Bonnie Dune, Southampton

Bonnie Dune, 376 Gin Lane, Southampton.
As it appeared when it was the beachfront
 residence of the Carl Spielvogels.
Photo by Billy Cunningham for Architectural Digest.

For Devoted Readers at the beach -- or those longing to be there -- cedar shingles have been the material of choice to clad the houses of the Hamptons from the Colonial days.  In the third quarter of the nineteenth-century the shingles were often stained gray, green, russet or dull red until white became popular after the Colonial- and Neoclassical-Revivals.  Left-bare-to-weather-silver is the trend today, even for the Post-Modern villas and new Mega-Mansions.  A wonderful example of the Golden Age of the shingled beach house is Bonnie Dune at 376 Gin Lane, Southampton, Long Island, New York.


The Entrance Hall of Bonnie Dune.
Photo by Billy Cunningham, Jed Johnson Associates.

Constructed in 1888 by the Robert Olyphants, of an old New York family with a fortune made in railroads, the house was originally named Eden Cottage.  A number of changes came with the next owners, the Elijah Kennedys, president of an insurance firm and an author, during a 1898 to 1902 period of construction;  they renamed the house Bonnie Dune.  The next owner, Anson McCook Beard, Sr., reverted to the original name of the house, however.  Local lore has some of the rooms of the house being used for the filming of several scenes in Woody Allen's 1978 film "Interiors" and it was still referred to as Eden Cottage.  By the time it was bought by the Carl Spielvogels around 1990, it was due a major renovation in addition to reverting back to the name Bonnie Dune.  Mr. Spielvogel is known for his success in the business of marketing and served eight months with a recess appointment by President Clinton as United States ambassador to the Slovak Republic.  Mrs. Spielvogel is also known as Barbaralee Diamondstein, advocate for architecture and the arts and author.


A Sitting Room at Bonnie Dune.
Photo by Billy Cunningham, Jed Johnson Associates.

Although essentially rebuilt by the Spielvogels, Bonnie Dune still reflects the original design philosophy that skillfully combined elements of the Shingle Style with Arts & Crafts and the Colonial Revival.  Real estate agents notoriously attribute houses like this to architect Stanford White, but great-grandson architect Samuel White suggests that it might have been designed by Bruce Price instead.  Sam White, who had worked with the owners on a previous project, over-saw the restoration/rebuilding along with interior designer Jed Johnson.  (Tragically, Johnson's career was cut short with the explosion of TWA Flight 800 in 1996).  Bonnie Dune was featured in the August, 1995, issue of Architectural Digest in an article by noted architectural critic Paul Goldberger.


The Stair Landing at Bonnie Dune.
The light fixtures were commissioned from Dale Chilhuly.
Photo by Billy Cunningham, Jed Johnson Associates.

Dramatically built on the dunes, the ecologically unsound placement would not be allowed for new construction today.  From the road, an expanse of flat, green lawn ends at the backdrop of the façade which is mostly roof pierced by huge con-joined twin gable dormers, all giving the effect of being held down by big chimneys of white-painted brick.  Crispness is provided by white trim and glossy black shutters.  The window placement was given a more orderly arrangement in the renovation.  Guests do not get a view of the ocean until entering the house and ascending the staircase to the main floor.


The Powder Room at Bonnie Dune.
Photo by Billy Cunningham for Architectural Digest.

The Powder Room is decorated as a grotto folly lined with thousands of shells laid to form architectural decoration.  "It was my idea, and I intended to put the shells in myself," Mrs. Spielvogel was quoted to say.  "I did, until my fingers started to stick together and I realized that I had to admit that I needed help."


The Living Room at Bonnie Dune.
Photo by Billy Cunningham, Jed Johnson Associates.

All eleven fireplaces in Bonnie Dune have Fulper Tile facings.  Fulper Pottery was a noted pottery studio in the early twentieth-century;  with the increase in appreciation of the Arts & Crafts movement in the mid-1980s, descendants of the founder revived the business to produce a line of high-quality architectural tiles.  Starting at about $25 for each tile and going up to about $300, operation ceased in 2001.  Stephen T. Anderson was commissioned to create the large hand-hooked rugs.


The Dining Room at Bonnie Dune.
Photo by Billy Cunningham for Architectural Digest.

A round, pedestal dining table seats twelve on George II sidechairs.  A Swedish hanging light fixture with a shell motif reinforces the marine theme.  Johnson, with associate Arthur Dunham (now design director of Jed Johnson Associates), introduced many marine-themed decorative motifs in the added architectural details, hardware, and light fixtures throughout the house.


The new Master Bedroom at Bonnie Dune.
Photo by Billy Cunningham for Architectural Digest.

A new Master Bedroom was created from several rooms on two floors.  The furnishings are intentionally spare so as not to distract from the view to the ocean, the article said.


Porches overlooking the ocean that had been enclosed
over the years were reopened in the renovation.
Photo by Billy Cunningham for Architectural Digest.

The Spielvogels sold Bonnie Dune in May, 1998 for $11,700,000 and moved to a larger estate nearby.  (Their current house is listed for sale however).


The ocean side of Bonnie Dune.
Photo by Billy Cunningham for Architectural Digest.

Project architect Samuel White and his wife Elizabeth White have written a wonderful 2008 book about the work of his great grandfather STANFORD WHITE, ARCHITECT.   Interiors by Jed Johnson are recorded in the 2008 book Jed Johnson: Opulent Restraint.   Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel's best known book is THE LANDMARKS OF NEW YORK: AN ILLUSTRATED RECORD OF THE CITY'S HISTORIC BUILDINGS.  All three books are available through The Devoted Classicist Library by clicking on the title.