“Everyone seems to have more time to read on Shelter Island, which is such a luxury”

—Christine Gachot

Forget everything you know about the chi-chi side of the Hamptons; it’s places like these that really makes my heart swell: John and Christine Gachot’s tiny seaside cottage on Shelter Island. It’s secluded enough, yet rooted in a community filled with picture perfect antique stores, local boutiques and eateries. It’s filled with personality and joie de vivre and 100% carefree.

It’s a place where you can whisk away and forget about all the stresses of daily life and slow down your pace; where you can live with sand between your toes and salty ocean mist in your hair. I spent all my childhood summers in a house like this in New Brunswick (albeit way less cool and without all the fun edgy cool boutiques & restaurants around). Still I can vouch that it’s truly a magical environment to be in as a child. Annnd now you know where my love for the seaside comes from.

This is the home of John and Christine Gachot, interior designers at the impossibly cool Gachot Studios. This Manhattanite couple and parents to two growing boys decided to put down their weekend roots in this Cape Cod style cottage a stone’s throw away from the beach. Their knack for pairing vintage items together is infectious, their rockstar-esque edge is admirable. I basically want to become them, or at least get invited for a summer BBQ.

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Photography by Brittany Ambridge for Domino Magazine and Gachot Studios.