StudioLAB’s Founder Matthew Miller’s Hamptons Home

There’s nothing like being an interior design fanatic and getting to see an amazing interior designer’s own home. Matthew Miller, originally an architect and now the proprietor of StudioLAB, based in Union Square in Manhattan, is no stranger to the Hamptons.

Once the Hamptons is in one’s blood, it can feel like more than a luxury, a necessity. Farmer’s markets, pastoral core-memory scenes embedded in your brain, the epic beaches… the list goes on and on. Miller and his wife spent summers in the Hamptons where they lived above his mother’s Bridgehampton home’s detached garage in a 400 square foot studio. That’s all fine and good until the kids start being born and a solution becomes necessary.

The answer was a 1985 saltbox of 1,400 +/- square foot home with a pool, on about 1.3 acres of forested land in Sagaponack. Expanding it to 3,100 square feet was the right size for them and clearing space for a lawn made it complete. They even moved the pool to expand the house.

Miller, who received his Bachelors of Architecture in 2003 from the University of Southern California, retained most of the original house by keeping it in one wing that contains three bedrooms and a playroom. Renovating by reflecting its shape to the other wing, he added the kitchen, dining room, and primary suite. Connecting the two wings with a center bridge, he was able to execute on a double-height living room.

There are various styles mingling together effortlessly — modern farmhouse, Scandinavian, minimalist, mid-century modern — with crisp white walls and marble, juxtaposed by black windows, fixtures, kitchen stools, and doors. The whitewashed white-oak floors and shiplap paneling allow the famous Hamptons light to fill every room. The exterior features white cedar-shake siding, which is a perfect backdrop for the black trimmed windows.

Furnishings include a mix of affordable pieces from retailers like Ikea, Pottery Barn, and West Elm, as well as a few, more expensive statement pieces the couple had long coveted, like a CH25 lounge chair by Hans J. Wegner that elevates the living room with its MCM appeal.

When Miller is asked about why he loves the East End so much, he said, “It’s a micro transplant of NYC mixed with greener pastures, historic charm, fresher air, and beautiful beaches. What I also love is that it has the conveniences and perks of the city within a rural atmosphere. Top restaurants open late, supermarkets open 24/7, nightlife, season-round activities for the kids. There is always something to do and something going on very much like the city!”

Miller served as the general contractor and managed all the subcontractors himself — mind blown.

To learn more about Matthew Miller and StudioLAB, visit studiolabdesign.com.

Ty Wenzel

Co-Publisher & Contributor

Ty Wenzel started her career as a fashion coordinator for Bloomingdale’s followed by fashion editor for Cosmopolitan Magazine. She was also a writer for countless publications, including having published a memoir and written features for The New York Times. She is an award-winning writer and designer who covers lifestyle, real estate, architecture and interiors for James Lane Post. Wenzel is also a co-founder of the meditation app for kids, DreamyKid, and the social media agency, TWM Hamptons Social Media.