Designer Oliver Freundlich from New York revamps a Brooklyn family’s seasonal retreat and pays homage to Fire Island’s legacy architecture.

Oliver Freundlich had his work cut out for him for his first-ever vacation home project. Fire Island’s strict building limitations and time-consuming approval processes, presented significant hurdles along the way. Luckily, Freundlich, an avid ocean lover himself, delighted in balancing the site’s unique challenges with his friends’ aspirations for an authentic summer escape to call their own. 

“There’s a strong element of nostalgia in this place, so it was a very intimate process,” says Freundlich. “Knowing the clients and having actually witnessed childhood life in Fire Island gave us a deep foundation to draw from to make it very personal.”

The original footprint and proportions of the home still remain, including its three distinct volumes, which intrigued Freundlich from the start. “The house had all these amazing suggestions, and we just capitalized on them,” he says. “That’s really where the exciting, transformative opportunity lay, to dramatically change the character of the house while amplifying its best qualities.”