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"View Slideshow\n\nDesigner Juan Montoya was thrilled when two of his favorite clients finally bought a home in the Hamptons after 20 years of trial-and-error renting on Long Island's East End. He was even more delighted when they asked him to make the house perfect for them. But Montoya, who had previously worked with the couple on their apartment in Manhattan, was also a bit concerned.\n\nOriginally the pair\u2014whose business interests are in hotels and real-estate development\u2014had wanted to build. They'd spent five years trying to buy a parcel of land they loved in Southampton, but the negotiations were proceeding at a snail's pace, and they wanted to be able to enjoy the getaway with their three children (now teenagers) while the kids were still young. Eventually the couple's eyes wandered next door, where an 11,500-square-foot Shingle Style dwelling was nearing completion on 2.75 acres with commanding views of Heady Creek and magnificent sunsets, plus the sound of the surf crashing in the distance. Was this, they wondered, their dream house in disguise?\n\nHelping to convince them were such amenities as a billiard room, wine cellar, gym, sauna, tennis court, and swimming pool, in addition to staff quarters, a grassy field they could use for baseball, and space for a basketball court. But the couple felt the place lacked any real embrace of nature\u2014the property didn't have a single tree and offered just one meager porch from which to take in the sea breezes and celebrated light that have endeared generations to the East End. Furthermore, the uninspired layout required finessing. Every house, Montoya insists, needs a bit of mystery and drama\u2014and whimsy. The designer tweaked the original floor plan in order to craft \"sequential interior views with impact,\" removing certain walls and putting up new ones to create what he refers to as \"veils.\"\n\nBut the first major changes Montoya made were to open up the house to the outside. For starters, he added a covered porch that spans the rear of the house, introducing multiple spots for alfresco relaxation and entertaining. Above the porch, the designer built a balcony for savoring sun and fresh air by day and cocktails in the evening\u2014always with spectacular vistas. Likewise, along the front of the poolhouse, Montoya devised a stunning pergola-topped dining area, which blooms with clematis and wisteria in season. \"It was inspired by a home we rented one summer near Saint-Tropez,\" says the wife. \"We love eating outdoors.\" Montoya's aim was to maximize interaction with the natural surroundings and newly landscaped grounds, which were planted with Japanese maples, lindens, myrtles, cedars, and apple trees as well as boxwood and privet hedges, a profusion of hydrangeas, and a flourishing organic vegetable garden.Montoya also reconfigured the approach from the street, replacing the straight landing-strip driveway with a more elegant sweeping curve that ends in a large forecourt. Once inside the house, a dramatic double-height entrance hall dominated by a fanciful brass chandelier and a pair of outr\u00E9 Marilyn Minter fashion photographs, among other artworks, sets a spirited tone. Previously, visitors were greeted with a view into the dining room, but Montoya closed it off, installing one of his veils and ensuring that any table decoration or party theme the hostess plans is a surprise, a reveal. \"As guests walk along the wall we added, they get to know the house before they see where they will be seated for dinner,\" Montoya explains.\n\nAt the far end of the entrance hall, a series of closets was removed, and a wall was opened up to connect the great room and living room and enhance the flow. Throughout these spaces, the furnishings\u2014including numerous pieces specially designed by Montoya\u2014are low-slung and modern, keeping sight lines to the outdoors open. Fabrics (sump- tuous velvet and suede among them) favor solid, earthy tones, with a judicious use of pattern, as in the curtains: \"We found fabrics that have some interest but are very light,\" the designer says. \"There's a sense of softness, which I like.\"\n\nOne of the guiding principles of the decor was to \"avoid all Hamptons clich\u00E9s, like pistachio-green,\" Montoya says, laughing. \"Within the vernacular of this traditional house, we did everything to make it feel contemporary.\" The fire- places in the living and great rooms, originally very grand, are now minimalist and low, allowing more wall space for hanging artworks. The couple's collection, which they are building with adviser Kim Heirston, adds visual energy, thanks to pieces that range from a dynamic Aaron Young tire-mark painting in the living room to a fantastical Victor Matthews canvas in their daughter's bedroom.\n\nSculptural ethnographic objects lend a worldly note to most of the spaces, including the graceful master suite, where an Indonesian bronze gong makes a statement above the leather-upholstered bed designed by Montoya. In the luminous adjacent bath, an antique African ladder serves as a towel rack, while a cozy ebonized daybed byMontoya beckons. Just as inviting is the master bedroom's corner sitting area, lined with bookshelves and a grass- cloth wall covering, with luxurious carpeting running underfoot. The effect is refined but not precious.\n\n \"In the Hamptons I think too many houses read as \u2018Look at me, but don't touch.' That's defeating the purpose of design,\" Montoya says. \"Your home should be like a favorite recipe that you return to over and over for the enjoyment and sustenance it gives. In this house there is passion, and the owners feel comfortable\u2014they're happy here.\" And that, the designer adds, means he has succeeded.\n\nTour the picturesque Southampton family retreat."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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