When Martha Stewart moved into her 1870s Hamptons cottage, it was in need of renovation – and that was exactly what it received. Together with celebrated contractor Ben Krupinski, Martha created a home that closely resembled the original property – with a modern, multifunctional twist. And nothing showcases this ideology quite as successfully as her cottage porch.
Though Martha sold the Lily Pond Lane property in 2021, the open porch remains a source of inspiration for anyone looking to extend their living (or dining) spaces – especially in homes with more compact room proportions.
In sharing the porch (below), Martha explained that she created a three-season room with a dining area by enclosing an open porch off the kitchen – and it offers a lesson in dining room design, whether we're working with a cozy cottage or not.
Martha incorporated a floor made from teal-blue Mexican cement tiles to decorate her dining space while allowing the porch's natural wooden tones to take center stage on the walls. She dressed the room with vintage Grange, painted in a pale green hue, to complement the teal floor further.
In terms of accessories, Martha adorns her mahogany shelves with her trove of aqua McCoy pottery that sits above American-made shop-style metal cabinets.
But how did the space come to exist in her cottage? Martha's blog explains that she and Ben Krupinski 'enclosed a covered porch off the kitchen to create a dining area' before wainscoting many of the ceilings. They also 'knocked down walls to create a larger living room and luxe primary suite' – accentuating the cottage space yet further.
'It's an old-fashioned house, but it has a clean, pristine vibe,' she says. To furnish this space (and every other room), Martha shopped at yard sales and antique shops that gradually filled the home 'with collections of mercury glass, McCoy pottery, and jadeite dishes.'
Between coffee alongside her pottery-filled shelves and dinner parties on her pale green chairs, Martha adds that she spent her Hamptons days at the beach, having lunch, and visiting Amagansett or Montauk nearby her cottage – usually all accessed by bike.
'We'd ride everywhere – to Nick & Toni's, to the Clam Bar on Montauk Highway, to the ferry to Shelter Island,' Martha says.
To get the Martha-approved look, we're investing in McCoy pottery, just like the ones seen on her shelving, via Etsy below.
