FEATURES

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In the corridor leading to the den, another table, this one fir, was deeply raked with metal combs and stained a dark chocolate. "I love every piece he's done," says the client. "Everyone just sinks into the furniture."

Interspersed among these sorts of custom pieces are vintage furnishings by Wormley, Robsjohn-Gibbings and Knoll, 1940s Albrizzi chrome director's chairs and ceramic lamps from the '30s through the '50s. The finishing touch is artwork, all of it relating to water but executed in various media.

"It's not your typical Nantucket or bead-board beach cottage," concludes Groves. "We wanted to do the modern, sophisticated version of a beach house." By exploiting the many tactile and luminous qualities of white, it's clear he succeeded.