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ARCHITECT JAMES D'AURIA CREATES A MODERN, WOOD-RICH HOME IN AMAGANSETT FOR MANHATTAN RESTAURANT OWNERS WHO CHERISH THE SIMPLE LIFE

"A beach house shouldn't take itself too seriously," says Charles Milite of the Amagansett retreat he shares with his longtime girlfriend, Michele Gaton, and their puppy, Gioia. "You should be able to arrive Thursday night, open the door and not worry about fluffing pillows. I just wanted solid materials and not a lot of clutter."

Building such a place, however, isn't always a simple matter—especially when it lies in a flood plain on protected wetlands near a nature reserve (Napeague State Park). It took the couple and their architect, James D'Auria, three years to get the appropriate permits but only half that time to erect the house. Thanks to D'Auria's understanding of the couple's essentially basic requirements—and the talents of contractor Charles Bordsen—the bureaucratic tangle turned out to be the biggest challenge. The results are as stunning as they are simple.

Milite and Gaton are New York restaurateurs—he owns the The Coffee Shop and Luna Park in Union Square, Live Bait on Madison Park Square and a busy event space; she owns Extra Virgin in Greenwich Village. It was an old pal who attracted Milite, a Westchester boy, to Amagansett. "He bought a block of land and wanted friends to buy parcels so we could have a little community," Milite says. It wasn't long before the couple met D'Auria, who keeps an office in the area and who, according to Milite, "was known for his kitchens." Food (and food preparation) being a sure way to a restaurateur's heart, the two men hit it off.

"Originally I wanted a very traditional Hamptons shack," Milite recalls. "James was instrumental in showing me how it could be classic outside but sleek and modern inside."