Modernist Barn in Sag Harbor

CALL IT MODERN. CALL IT RUSTIC. This newly remodeled property, on a third of an acre in a quiet Sag Harbor backstreet, is a hybrid of styles. It’s reminiscent of a French farmhouse, with a barn-like character in its soaring main space. But when she bought it as a development project in 2005, says architect Jifat Windmiller, it was just plain ugly. “People thought it was a motel.”

[Go here and search Web #53269 for more pics and info]

This post is a departure for me, as this is neither an old house (it was built in 1980), nor is it inexpensive (I generally try to feature houses under $500K, which is kind of a challenge in the Hamptons). But I’m blogging about it because Jifat, a highly talented architect, is one of my dearest friends, and I’m very impressed with what she’s created.

She was drawn to the property initially by the one-of-a-kind post-and-beam structure in the double-height living room. “That is why I bought it,” she says.

Aside from that dominant, uniquely sculptural feature and three massive fireplaces, “every wall, window, and door is completely new, and in a new place.”

Divided-light windows and French doors flood the rooms with light. The front porch is on ground level, like a modernist arcade, with classic barn doors that slide on tracks.

Jifat completely remodeled the kitchen and baths, and built additions for a dining room and master suite with a roof deck overlooking the pool. The house now measures 2,750 square feet, with 3 bedrooms and 2-1/2 baths.

She also designed and built a totally charming pool/guest house with wonderful medieval-style windows that I could be quite happy living in, if zoning laws allowed.