The Hamptons Go Green

Grazia USA

15-07-2025

It's easy being green in the breakfast room of Alfredo Parades' Shelter Island cottage thanks to bottle green wide stripe fabric by Bennison and green glazed vintage 1930s and 1940s pottery. Photo Credit: Björn Wallander
Like the siren song of ocean waves breaking against pristine sandy beaches that draws overworked New Yorkers onto the gridlocked Long Island Expressway on Summer Fridays, nautical blue is the color long associated with the Hamptons. Now, a trio of new coffee table books offering a peek inside the houses and gardens of the three of the East End's most sought-after interior designers makes the case for optimizing your weekend recovery time by infusing your second home with shades of green. The Victorian cottage's distinctive green-and-white striped porch awnings inspire lush accents indoors. Photo Credit: Björn Wallander.
'I find greens very soothing and relaxing,' says Alfredo Paredes in Alfredo Paredes at Home (Rizzoli), which was co-written with his husband, Brad Goldfarb, and features an introduction by his mentor and former boss, the Hamptons éminence grise Ralph Lauren. Paredes, who made his name as Ralph Lauren Home's longtime chief creative officer, reveals the Victorian cottage on Shelter Island he shares with Goldfarb and their two children that's every bit as chic and homey as Polo Bar. He says his secret to keeping the patina and authenticity of a historical property while also making it feel fresh and up-to-date is 'letting a house 'talk' to you so you can understand what it really does or does not need.' Botanically-inspired artwork takes root in the master bedroom of Alfredo Parades' vacation home. Photo Credit: Björn Wallander
In the case of this quaint 19th-century home, which sits high on a bluff overlooking Dering Harbor, that meant keeping its distinctive green-and-white striped porch awnings that had been a feature of the facade for decades and are visible from the windows of the family and living rooms. Paredes let Pantone guide the decor, so green glazed vintage 1930s and 1940s pottery graces the breakfast room coffee table, bottle green wide stripe fabric by Bennison covers armchairs and accent pillows, and botanically-inspired artwork and prints add a verdant finish to the master bedroom and other spaces throughout the home. Marshall Watson's East Hampton garden features curated 'rooms' including a dining area flanked by London plane trees and a classical belvedere nestled amongst Japanese cut-leaf maples, variegated dogwoods, and mounds of roses. Photo Credit: Blue Carreon
In Marshall Watson: Defining Elegance (Rizzoli), a self-confessed green thumb explains that since he spends so much time outdoors in the summer, he's curated individual 'rooms' within his East Hampton garden. The 'foyer' where Watson and his husband, Paul Sparks, greet dinner guests highlights Roald Dahl, Autumn Sunset, and Eden Climber roses, while their al fresco 'dining room' features a round stone dining table flanked by London plane trees and dramatic views of Gardiners Bay. 'Color and texture, too, remain of the utmost significance: while indoors the walls serve as a backdrop for the contents of a room, I use the rich green tapestry of my hedges as a foil for the bright yellows and pinks of the plants as they unfold,' Watson writes. David Kleinberg's East Hampton Eden is defined by soothing geometric beds of ornamental grasses. Photo Credit: Tria Giovan
David Kleinberg, meanwhile, has transformed his own East Hamptons hideaway into a veritable Eden. In David Kleinberg: Interiors (Monacelli) he offers a look at the four-acre property replete with a field of waist-high Queen Anne's lace and a 19th-century French settee perfectly situated for quiet repose in between geometric beds of ornamental grasses. When Kleinberg first moved in, Martha Stewart told him that meadows are the hardest thing to maintain and he didn't believe her, but now he's glad he didn't listen. 'My garden gives me enormous pleasure,' he writes. 'While I don't love the pain and suffering it takes to get from New York City to the Hamptons, I'm always very happy when I'm here.' Read GRAZIA USA' s Hamptons Gazette:
topics: Hamptons Gazette, David Kleinberg, Marshall Watson, Alfredo Paredes, Ralph Lauren, Hamptons Fourth of July Gazette, GRAZIA Hamptons Gazette 2025, home, Design, home decoration, Interior Design