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House Beautiful profiled textile designer Serena Dugan’s renovation of an Adirondack-style cottage on Shelter Island, New York. The project retained the home’s character while addressing major foundation repairs and rebuilding its stone fireplace; its broad porch features two hanging beds and rocking chairs.
House Beautiful has featured textile designer and artist Serena Dugan’s renovated cottage on Shelter Island, New York, drawing attention to its expansive porch, where two hanging beds sit alongside rocking chairs. The project also involved major foundation repairs and rebuilding the home’s original-style stone fireplace, according to the magazine’s home tour.
Dugan, who is based in California and cofounded Serena & Lily, first saw the Adirondack-style cottage as a small listing on a Zillow map while considering a vacation home on the East Coast. After a local friend viewed the property and urged her to visit, she traveled to Shelter Island. She recalled arriving at dusk and being struck by the porch, stone fireplace and water views.
The renovation proved more extensive than she had expected. Dugan said the house needed major foundation work, and the fireplace that had helped sell her on the property had to be completely reconstructed. The replacement was built to match the original using local stone, the magazine reported.
The porch became a defining feature of the finished home. Dugan initially wondered whether a hanging porch bed would fit; the space was large enough for two hanging beds, paired with rocking chairs. A dark-painted ceiling adds contrast overhead. Elsewhere, the house combines vintage furniture and textiles with fabrics and wallcoverings from Dugan’s own line, along with selected custom lighting and updated rooms.
A Porch Built for Gathering
The project shows how a renovation can preserve the qualities that drew an owner to a house while making substantial repairs. In Dugan’s case, the fireplace and broad porch were part of the initial appeal, but keeping the home usable required work below and inside the structure, including foundation repairs and reconstruction of the fireplace.
The porch is more than a visual centerpiece in the magazine’s account: its paired hanging beds and rocking chairs provide places to sit and spend time outdoors. Dugan said she wanted a home where visitors could make memories, and described the house as a place for gathering. The design choices reflect that intention, including performance fabric on the living-room sofas and materials she said could show signs of use.
For readers considering an older vacation property, the tour also offers a practical reminder: a home’s attractive features may coexist with significant repair needs. The source does not provide project costs or a full construction timeline, so the renovation cannot be used as a cost guide. It does document the tradeoff between preserving the cottage’s character and undertaking major structural work.
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From Zillow Listing to Renovation
Dugan was looking for a place on the East Coast when a small red dot on a Zillow map led her to the Shelter Island cottage. She asked a local friend to inspect it. After he recommended that she see it in person, she booked a flight and visited the property, according to her account in House Beautiful.
The magazine describes the house as an Adirondack-style cottage in a quiet area of Coecles Harbor. Dugan said the arrival at dusk, the water’s reflection and the fireplace made the setting feel distinctive. She was concerned that renovation might damage the home’s calm character, but proceeded with repairs and design changes that retained some of its defining elements.
Inside, the kitchen and family room were opened to create a larger shared living area. The dining room’s rebuilt fireplace anchors the open space, while a bookshelf above the family-room windows holds paperbacks. Dugan mixed her own designs with vintage pieces and made selective budget-conscious decisions: she told the magazine that matchstick blinds cost about $29 per window before being dressed up with brass cleats.
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Costs and Project Dates Unreported
The House Beautiful feature does not state when the renovation began or finished, how long the work took, or what it cost. It also does not give engineering details about the foundation repairs, identify the contractor, or describe any permitting process. Those details cannot be inferred from the design tour.
The headline’s description of the porch as the best the publication has seen is an editorial judgment, not a measurable ranking. The confirmed details are narrower: the porch is expansive enough for two hanging beds and rocking chairs, and the magazine published photographs and a tour of the renovated home. The source does not establish whether the property is available to rent or visit.
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No Further Project Update Listed
The source is a completed-home feature, not an announcement of additional construction or a future event. House Beautiful’s tour presents the renovation as finished, including the rebuilt local-stone fireplace and the redesigned shared living areas. It does not announce a follow-up phase or provide a date for one.
Readers seeking more detail on the home’s design can refer to House Beautiful’s original tour, which includes room-by-room photographs and descriptions. Further information about the renovation’s budget, schedule and structural work would require details from Dugan, the project team or additional reporting; none is supplied in the source material.
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Key Questions
Who owns the Shelter Island cottage?
The home tour identifies Serena Dugan, a California-based textile designer and artist and cofounder of Serena & Lily, as the person who renovated the cottage. The source does not discuss its current ownership status beyond her account of the project.
What makes the porch a feature of the renovation?
The porch is described as expansive and has two hanging beds and rocking chairs. A dark ceiling adds a contrasting design element. The source does not provide its measurements.
What major repairs did the cottage need?
Dugan said the home required major foundation repair. Its stone fireplace also had to be completely rebuilt to match the original, using local stone, according to House Beautiful.
How did Dugan furnish and finish the house?
The rooms combine fabrics and wallcoverings from Dugan’s own line with vintage furniture and textiles. The tour also notes custom lighting, performance-fabric sofas and some lower-cost choices, including matchstick blinds reported to cost about $29 per window.
Is the home open to visitors or available to rent?
The House Beautiful feature does not say whether the cottage is open to the public, offered as a rental or available for visits. Its description of welcoming guests refers to Dugan’s design intention, not a public-access arrangement.
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