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DESIGNER MARSHALL WATSON CREATES A KICK-OFF-YOUR-SHOES CASUAL YET SOPHISTICATED INTERIOR

Locals call it "Sagaponack sunshine"—the early morning phenomenon that often shrouds the Southampton hamlet in a low-lying, fingerling-type fog. For visiting beachgoers, it's a temporary interruption to their daily ocean pilgrimages. For interior designer Marshall Watson, tapped by a New York City couple to bring the interiors of a modern-day version of a classic Hampton beach cottage to life, the misty gray was pure inspiration. "That gray set the stage for the entire palette," he says noting many of the greens and blues used throughout the house are infused with the soothing dove tone. "There's also a lot of Scandinavian influence," adds the designer, who lived and studied in Denmark. "Even the brilliant woodwork is a Swedish white, which includes lots of gray and blue."

The high-gloss finish on everything from the stairway paneling to the coffered kitchen ceiling is startling in its crispness, but an unexpected jolt comes from the electric lime green that greets visitors in the entry hall and repeats in the living room. Inspired by the open farmland that flanks the property, the same sizzling verdant hue of the fields adds verve and energy to the interior. "Along with the sand and sky, that high, sharp green is another of the colors of Sagaponack and I wanted to bring that excitement inside," says Watson, who has designed several Hamptons homes, including his own.

It was nature's palette and the rural aesthetic that first attracted the homeowners to this locale. "Sagaponack has always been in the back of my mind as a place I wanted to live," says the owner, who as a teenage boy spent summer weekends with his aunt in Quogue. "There are so few trees and so much openness. It's the total opposite of city life."