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House Beautiful profiled textile designer and artist Serena Dugan’s renovated cottage on Shelter Island, New York. The project included major foundation work and a rebuilt stone fireplace, while its broad porch—with two hanging beds and rocking chairs—became a defining gathering space.
Textile designer and artist Serena Dugan, cofounder of Serena & Lily, renovated an Adirondack-style cottage on Shelter Island, New York, preserving its character while addressing serious structural needs. A House Beautiful home tour spotlights the house’s expansive front porch, where two hanging beds and rocking chairs make the outdoor space a central part of the design.
Dugan first found the cottage as a small listing on a Zillow map while considering a vacation home on the East Coast. She asked a local friend to visit; after he urged her to see it, she booked a flight. In House Beautiful’s report, Dugan recalls arriving at dusk and being struck by the stone fireplace, broad porch and reflected harbor light. She said she wanted a home where visitors could make memories.
The property needed more than cosmetic work. Dugan said she discovered that it required major foundation repairs, and the fireplace had to be completely reconstructed. The rebuild used local stone and was designed to match the original. The report describes the result as a blend of preservation and updates, rather than a replacement of the cottage’s defining features.
The porch was planned around the scale of the house. Dugan said she wondered whether she could fit a hanging porch bed into the space; the final design includes two hanging beds, alongside rocking chairs. A dark ceiling adds contrast, according to the tour. Elsewhere, the house combines Dugan’s fabrics and wallcoverings with vintage furniture and textiles, practical performance upholstery, custom lighting and materials chosen to show signs of use.
A Porch Designed for Gathering
The porch is more than a photographic feature in the published tour: it reflects Dugan’s stated aim to create a place for visitors and to make the house comfortable for everyday use. Hanging beds and rocking chairs turn the broad exterior space into an area for sitting and resting, while the home’s indoor layout was also adjusted to support shared use. The family room was opened to the kitchen to create what Dugan described as a grand but comfortable living space.
The project also shows the trade-offs behind restoring an older home. Dugan had to address the foundation and fireplace before focusing on decorative decisions. She chose some high-end elements, including a marble slab, and used lower-cost solutions elsewhere: House Beautiful reports that the matchstick blinds cost about $29 per window and were dressed up with brass cleats. The account offers readers a concrete example of how a design-led renovation can mix custom choices with economical purchases, while noting that the article does not provide a total project budget.
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From Harbor Cottage to Family Retreat
The cottage is in a quiet area of Coecles Harbor on Shelter Island, an island between Long Island’s North and South Forks. Dugan, who is based in California, had been looking for an East Coast vacation property when the listing caught her attention. The source account focuses on her personal design process and the finished interiors; it does not describe the purchase price or give a timeline for the search, construction or completion.
Inside, the dining room’s rebuilt stone fireplace anchors an open space. The kitchen and family room connect, while a pantry with patterned tile flooring carries colors and motifs from nearby rooms. Dugan said she wanted materials that could tolerate daily life: the living room sofas use performance fabric, and she selected Calacatta Macchia Vecchia marble for the kitchen despite the possibility of staining. She told House Beautiful she was comfortable with the stone developing a patina over time.
Her own work appears alongside collected pieces. Dugan said she viewed the house as an investment in herself and a place to bring together her designs and collections. The report also describes customized lighting, vintage furnishings and a windowless powder room with a custom amazonite sink. These details provide context for the porch: it is one part of a house organized around color, texture and shared use, not a stand-alone renovation.
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Project Costs and Timeline Remain Unreported
The House Beautiful feature does not specify when the renovation took place, how long it lasted, what it cost or whether the cottage is used year-round. It also does not give detailed engineering information about the foundation repairs or explain the construction methods used to rebuild the fireplace. Those details cannot be inferred from the design tour.
The article’s description of the porch as exceptional is its editorial framing, not a measurable ranking or a claim that it has been compared with other homes. The supplied material also does not establish whether Dugan plans further work on the property. The confirmed account is limited to the renovation details and design choices described by Dugan and House Beautiful.
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No Further Renovation Plans Announced
The source material does not announce a future construction phase, sale or public opening for the cottage. For now, the development is the publication of House Beautiful’s home tour, which documents the completed design and Dugan’s account of the restoration. Any later plans for the property remain unreported.
Readers seeking practical cost or construction guidance should treat the article as a design profile, not a renovation specification. It records that the foundation needed repair and the fireplace was rebuilt, but does not provide contractor details, permits, budgets or technical plans. Whether additional information will be published has not been stated.
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Key Questions
Who owns the Shelter Island cottage?
The House Beautiful report identifies Serena Dugan, textile designer, artist and Serena & Lily cofounder, as the person who bought and renovated the cottage. The supplied account does not give further ownership details.
What stands out about the porch?
The broad front porch has two hanging beds and rocking chairs. House Beautiful also notes its dark ceiling and describes the space as a prominent feature of the home.
What major repairs did the house need?
Dugan said the cottage required major foundation repair and a complete reconstruction of its stone fireplace. The fireplace was rebuilt with local stone to match the original, according to the report.
When was the renovation completed, and what did it cost?
The supplied House Beautiful material does not state the completion date or total renovation cost. It gives one specific purchase detail: the matchstick blinds cost about $29 per window.
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