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MOISES ESQUENAZI CREATES ST. TROPEZ AMBIANCE FOR HIS SISTER'S AMAGANSETT RETREAT

After spying a special piece of East End land for sale, Carolina Esquenazi was torn. The property was wonderfully located in Amagansett yet the house was small and dark, the complete opposite of what she wanted. She and her husband Jared Friedberg had been renters in Sag Harbor and if she was going to change locales, it needed to be for open spaces. Yet there had always been something about this property that strongly appealed to her. Needing a second opinion on whether the structure could actually be transformed to fit her aesthetics, Carolina knew exactly the man to call: her baby brother Moises Esquenazi. Given his range of talents (photography, furniture design, interior design and architecture to name a few), she felt confident that he of all people could get the job done.

"It was a tiny, tiny space," Carolina says. "I loved the huge windows in the living room, but the rest of the house was so dark with a fenced-in backyard. It looked more like a chicken coop than anything!" After doing a formal run through with Moises, Carolina handed him full reigns. She gave him only minor guidelines, insisting that the home be very practical and very comfortable. For Moises, collaborating with his sister came easy. He seemed to know what she wanted at every turn.

"We grew up exposed to beaches and resorts in Cartagena and Bogota, Colombia where we are from. We also spent a lot of time vacationing on the beaches in the South of France," says Moises. "I wanted to create the appeal of those places for her at home in the Hamptons." Accordingly, one of his first steps in the project was to clear out space in the back of the house for a pool, which Moises surrounded with large-scale daybeds and furnishings. Now the backyard is more like a living room, providing a place for people to socialize, eat, have cocktails, go wireless, or just relax, including Moises who readily admits to his love of lounging poolside with his big sister.

When remodeling the interior Moises used white and gray to unify the various rooms, making the layout feel larger through continuity. He also took the once brown and worn floors and updated them with a pink and white finish. A wall dividing the living room from the kitchen was torn down, effectively opening and connecting the two spaces. His main focus was always to integrate the outdoors into the interiors.

Sunbrella fabrics were used inside for durability, a decision that now, rather unexpectedly, is appreciated as post-renovation living includes a new member of the Esquinazi family, Carolina's 15 month-old daughter. "It's still a small house but it feels so much bigger. You get the impression that there is no separation from inside to outside, making it easy to always keep an eye on the children, but there is also personal space for adults to play too," says Carolina, a frequent entertainer.

Opting for a mix of vintage and mid-century furnishings in the living room, Moises recovered the sectional and the two swivel barrel chairs in indoor/outdoor velvet, inspired by a project of his in Palm Springs. Lime green chairs that surround a chrome dining table were upholstered to combine a mix of the blue and green palette he chose in an effort to "connect the sky, the sea and the grass." The space is otherwise reserved. "I didn't want to do a whole lot of art, I wanted to keep it really clean, not super busy," says Moises. "I hung a painting (Ocean NO. 3A) from my sea series in the living room. It's the only image in that room, and you can sit on the sofa looking at the painting while listening to the waves crash in the distance."

The only other art image hangs in the master suite, a room rich with flavor. Moises felt this was the place to mix things up a bit by adding Hester, a piece from his newest series, "Alter Ego."

Throughout the project, Moises remained true to his main focus: pleasing his clients by achieving what they intend to do with the home. "My sister wanted to feel like she was somewhere very far from New York," he says with a chuckle. "Like she was on vacation or at a beach club."