In a quiet Long Island village, world-renowned designer Thomas O’Brien creates his dream houseand garden with special attention to collecting and being surrounded by all manner of treasures.
Photo by Michael Mundy
Built in 1833as the Bellport Classical Academy, this historic structure was rescued, restored, and repurposed by Thomas as a weekend home.
Photo by Michelle Arcila
Thomas O’Brien, characteristically in the company of interesting and beautiful objects.
Interior and furniture designer Thomas O’Brien is a self-described rescuer of things. But not just any things. “Personal items from someone’s family history or experiences are what I am drawn to,” says Thomas. “I was taught to ask about things, even pictures, in someone’s house. What is brought forward carefully and made new is what I love.”
At his iconic summer place in Bellport, New York, this belief about Thomas’s chosen objects is embodied in many ways, such as a grouping of seemingly disparate but somehow subtly connected treasures in a bowl; a Georgian mahogany breakfront filled with precious Steuben pieces, Italian colored glass, and Picasso ceramics; lighting and furniture from Thomas’s own collections; and even the “Academy” and “Library” buildings on his property. Each one has an intrinsic richness and beauty while containing a cultural or relational narrative all its own.
The gray, Federal-style Academy building that started life as a schoolhouse and is now home to Thomas and interior designer Dan Fink was first reimagined as a home for a woman poet in the 1920s. Thomas serendipitously discovered it on a summer bike ride decades later. “It was always about coming to the front door of the Academy house,” he says. “It’s such a wonderful place— building and home. And it naturally unfolds to other parts of the garden and then next door to the Library. It’s really a full circle of making home and garden in a life of design and collecting.”
Photo by Michael Mundy
The breezy front hall in the Academy signals a cool white palette that flows throughout the house.
Photo by Michael Mundy
A summery tableau greets visitors at the top of the stairs in the Academy.
Photo by Michael Mundy
Cool and neutral, this seating area in the Academy is a perfect canvas for some of the designer’ssculptural and graphic art pieces.
The white shingle, Colonial Revival-style Library sprang from Thomas’s imagination once the adjacent property became available and its existing rancher was raised. Conceived as a depot for his treasures, including some much-loved pieces from Aero, his Manhattan emporium, as well as items from past collections that still function as design references, the Library is also home to Thomas’s office, a few bedrooms, and an up-to-the-moment kitchen that spills over into the salon to create one big remarkable room.
Photo by Michael Mundy
Vignettes like this grouping of favorite things are found throughout Thomas's home.
Photo by Michael Mundy
The designer chose Lee Jofa’s Nympheus Print wall covering for his office. A devoteeof a more natural look in floral arrangements, Thomas filled a crystal-footed urn with flowers from the garden.
Photo by Michael Mundy
Summer afternoon light reflects on Thomas’s desk.
Photo by Michael Mundy
An exquisite combination of some of Thomas O’Brien’s “rescued” objects.
In the garden, a 300-year-old Copper Beech tree, a parterre, a garden house, and an elegantly simple swimming pool, among other horticultural and architectural signposts, anchor the property and punctuate the rhythm of the landscape. Influenced and inspired by the simplicity and structure of Italian gardens, and at the same time by the lushness and natural informality of English gardens, as well as by Monet’s Giverny house and gardens, Thomas’s garden rooms speak a rich language of beauty and balance. He revels in the sequential nature of plantings, such as allium in May or roses in June, and many other gentle gestures that unfurl throughout the summer. “The summer sweet—I love the scent,” he says. “Even the time the privet blooms. It’s all planned with an idea of making room for special plants and trees.”
Photo by Michael Mundy
One of several garden rooms that invites outdoor lingering, this space boastsa spot for an intimate tea for two at the café table or an alfresco spread in the Garden House beyond.
“It’s really a full circle of making home and garden in a life of design and collecting.”—Thomas O’Brien
Photo by Michael Mundy
An elegantly simple swimming pool, trimmed by a frothy herbaceous border, offers summer refreshment.
