C. S. Valentin is a designer on the rise. After studying with Annette Messager and Sophie Calle at the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris, he moved to New York, launched a line of furniture and textiles called Bogus Studio, and redesigned the Hotel Esencia in Tulum, Mexico, and Chaya restaurant in Los Angeles. His first residential project, in Bellport, New York, is currently under way, so we recently headed out for a visit.
The 19th-century sea captain’s house on the South Shore of Long Island is owned by an investment banker and a Columbia professor, who bought it last year. They wanted to renovate the property, but they didn’t want to wait to take up residence, so they called on Valentin for the redesign; he began making subtle changes and sourcing furniture while weekend entertaining carried on. The design, Valentin says, is “a singular departure from the neighborhood’s typical New England interior, balancing the colonial architecture with 20th-century design.” For now, the exterior is largely unchanged, but the interior tells a different story. One where Valentin masterfully mixes Ikea with Alvar Aalto, Shaker with Charlotte Perriand, while integrating antiques from Paris, Mexico City, Brooklyn, and Bogotá, Colombia. Here’s a look.
Above: Valentin plans to repaint the facade of the house and landscape the grounds with boxwood. The newly installed light fixture, sourced from Rejuvenation, is a hint at the 20th-century decor inside. (The fixture is no longer available, but Rejuvenation uses the same wire net glass shade with their newer Hood light.) Above: In the library, Valentin sourced a midcentury Peter Hvidt and Orla Mølgaard-Nielsen ‘Minerva’ Daybed and reupholstered it with Classic Bouclé Fabric from Knoll. Also in the room is a Charlotte Perriand Bench for Les Arcs used as a coffee table, a vintage midcentury table lamp sourced at Holler & Squall in Brooklyn, and an Ebert Wels Rope Folding Chair. Above: The wood floors are painted dark navy and covered with neutral area rugs (to withstand foot traffic from frequent guests and their dogs). The coffee table is the ISH Coffee Table Prototype by Laetitia de Allegri & Matteo Fogale and is surrounded by a Børge Mogensen Shell Chair, a Saturne Armchair 44, Edition Burov by Geneviève Dangles and Christian Defrance, and a Berlin Lounge Linen Sofa. The floor lamp in the corner of the room is a Concrete & Brass Lamp from Stahl & Band in Venice, California. The other lights are both vintage. Above: Valentin created another seating area with a pair of white suede Thonet Bentwood Maple Armchairs, a pair of Giotto Stoppino 1970s Plastic Nesting Tables for Kartell, and a wall-mounted Kaari Shelf designed by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for Artek as an homage to Alvar Aalto.
Above: Valentin mounted a metal hanger in the nonworking fireplace and suspended a trio of copper pots on it (one of the owner’s mother found them at an estate sale). The built-in shelving to the right serves as a bar.
Above: Most of the wood floors upstairs are 19th-century redwood original to the building. In the second-floor hallway, Valentin added the Bora Bora Bench from Organic Modernism in Brooklyn. Above: In the owners’ bedroom on the second floor, the pale yellow floor paint is original; Valentin painted the radiators in dark slate as a contrast. The color-blocked rug is the Large Kelim Rug from Ferm Living. Same goes for the throw pillows, which are the Ferm Living Kelim Cushions. The two vintage floor lamps were restored and rewired by Holler & Squall in Brooklyn. The vintage side tables were sourced at Esoteric Survey in San Diego and the bench at the foot of the bed is custom by Cate Kasey of Peg Woodworking. Above: The rug in the guest room is a collaboration between ABC Carpet & Home and Gee’s Bend Quiltmakers, a collective of women in Alabama. Valentin liked the design so much that he had a Shaker Utility Stool made with cotton tape to match the palette from Shaker Workshops in Massachusetts.
Above: Valentin was inspired by the existing peg rail in the bedroom to integrate more Shaker details in the interior.
Above: On either side of the bed, two vintage 1950s task lamps—one Danish, the other Swedish—from Modernisten in Stockholm, are perced on two Shaker Adjustable Sconces that Valentin spray-painted with glossy black paint. Above: A pair of Admiral Hanging Mirrors from Anthropologie hang above the Shaker bench. The chair is the Grönadal Rocking Chair designed by Lisa Hilland for Ikea. Above: A small office is outfitted with CB2’s Lubi Sleeper Daybed, a Les Arcs Pine Table by Charlotte Perriand, and a Thonet Bentwood Maple Armchair with white suede upholstery. The pendant light is the Verner Panton VP1 Flowerpot Suspension Light (vintage) and the table lamp is a reedition of the Atollo Table Lamp by Vico Magistretti for Oluce. Above: In the attic bedroom, Valentin is still experimenting with the elements: The pale yellow floors may change to another color and the Pendleton rug is a temporary fix. The table lamp was sourced by designer friend Esteban Arboleda in a flea market in Bogotá, Colombia; it’s sitting on the All Wood Stool by Hem. The built-in desk is a leftover detail from the previous owners; Valentin paired it with a Charlotte Perriand Ombra Chair. Above: The suede chair is the Balloon Chair by Hans Olsen for LEA Design from the 1960s, the lamp is Greta Grossman’s Grässhoppa Floor Lamp for Gubi, and the blanket is one of Valentin’s designs (in collaboration with Alexander Díaz Andersson) from Bogus Studio. Above: Valentin plans to renovate the dining room with sliced black pebble flooring. For now, it’s outfitted with a Ditte & Adrian Heath Oak Table and Cantilevered Canvas Chairs designed for France & Søn in the 1960s and a red PH50 Pendant Lamp. Above: Valentin outfitted the bathroom (pre-renovation) with an antique mirror sourced locally in Bellport and a pair of Ikea Östanå Wall Lamps. Above: In the sunroom, Valentin sourced the midcentury sofa locally in Bellport and added CB2 Segment Pillows and a reproduction of Jorgen Hovelskov’s 1960s Harp Chair. The plant pots are by the owner’s brother, David Haskell of DGH Studio. Above: The wall hanging is by artist Andreas Díaz Andersson, who is the brother of Valentin’s Bogus Studio design partner Alexander Díaz Andersson. The chair is the Ole Gjerløv-Knudsen-designed OGK Safari Chair.
Above: Valentin has big plans for the exterior of the house and landscaping, but he also likes the nonchalant look. At the kitchen door, two potted plants grown from seed are propped up casually on a couple of extra bricks; the herringbone brick is intentionally left mossy. Above: At the rear of the house is a swimming pool and covered patio with a dining table. This past summer, Valentin and the owners collected discarded chairs around Bellport and painted them black to add to the dining table.
N.B.: This post is an update; the original story ran on October 9, 2017.
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