweden.
Francesco Lagnese15/16A wooden swing on the front porch of Pond House is an iconic summer spot.
Francesco Lagnese16/16
