An early 1800s captain's house on Long Island with layered, warm interiors by Saffron Case
Step beyond the scalloped clapboard façade of this Federal-style Sag Harbor home, and you’re met with a surprisingly contemporary sense of easy elegance, courtesy of Saffron Case. At the helm of an eponymous Malibu-based studio, the designer and developer, originally purchased the home as a rental investment. ‘The plan was a quick cosmetic update to get it listed before the summer season,’ she admits. ‘But once we spent time here, we fell for it entirely.’
Dating back to 1806, the Sag Harbor home is one of the storied ‘Captain’s houses’ built during the village’s whaling heyday. Its historic bones – wooden sash windows, clapboard siding, and a side-gabled roof – echo the Federal style, while later additions hint at its architectural evolution through the Victorian era.
‘We approached the renovation with a real commitment to honouring what was already here,’ says Case. ‘But it was just as important to create something liveable, modern, and warm.’ The result is a subtle interplay between original architectural details and a contemporary interior language that favours natural textures, sculptural forms, and Case’s signature sense of calm sophistication.
The biggest design challenge wasn’t opening up the home – it had already been thoughtfully converted from a four-family dwelling into a single-family residence by a local developer – but scaling down. ‘Most of our projects are in California, and the proportions there are much grander,’ Case explains. ‘Here, the rooms are modest, which requires a different mindset around furniture selection and layout.’
That sensitivity to scale is evident throughout. In the living room, a black linen BDDW sofa anchors the space, paired with a vintage travertine table and a terrazzo-topped coffee table from Obsolete. A Pierre Paulin swivel chair, covered in hide and sourced from Forsyth, adds sculptural edge. Overhead, chandeliers by Sophie Lou Jacobsen balance delicacy and drama. ‘The palette is natural and refined, but we also played a little,’ says Case, ’like with a pink artwork by Thomas Trum.’
Case layered the old with the new, the refined with the inherited. The kitchen island is lit by vintage pendants sourced by The 1818 Collective, for example, and in the powder room, a vintage mirrored tray was ingeniously mounted to serve as a mirror, flanked by Rose Uniacke sconces. The main bedroom continues the tactile narrative: a hand-painted jigsaw puzzle artwork by Tyler Hays of BDDW hangs above the bed, while the palette remains soft and grounded.
‘It was important that it didn’t feel too tailored or precious,’ says Case. ‘It’s a rental, yes, but it’s also personal. The project is still ongoing, two years later – a little landscaping here, shutters there. We’ve added gas lanterns, marble fireplace surrounds, upgraded plumbing and lighting. It’s nice not to rush it.’
Original details like the scrollwork up the staircase and antique glass panes in the front windows speak to the home’s past, but the material palette (think linens, marble, terrazzo, and aged brass) grounds the house firmly in the present. As for the overall effect? ‘We wanted the house to feel fresh and calm, but also joyful,’ Case says. Mission accomplished.
This story was originally published on admiddleeast.com
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