When designer Analisse Taft-Gertsen and her husband, hospitality consultant James Gertsen, decided to move into their Sag Harbor weekend cottage full-time, they weren’t simply relocating - they were reinventing their lifestyle. Found in the historic fishing village in the Hamptons, their 1950s shingle-style house now balances laid-back beach-town charm with refined Scandinavian design sensibility.
“It was not a house that felt like a full time residence,” says Analisse, founder of textile showroom ALT for Living and co-founder of the design-forward 1818 Collective. “So we decided to rip the house down to the studs and completely gutted it out and made a new main bathroom, among other changes”.
Though its footprint remained modest at just over 2,000 square feet, the couple transformed the one-story, three-bedroom home into a highly functional sanctuary. They added a dormer for extra headroom, reimagined the bathrooms, and introduced cleverly disguised storage solutions that make the house live large. “We almost designed it like a boat,” Analisse explains, pointing to the concealed closet systems and furniture-grade cabinetry throughout.
The aesthetic strikes a confident chord between minimalism and warmth. The interiors are defined by a light, calming palette of whites, soft greys, and beiges, punctuated with earthy textures and occasional moss green or terracotta accents. Vintage Camaleonda sofas, Charlotte Perriand dining chairs, and a favourite Marco Zanuso lounge piece inject mid-century soul into the bright and breezy spaces.
Yet despite its European flair, the home stays true to its humble cottage roots. “Even if we had to tear everything down to the studs, we put back all the beautiful rough cut wood on the walls in the living room, we kept the ceilings exposed with the wood” says Analisse.
With the garage now converted into a pool house and cozy outdoor seating areas surrounding the main home, the property encourages a true indoor-outdoor lifestyle. It’s a far cry from the couple’s former, more spacious residence - but that’s part of the appeal.
“I thought it was going to be more challenging living in half the size of what I was living before but it is actually better,” says Analisse. “We are using every corner of the house. With that particular project I learned a lot about space and scale”.
In their Swedish-inspired Sag Harbor retreat, Analisse and James have created not just a house, but a daily exhale - a peaceful, purposeful home that reflects their creativity, clarity, and connection to the things they truly love.
Credits
Photography by Nicole Franzen, Instagram: @nicole_franzen
Interior Design by Analisse Taft-Gertsen, founder of ALT For Living and co-founder of The 1818 Collective, Instagram: @altforliving, Instagram: @the1818collective
