Less Color, More Feel: Amy Kalikow Keeps the Texture, Skips the Palette, for This Water Mill Home
Designer Amy Kalikow teamed up with artist Stephanie Hirsch-Graf, a friend of over 30 years, to create a Hamptons home that trades color for neutral tones and layered textures — with a quiet but eye-catching detail tucked into every room.
White doesn't mean blank. In this latest Hamptons project, designer Amy Kalikow keeps the walls, furniture, and fireplaces almost entirely within a neutral palette — but step into any room and the shifts in texture and material make one thing clear: nothing here was left blank by accident.
The homeowner is artist Stephanie Hirsch-Graf, who's known Kalikow for more than 30 years. That history cut out any awkward getting-to-know-you phase — Kalikow already knew her client's taste going into this project, a traditional shingled home in Water Mill. The two agreed on a clear direction: keep the overall look in soft neutrals with an easy, livable flow, but give every room one object worth a second glance, so no space ends up feeling like a repeat of another.
That "one standout per room" logic shows up most often in the lighting. The entryway features a woven pendant from Amulette, while the formal dining room is anchored by a sculptural, encircling fixture from Luke Lamp Co. The living room leans into soft, rounded furniture lines, with a white marble fireplace holding the room together — and just beyond it, a stone-floored sunroom swaps that fireplace for one in red brick. Same feature, different material, different mood entirely.
The house doesn't run on a single emotional register. Some of the gathering spaces feel airy thanks to their high ceilings, while the home theater goes in a completely different direction: a grayscale palette, oversized sofas, and a candy bar tucked into the back corner. In the bedrooms, one features a wave-patterned painted headboard wall paired with a custom bed frame, while another has a cozy window banquette; the primary suite opens directly onto a covered terrace. Outside, there's a covered dining area, a pool with a generous deck for lounging, and a standalone pool house.
For Kalikow, this approach — where function never takes a backseat to beauty, and beauty never takes a backseat to function — isn't a one-off. As a mother of four, this same instinct for blending practicality with style also shows up in a Long Island home she recently designed for a young family.
