This Shelter Island Home Boasts The Best Porch We’ve Ever Seen

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House Beautiful’s home tour profiles textile designer and artist Serena Dugan’s renovated Adirondack-style cottage on Shelter Island, New York. The house’s expansive porch, fitted with rocking chairs and two hanging beds, is a central feature; the renovation also included major foundation work and reconstruction of the stone fireplace.

House Beautiful has profiled an Adirondack-style cottage on Shelter Island, New York, renovated by California-based textile designer and artist Serena Dugan. The home tour centers on its sprawling front porch, where two hanging beds and rocking chairs make the outdoor space a defining part of the house, alongside major structural repairs and a rebuilt stone fireplace.

Dugan, cofounder of Serena & Lily, first spotted the cottage as a small marker on a Zillow map while considering an East Coast vacation home. She asked a local friend to inspect it. After seeing the property, he urged her to visit, and she booked a flight. Dugan told House Beautiful that the setting and the house’s porch, fireplace and water views made an immediate impression.

The project proved more extensive than a cosmetic update. Dugan told the magazine that the existing house needed major foundation repair and a complete reconstruction of the fireplace. The fireplace was rebuilt with local stone to match the original, according to the report. House Beautiful describes the renovation as retaining the home’s character while updating its rooms and finishes.

The porch is arranged for both lounging and gathering. Dugan said she wondered whether the space could accommodate a hanging porch bed; she ultimately chose two hanging beds, which sit alongside rocking chairs. Inside, the rooms combine fabrics and wallcoverings from Dugan’s own work with vintage furnishings and contemporary fixtures. The report also notes performance fabric on the living-room sofas and a kitchen countertop of Calacatta Macchia Vecchia marble, a material Dugan selected despite its potential to stain.

A Porch Designed for Gathering

The tour’s interest lies in how the porch functions as more than a decorative feature: it is part of Dugan’s stated aim to make the home a place for guests and shared memories. The hanging beds and rocking chairs use the porch’s generous dimensions for sitting and resting, while its view toward the water connects the house to its Shelter Island setting.

The renovation also illustrates the trade-offs involved in updating an older property without erasing what attracted its owner. Dugan said she feared damaging the house’s distinctive atmosphere. The foundation repairs and fireplace reconstruction addressed substantial practical needs, while choices such as keeping the fireplace’s original appearance and allowing the marble to develop wear reflect her preference for a lived-in home.

From Zillow Listing to Renovation

The House Beautiful report traces the project from Dugan’s search for an East Coast vacation property to her decision to buy the cottage after seeing it in person. She recalled driving along a narrow road at dusk and noticing the fireplace, porch and reflection of the water. Those features shaped the direction of the renovation, though the property required more than the improvements she initially expected.

Design details in the published tour include a dark porch ceiling, customized lighting, a salmon-colored hallway, and a family room opened to the kitchen. Dugan said she wanted the house to show some wear rather than remain pristine. She paired higher-cost choices, including marble and selected furniture, with less expensive details: the report says matchstick blinds were bought online for about $29 per window and dressed up with brass cleats.

Details the Tour Does Not Provide

The source is a design-focused home tour, not a construction account. It does not give the renovation’s total cost, duration, contractor information, or technical details of the foundation repairs. It also does not state when the work was completed or provide an independent assessment of the building’s condition before and after construction.

Descriptions such as the porch being the best the writer has seen are subjective editorial framing, not a measurable ranking. The report documents the porch’s size and furnishings but does not provide dimensions or comparisons with other Shelter Island homes. The source material also does not specify a publication date for the tour.

No Further Milestone Reported

The source material reports a completed renovation and a published home tour; it does not announce further construction, a sale, or another scheduled development. Readers can view House Beautiful’s original feature for additional room-by-room photographs and design details. No next project milestone is identified in the report.

Key Questions

Where is Serena Dugan’s cottage?

The home is on Shelter Island, New York, in a quiet area near Coecles Harbor, according to House Beautiful.

What makes the porch distinctive?

The broad front porch has two hanging beds and rocking chairs. The tour presents it as a key gathering and lounging space in the home.

What major work did the renovation require?

Dugan told House Beautiful that the house needed major foundation repairs and that its stone fireplace had to be reconstructed. The fireplace was rebuilt with local stone to match the original.

Did Dugan use only high-end materials?

No. The report describes selected higher-cost choices, including marble and customized lighting, alongside budget-conscious details. It says the matchstick blinds cost about $29 per window, with brass cleats added afterward.

Is there a reported renovation budget or completion date?

The House Beautiful material provided here does not give a total project budget or a completion date. It also does not detail the repair schedule or the contractors involved.

Source: rss