Photo by Michael Mundy
An aerial view of the parterres and hardscape with the Library peeking through the leaves in the distance.
Clearly a thoughtful and poetic designer, Thomas views his gardening as a mix of “beautiful things and a hopeful idea.” As he explains, “It doesn’t always work out as planned, but the wonder of watching what happens is everything. It’s the memories and history and newness all at once.”
Photo by Michael Mundy
Next door to the Academy, the Library houses books, cabinets full of curiosities, offices, bedrooms, and aswoon-worthy kitchen and library.
Photo by Michael Mundy
A beautifully backlit Georgian mahoganybreakfront displays some of Thomas's Italian colored glass, Steuben pieces, and ceramics creations, including one fromthe hand of Picasso.
Photo by Michael Mundy
Thomas discovered this 20th-century Italian celestial library globe in the manner of VincenzoCoronelli at Christie’s. It makes for a captivating focal point in the Library.
Photo by Michael Mundy
A generously scaled library room is home to objets d'art, books, and sumptuously comfortable furniture.
Photo by Michael Mundy
Among Thomas's interesting architectural moments in the garden is The Brick Round.
Whatever is in bloom at the moment inevitably finds its way inside, whether for the table at dinnertime or to add a natural touch to a desktop or pedestal. Roses are a particular favorite as they remind Thomas of his grandparents, who adored them. “The garden was a very important part of their lives,” he remembers, “and I often say I design the garden now for my grandmother, Dellamae. I value making both home and garden special in a kind of loving and wholesome way— just as she taught me.”
Thomas O’Brien’s Copper Beech
Stocking handsome home goods, quirky art objects, simple and chic chore jackets, children’s pj’s, and some of the most delicious take-away fare in the area, among many other treasures, is Copper Beech, Thomas O’Brien’s extra-special emporium.
It sits, front and center on the well-travelled South County Road, in Bellport, New York with a jaunty overhead sign and summer and full-time residents as well as visitors providing a brisk business. Originally home to Wallens Supermarket, the building was remade into the perfect spot to house and sell O’Brien’s curated collection of wares.
Photo by Michael Mundy
Copper Beech, O’brien’s Bellport emporium, is chock-full of everything any summer shopper could need – OR want: including gourmet take-away foods and exotic specialty snacks, children’s beach and sleep wear, quirky art pieces, all-purpose baskets, handwoven Moroccan bags, and hanging driftwood and bell gardens from India. The piano is a popular fixture and welcomes any and all to sit and tickle the ivories.
Photo by Michael Mundy
Photo by Michael Mundy
More from O’Brien’s Home and Garden
Photo by Michael Mundy
The sunlight dappled stair hall in Thomas O’Brien’s Library house features various treasures including a smattering of American Impressionist paintings and a 19th Century marble sculpture know as “The Wrestler”, after Antonio Canova, the 18th Century neo-classical sculptor. A stair runner is an Oushak carpet with a traditional Tree of Life designed by Thomas Basdogan of Asian Minor Carpets, and the walls are covered in a crisp white patterned paper from GP and J Baker paper for Lee Jofa.
Photo by Michael Mundy
At the top of the Library Main Hall staircase there is an interesting ensemble consisting of a large sheet of traditional framed marbled handmade “Ebru”paper, an American Chinoiserie lacquered case clock, and a sculptural Carlo Mollino oak side chair form Casa del Sole in Cervinia, Italy.
Photo by Michael Mundy
In the garden, a 300 year old Copper Beech tree towers over an antique chair.
Photo by Michael Mundy
Hydrangeas and a painted wrought iron garden bench make for a peaceful, easy spot to contemplate the lush beauty of Thomas O’Brien’s gardens.
By Margot Shaw | Photography by Michael Mundy
MORE ELEGANT BELLPORT AND LONG ISLAND HOMES
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