ENTER EGAN AND SENIOR DESIGNER LARYSA SENDICH.
The Filimonovs had seen several Egan-designed homes in the
Hamptons, which were characterized by the firm’s trademark
uncluttered modern aesthetic and its penchant for handcrafted
materiality. “If there’s one thread that goes through my work,”
notes Egan, “it’s integrity of materials and form.” When the couple
approached them, Egan and Sendich were wrapping up a project
for a Swedish client. “We were going through a bit of a romance
with Scandinavian design, and it rubbed off,” says Egan. “There’s
a rigor to it, but it’s comfortable. Mikhail and Natalia responded
to that.”
One of Scandinavian modernism’s most salient qualities, of
course, is its respect for natural materials and handwork. And
since the Filimonovs were, as Mikhail says, “touchy-feely people,”
this became everyone’s common ground. “That’s how the house
developed,” says Egan. “So much of it is about texture.”
The home’s red-oak floors had been darkly stained, so Egan
bleached and whitewashed them, instantly lightening the mood.
She also simplified fireplace mantels and “cleaned up the ceilings,”
punching into an attic to afford extra height in some rooms. To
enhance the tactile experience of the house, she and Sendich
commissioned many custom textiles from weaver Sam Kasten
and bespoke rugs from Mitchell Denburg. There are also natural
fiber carpets by Elizabeth Eakin (living room) and the 125-year-old
Swedish firm Kasthall (one of the boys’ rooms). And they engaged
Boyd Reath to create textured wall treatments.
