[caption id=”attachment_25449″ align=”alignleft” width=”350″]
A Shona sculpture hailing from Zimbabwe graces the hall table.[/caption]
Interior designers’ work on their own property is inevitably wrought with expectations and curiosity, much like the personal wardrobes of couturiers. However, designer Marcela Butler’s East Hamptons vacation home is anything but a staged design showcase. While certainly a testament to the designer’s professional aptitude, the beach house’s first impression is simply that of a home: bright with personality and emanating the effortless warmth that comes only from the soul and stories one brings to his or her own living space.
“I wanted to have Thanksgiving and Christmas here – for it to be a family house where we all gathered,” shares Butler, who was initially drawn to the 3,500-square-foot residence for its private setting on 2.2 acres facing the woods. “I wanted to feel in the country, but still be near the beach.”
Keeping with the home’s streamlined backbones, the interior was “gutted,” walls moved and new flooring put in. “I didn’t change a lot, but I did go in a completely different, modern direction with it,” recalls Butler of Butler Rambusch Interior Design.
In the open living area, sunlight streams through the floor-to-ceiling glass, and plain woods accent the crisp coastal white walls, the striking white brick fireplace wall, and the wide-plank white oak floors, finished several times for a matte, weathered look that ties everything together.
“I wanted the house basically all white,” the designer says. “What really attracted me was that open, sunlit feeling. It reminded me of a house in Costa Rica I lived in when I was younger in the ‘70s.”
[caption id=”attachment_25452″ align=”alignright” width=”350″]
“What really attracted me was that open, sunlit feeling. It reminded me of a house in Costa Rica I lived in when I was younger in the ‘70s.”[/caption]
The daughter of a diplomat, Marcela Butler is no stranger to nomadic exploits, having grown up and lived in various parts of South America, Africa and Asia. Objects she has collected from all over the globe interweave with contemporary fusion decor, bold fabrics and tribal prints. “I love old textiles, earthy organic fabrics – boho, but not too boho,” she describes. Beds are topped with Mexican linens and vintage pillows; the two leather chairs in the living room originally belonged to Butler’s parents, who bought them in Pakistan; and Shona sculptures on a hall table were purchased in Zimbabwe from when Butler had lived in Botswana.
“Whenever I can find things like that, I collect them,” states the designer, who loves to scour markets in search of handcrafted gems. “If you search enough, you will find an artisan that makes the item in a more elevated way, with more skill – that’s what I look for.” One favorite is a pretty watercolor by a street artist in Valparaiso, Chile, and another is a Moroccan rug she has draped over the dining room railing as a wall hanging.
Many of the pieces were custom made, including the extra long dining table and the vanity top in the master bedroom, made from a slab found in an antique lumber yard. Another vanity in the powder room was converted from an Indonesian nightstand. Moroccan-styled tile and weathered-glass hardware add warmth to the organic, ethnic feel comments Butler, adding that it’s something visitors find surprising.
“When people come in, they expect it to be a lot more modern; they don’t expect it to be as natural and earthy as it is.”
Another unexpected element? “No one who comes to the house expects it to be black on the outside. I painted it black tar; it recedes more than it stands out,” she adds.
While mostly complete, Marcela Butler says the home is still a work in progress as she adds more artwork: “I just bought a painting that’s being shipped from Lake Como. My taste is pretty broad, and I love so many things; the challenge is to stay focused on what I really want.”
Photography | Lauren Hagerstrom
Like what you see? Get it first with a subscription to ASPIRE DESIGN AND HOME Magazine.