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House Beautiful’s home tour features textile designer and artist Serena Dugan’s renovated Adirondack-style cottage on Shelter Island, New York. The work included major foundation repairs and rebuilding the original-style stone fireplace, while the large porch became a central gathering space with two hanging beds and rocking chairs.
House Beautiful has featured an extensively renovated Shelter Island, New York, cottage owned by designer and artist Serena Dugan, with its wide front porch emerging as a central feature of the home. The project addressed major foundation repairs and rebuilt a stone fireplace, while preserving the cottage’s character and adapting it for gatherings and everyday use.
Dugan, a California-based textile designer and cofounder of Serena & Lily, first spotted the Adirondack-style cottage as a listing on a Zillow map while considering an East Coast vacation home. A local friend viewed it from the road and urged her to visit. Dugan later recalled arriving at dusk and being struck by the porch, stone fireplace and reflection of Coecles Harbor. House Beautiful’s report presents the renovation through a room-by-room home tour.
The initial impression did not reveal the scale of the work required. Dugan said the house needed major foundation repairs, and the fireplace had to be completely reconstructed. The rebuilt fireplace uses local stone and was made to match the original, according to the report. The renovation also opened the family room to the kitchen, creating a larger shared living area.
The porch was furnished with two hanging porch beds and rocking chairs, selected to suit the space’s proportions. Dugan said she had wondered whether one hanging bed would fit, then decided two worked better. Elsewhere, the home combines pieces from her textile and wallcovering line with vintage furniture and fabrics. The report also describes practical choices, including online matchstick blinds that cost about $29 per window, alongside higher-end decisions such as customized lighting and a marble kitchen surface.
A Porch Designed for Gathering
The tour offers a specific example of how a renovation can retain the qualities that drew an owner to an older home while addressing structural needs. In Dugan’s account, the porch was not simply an exterior feature: it helped define the house’s appeal and became a place for visitors to sit, rest and watch the weather. The hanging beds and rocking chairs make that use visible in the finished design.
The project also illustrates the balance between preservation and personal expression. Rebuilding the fireplace to resemble the original retained a defining feature, while opening the family room to the kitchen changed how the interior functions. For readers interested in design, the report documents both the choices and trade-offs involved, including Dugan’s willingness to accept possible staining on the marble because she valued the surface developing a patina.
hanging porch beds for outdoor use
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From Map Listing to Renovation
The cottage is in a quiet area of Shelter Island near Coecles Harbor. Dugan was living in California and looking for a vacation property on the East Coast when she noticed the listing. After her friend encouraged her to see it in person, she booked a flight. She described the arrival at dusk as the moment she understood the house’s appeal, citing its setting and front porch overlooking the water.
Dugan told House Beautiful that she wanted the home to be a place where visitors could make memories. That aim informed choices throughout the renovation: performance fabrics on the living room sofas, a larger shared family room and durable or lower-cost options in some areas. The home tour also documents her use of her own fabrics and wallcoverings alongside vintage pieces and work by other artists.
Project Details Not Disclosed
The House Beautiful report does not specify when the renovation took place, what it cost, how long it lasted or who carried out the foundation work. It also does not provide engineering details about the repairs or independent verification of the home’s structural condition. The article presents Dugan’s account and a design tour; it does not offer a separate assessment of the project or its costs.
The headline’s description of the porch as the “best” is a subjective editorial judgment, not a measurable ranking. The available material documents its size and furnishings but does not compare it with other homes or establish a formal award.
No Further Project Update Listed
The source is a completed-home tour rather than a report of a new construction milestone. It does not announce additional work, a sale, or plans to open the property to visitors. Readers can view the rooms and design details through House Beautiful’s published tour; no later development is confirmed in the supplied material.
Key Questions
Who owns the Shelter Island cottage?
The home belongs to Serena Dugan, a California-based textile designer and artist who cofounded Serena & Lily.
What makes the porch a focus of the home tour?
The report describes a large front porch furnished with two hanging porch beds and rocking chairs. Dugan said she chose two hanging beds to suit the porch’s proportions.
What major work did the cottage need?
Dugan said the house required major foundation repairs and a complete reconstruction of its fireplace. The fireplace was rebuilt with local stone to match the original, according to House Beautiful.
Where is the cottage located?
The cottage is on Shelter Island, New York, in the Coecles Harbor area.
Did House Beautiful report the renovation cost?
No. The supplied report does not give a total project budget or a renovation timeline. Dugan did mention some individual choices, including matchstick blinds that cost about $29 per window.
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