Marsh & Pine

When the owners bought the property, the dunes had been mowed flat and the beachfront stabilized with rip-rap. The first conversation we had was about how to undo, not add.

We worked with Sound Coastal Engineering to develop a restoration plan approved by the East Hampton conservation board. Over two seasons we re-established beach grass, beach pea, and seaside goldenrod across the dune face, removed the rip-rap, and installed a 240-foot cedar boardwalk on adjustable piers — designed to flex with the dune, not against it.

Behind the dune, a 1.1-acre meadow of little bluestem and switchgrass replaced the lawn. We mow it once a year, in late March. From the house, the property reads as a single uninterrupted gesture from architecture to ocean.