Andrew Geller-Designed House For Sale

The word “cottage” could imply a small, simple dwelling tucked into the woods, but not when one sits on more than 5 acres near the ocean and not when it was designed by Andrew Geller.This particular cottage, south of the highway in Bridgehampton, has just been put on the market with a $1,995,000 ask, represented by the Corcoran Group, which refers to it as “a throwback to classic Hamptons getaways.” The residence has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, a stone fireplace in the living/dining room, and a new kitchen. A renovation done in 2012 is responsible for the “beachy, sleek all-white interior aesthetic.” The property offers the next owner a heated pool and a pool house with a bathroom, which was also updated during the renovation five years ago.

Geller, who in addition to being an architect was a painter and graphic designer, acquired a reputation for his uninhibited, sculptural beach houses. He was born in Brooklyn in 1924 and his early painting efforts earned him a scholarship to the New York High School of Art and Music. During World War II, Geller served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and after mustering out he began a long career at Raymond Loewy Associates in New York. His work there included designing the Lever House, Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores, and beach houses on the shorelines of New Jersey and Connecticut as well as the Hamptons. He also designed the project known as Leisurama on Long Island.

For a time, Geller became well known for an unusual reason. In 1959, he was the design supervisor for the “Typical American House” exhibition at the American National Exhibition in Moscow. Suddenly, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and his guest, visiting Vice President Richard Nixon, entered and began a heated discussion about capitalism versus socialism that became known as the “Kitchen Debate.”

One of Geller’s innovations was the design of a “beach house for bachelors.” It could be delivered to any location to be constructed on stilts. On Christmas Day, 2011, at the ripe old age of 87, Geller died in Syracuse, New York.