The Hamptons is a rite of passage for many a Manhattanite, and at the end of this month, I’ll be joining the flocks of hopefuls swapping humid shoebox apartments and honking taxis for a more civilized coastal scene: hydrangeas, neatly clipped hedges, salty ocean air, and, with any luck, not being swindled into a $150 beach club chicken tender tower.
Out East, everyone’s either living – or aspiring to – a Nancy Meyers summer, perhaps best embodied by Diane Keaton’s French-doored beach house in Something’s Gotta Give (2003), where laid-back luxury takes the form of slipcovered sofas, jute rugs, crisp white upholstery, and an easy palette of blue, sand, and white.
