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Serena Dugan renovated an Adirondack-style cottage on Shelter Island after discovering it needed foundation repairs and a rebuilt fireplace. House Beautiful’s tour highlights the broad front porch, where two hanging beds join rocking chairs, as part of a design centered on relaxed gathering and durable materials.
Serena Dugan, a California-based textile designer and cofounder of Serena & Lily, renovated an Adirondack-style cottage on Shelter Island, New York, preserving its original character while repairing its foundation and rebuilding its stone fireplace. In a home tour, House Beautiful presents the large front porch—furnished with rocking chairs and two hanging beds—as a defining feature of a house Dugan says she wanted to make welcoming for visitors.
Dugan first spotted the cottage as a small marker on a Zillow map while considering an East Coast vacation home. She asked a local friend to visit; after seeing it, he urged her to get on a plane. Dugan later recalled arriving at dusk and being taken by the porch, water views and massive stone fireplace. The article does not give the property’s address, purchase price or renovation cost.
The work proved more extensive than reinforcing the existing structure. According to the report, the house needed major foundation repair and a complete reconstruction of the fireplace. The rebuilt fireplace uses local stone and was designed to match the original. Dugan said she feared damaging the home’s calm, distinctive atmosphere during the renovation.
The porch was arranged around its generous scale. Dugan initially wondered whether a hanging porch bed would fit; she ultimately placed two hanging beds alongside rocking chairs. Inside, the renovation opened the family room to the kitchen to create a larger shared living area. Performance fabric on the sofas and Dugan’s stated preference for a home that can show wear reflect an emphasis on everyday use, not only display.
A Porch Designed for Gathering
The tour’s focus is not simply a striking outdoor space: it shows how the porch fits into Dugan’s stated aim of creating a home where visitors could make memories. The hanging beds and rocking chairs make the area usable for sitting and resting, while the broad proportions connect it to the cottage’s wider emphasis on shared spaces.
The renovation also illustrates a practical tension in restoring an older house: preserving what gives it character while addressing structural needs. The foundation repairs and fireplace reconstruction were substantial work, while choices such as performance upholstery and inexpensive online blinds helped make the finished home more suited to use. The report is a design tour, not an independent assessment of construction methods, costs or the property’s value.
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From Zillow Listing to Restoration
Dugan was looking for a vacation home on the East Coast when she noticed the cottage on a Zillow map. The source describes its setting in a quiet area of Coecles Harbor on Shelter Island. A friend’s enthusiastic reaction prompted her to visit in person, and the waterfront setting and existing architectural features helped shape her decision to renovate rather than discard the home’s character.
She incorporated fabrics and wallcoverings from her own design line alongside vintage furniture and textiles. The article also describes customized lighting and a mix of higher-cost and lower-cost decisions. For instance, Dugan said the matchstick blinds cost about $29 per window online, with brass cleats added to finish them. In the kitchen, she chose Calacatta Macchia Vecchia marble despite its potential to stain, saying she was comfortable with the surface developing a patina.
Costs and Construction Details
The House Beautiful tour does not disclose the cottage’s purchase price, total renovation budget, project timeline or the professionals involved. It also provides no engineering or permit records, so the scope and technical details of the foundation repairs cannot be independently assessed from the source. The headline’s description of the porch as the best the writer has seen is an editorial judgment, not a measurable comparison with other homes.
The report documents the designer’s account and the finished rooms but does not include comments from contractors, preservation specialists or local officials. It is not clear whether the home is used only as a vacation property, how often Dugan hosts visitors there, or whether additional work remains.
No Further Project Update Given
The source presents the cottage as a completed renovation and does not announce another phase, sale or planned change. House Beautiful’s article is a design tour rather than a notice of a new project milestone, and it gives no date for future work or public access to the home. Any later update would be needed to establish whether Dugan plans further renovations or changes to the property.
Key Questions
Where is Serena Dugan’s renovated cottage?
The cottage is on Shelter Island, New York, in the Coecles Harbor area, according to House Beautiful. The report does not publish its street address.
What was the main work required during the renovation?
The report says the house needed major foundation repairs and a complete rebuild of its stone fireplace. The fireplace was reconstructed with local stone to match the original.
What is on the cottage’s front porch?
The porch has rocking chairs and two hanging beds. Dugan said she wondered whether a hanging bed would fit and decided that two suited the porch’s scale.
How much did the renovation cost?
The source does not provide the total project cost. It gives one specific furnishing detail: Dugan said the matchstick blinds cost about $29 per window before she added brass cleats.
Source: rss
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