Estate of Robert Carson; Arvin Shaw III, Sagaponack, Long Island | Architects: Robert Carson & Arvin Shaw III

9/17/2025 07:00:00 PM

Architect Arvin Shaw's beach house perches atop a dune at Sagaponack, Long Island. overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Mr. Shaw calls his house a cabana, for it consists of only one large room plus a sheltered terrace. Yet, simple as it is, the house is superbly designed to meet the threefold challenge of seaside living: how to enjoy the maximum view plus privacy plus solid protection against the elements. To begin with, the house has not one but two views. The terrace looks out to the ocean, while a fence beside it screens out a neighboring house.

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The glass-walled living room, opposite page, is angled to face the grassy dunes which themselves provide privacy. Overhead garage doors protect the big window wall, serving as sunshades during the summer, swinging down over the glass to seal the house tightly in winter. The front of the house facing the road is a windowless stretch of white clapboard that completes Mr. Shaw's privacy and also forms a bulwark against Long Island's frequent winter storms. But what makes the cabana such a delight the year round is the array of creature comforts within: a powerful fireplace for chilly weather, simple but well-chosen furniture, and, not least, a kitchen that is as trim as a ship's galley and far more elegant.

Solid white clapboard walls and a gangway-like ramp make the Shaw house look from the road like a land-bound yacht. But this is what gives the house its privacy as well as protection from winter storms. It was raised on piles in order to assure a clear view over the dunes to the ocean. So the living area remains high and dry when storm tides wash below. Under house is a carport and heater room. Since Mr. Shaw weekends here all year, he leaves forced-air heating system operating even while he is away so that house will always be warm.