Montauk Modern
Written by Sean Santiago | Photographed by Ball & Albanese | Styled by Kaylei McGaw and Darby McGaw
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A classic beach house interior gets punched up with outré pop art.
Images full of saturated color are even more compelling next to white walls and rustic furnishings.
Ben Watts certainly knows how to make a first impression. At his shingle-clad property overlooking the ocean in Montauk, New York, the street-smart photographer—a man known for his raucous beach parties and edgy pop style—is apt to greet guests clad in nothing but swim trunks, a pair of neon-green Italia Independent sunglasses cocked playfully on his head. If there ever were a setting worthy of such a sartorial statement, it would be this surf-loving town of just over 3,000 residents at the eastern tip of New York’s Hamptons region, which the transplant from Australia first encountered while on location for a J.Crew catalog shoot. He bought a weekend retreat—his primary residence is in Manhattan—two years later. “It’s a different vibe here—very chilled out,” Watts says. “I thought, ‘This is where I want to be.’”
An eclectic collection of art and photography books, including works by Peter Beard, Gray Malin, and Bruce Weber, references Watts’s diverse visual influences.
It’s also where his family wants to be. Not long after Watts bought his home, his sister, Naomi, purchased a property in nearby Amagansett, where the family celebrates Christmas every year. But 20 minutes down the coast at Watts’s own getaway, summer is high season. The house was little more than a fisherman’s cottage composed of small, less-than-functional rooms and an exterior worn by the salty sea air when he bought it in 1998. That all changed two years ago, when he knocked down the original structure and built a contemporary residence in its footprint. Soon after, he purchased an adjacent property to convert into a guesthouse and added a pool and a pool house to the backyard.
The open plan kitchen in the main house features chicken wire–front cabinetry and a dining table of weathered wood.
Throughout the main building, glossy and metallic finishes put an industrial twist on traditional New England style, and unvarnished striated wood walls lend a rough-hewn elegance. In the kitchen, chicken wire replaces glass in the cabinet doors, and butcher block countertops and an apron-front sink add to the country home mood. But the overall effect is less agrarian than urban chic, thanks to a loft-like wall of windows and an open floor plan that blurs the lines between living and dining areas. And the kitchen “island” is actually a dining table for six.
In keeping with an aesthetic he’s spent years honing behind the lens for clients such as Cosmopolitan and GQ, Watts ensures his passions are reflected in each room. Photography tomes and decorative knick knacks rest on tables and shelves; Día de los Muertos skulls are a recurring motif; and a neon pink boom box stands beside the black lacquered fireplace. “I’ve been obsessed with hip-hop and youth culture,” he says, “so I tried to bring some pop-culture flavor into my home.” Staying tapped into the zeitgeist isn’t just an interior design mantra for Watts. He plans to release a capsule collection of street wear that draws on urban cultural references, and he recently partnered with e-tailer Wine Awesomeness, developing a graffiti-inspired logo for his new rosé—a wine he’ll no doubt be serving poolside all summer long. The wine, like his photo studio, is named (what else?) WattsUp.
The primary suite is a vision in white. Exposed beams draw the eye toward the peaked ceiling; understated roller shades filter the abundant natural light.
Dual sinks and rain showers in the primary bath provide plenty of room to spread out.
Layered quilts and a nautical style lamp are inviting nods to the beach bungalow aesthetic.
Though Watts takes credit for the home’s creative direction, he reserves his highest praise for celebrity fashion stylist Jeanann Williams, the mother of his teenage daughter, Ruby. Williams, whom he describes as “an incredibly talented, visual person,” was instrumental in the design. “A man needs a woman to help, though that might sound sexist,” he says. “A woman’s touch can be imitated, but not necessarily duplicated.” The easy, indoor-outdoor flow of the property is as conducive to industry gatherings and model-heavy pool parties as it is to laid back visits with Ruby.
Every detail on site, from the Jeep in the garage to the souped-up motorbike in the driveway, speaks to Watts’s freewheeling, fun-loving nature. Even the metal buckets that line the patio are planted with weeds—because, as Watts explains, “I just like green shit!” Yet each element is a component of a thoughtfully designed whole. “I pride myself on being able to coax things out of people to create a good photo,” he says. “It’s how I interact; I’m a very social person, and this place is set up for that.” In Watts’s world, summer is a way of life.
Photo equipment, a pair of ping pong paddles, and cheeky British and hip-hop paraphernalia share space in Ben watts’s pool house.
Vintage cameras, stamp and butterfly collections, and black-and-white photographs surround a flat screen TV in the family room.
The flags of Great Britain (where Watts was born) and Australia (where he spent much of his childhood) wave in the front yard.