For many years, Whitney Casey and her tech entrepreneur husband, Nav Sooch, rented a summer house in the Hamptons which belonged to an interior designer. "It had everything you could possibly need," she recalls.
"Everyone would leave and say, ‘What a charming little gem.’" When the couple decided to buy their own property, their vision was clear – to create something every bit as special. The house they discovered is a new-build in a quiet street, close to the heart of Southampton.
"It’s not my type of exterior because it’s so traditional," admits Whitney, but she was attracted by the location. "You can walk to the grocery store, go to any restaurant, or pick up your deck chair and walk four blocks to the beach." In contrast to the classical facade, she was determined to create a funky interior. To help her, she called upon Los Angeles-based designer Jessica Ayromloo.
"The word that describes Jessica is ‘fresh’ – she can come up with novel ideas," says Whitney. In return, Jessica calls Whitney "a blast. She’s really fun and easy-going," she says. "But, at the same time, she knows what she wants."
What Whitney wanted most was to avoid a stereotypical Hamptons look. "She didn’t want navy or chequerboard," recalls Jessica. "We wanted things to feel interesting and different." Architecturally, very little was changed; they knocked down a wall on the ground floor to create an uninterrupted view from the front of the house to the back, clad several walls in the kitchen with stainless steel and replaced some built-ins in the library with floating walnut shelves.
One thing Whitney was particularly intent on was having a fleshy-pink front door. "It was something nobody else in the Hamptons had," notes Jessica. It also ended up being the starting point for the earthy, sandy palette inside. "We wanted it to feel coastal, but not in a cliché way," Jessica says. Hand-painted wallpapers, a bold use of pattern, and quirky furnishings give it a singular, glamorous look.
Each of the different bedrooms not only has its own character, but also a specific name. "Cyrano" was dubbed in honour of the portrait of a large-nosed man behind the bed. The mostly-blue "Denim" room is dominated by a black silhouette that originally began life as a mannequin in a dime-store window. Whitney’s favourite is the pool house. "I would live in there for the rest of my life – if only it had more closet space," she says.
Throughout, there are some wonderfully humorous touches, in keeping with Whitney’s playful nature. She jokingly refers to herself as "Half Whit" (although "Witty Whit" might be more apt) and calls their house guests "Sooch Mooches". The postbox out front has a "No Vacancy" sign attached to it, while the library is dominated by a blown-glass and nickel chandelier that bears an uncanny resemblance to condoms and cow udders.
Together, Whitney and Nav spend most summer weekends at the house, often with a bunch of friends. Days generally begin with a wake-up call through a specially installed intercom system. "I’m like, ‘Campers! It’s nine o’clock!’" and I play this kind of trumpet," Whitney says and laughs. "Nobody knows it exists and all of a sudden, I’m coming through the speakers in their bedroom." Strangely, one thing they rarely do is go to the beach. "It’s hilarious, but the pool is always so much fun,” says Whitney.
Photography by Stephan Juilliard
A version of this article originally appeared in our August 2016 issue.
