Georgica Cove Home Stars in East Hampton Historical Society's House & Garden Tour

From the outside, it is clear what inspired the iconic Bates Masi + Architects home on Georgica Cove in East Hampton.

The design references its pastoral surroundings and vernacular building traditions — New England-style connected barns — but in innovative, exaggerated new ways. One volume is rotated or offset from the next to provide greater access to light. The cedar shingles reflected in nearby architecture are scaled up in size.

And inside, it feels comfortable, calm and relaxing, Masi said — far from intimidating.

“Everyone has experienced this: When you go into a big room — if you ever go to the Newport Mansions — and you walk around and, for some reason, you’re whispering,” Masi said. “And you’re like, ‘Why am I whispering?’

“I think that the architecture has something to do with that,” he continued, “and you don’t get that sense here. It’s livable and, I have to say, there’s a lot of modern architecture that’s unlivable.”

On Saturday, November 29, participants in the East Hampton Historical Society’s annual House & Garden Tour will get a sense of what Masi means when they step inside the Georgica Cove home, along with four others that will be announced on the day of the event.

“People love getting behind the hedgerows,” East Hampton Historical Society Executive Director Steve Long said. “I think there’s just a curiosity of, ‘Oh, I’ve always driven by that. I’ve always been curious about what it looks like.’ I think also there’s always so many great designers and architects involved, both historic buildings and more contemporary buildings, that it gives people food for thought for their own spaces.”

Over the last three-plus decades, what began as a small tour with just a few historical homes has grown to feature some of East Hampton’s most notable houses, including Grey Gardens, the historic White House, the Woodhouse Playhouse and one of the original Devon Colony homes, Windy Dune.

It is also one of the historical society’s largest fundraisers, Long noted.

“We have half a dozen historic properties that we manage, a lot of historic buildings,” he said. “And if you just even keep in mind how much it costs to maintain some of the houses, even your own house, multiply that by 15 or 20, and that’s the kind of income that we need to generate every year.”

The organization is well on its way: The event’s kickoff cocktail party, which takes place the night before, is completely sold out, Long said. Now all he needs is a rain-free fall day for the tour itself.

“It’s always a real diversity of houses,” he said. “The committee works very hard to find houses from the 18th century to houses from the 21st century, sprawling houses, houses that are compact and really interesting, and have cool nooks and crannies.”

At the center of the Georgica Cove property lies a garden that connects each of the home’s four volumes, Masi said — a green space that can be seen throughout the house in different vignettes.

“There are these spaces between, whether it’s outside or inside,” he said. “These spaces could be, traditionally, hallway or leftover spaces, but they really become these memorable moments.”

The materials have been pared down to emphasize the architecture itself, Masi explained. Cedar screens provide privacy and filter light. Oak floors and millwork throughout unify the spaces. A marble plinth filled with sand elevates the house above the floodplain while also creating dry wells to accept stormwater runoff.

“When you’re in there, it feels like you’re really embedded in it,” he said. “But when you look at the house, it’s set up on this pedestal, and it seems as if it’s like an artwork that’s separated from the landscape. And when you’re in it, you’re really engaged. So it has this dialogue from inside to outside that I find interesting.”

Within what some may perceive as architectural simplicity lies extreme complexity and editing, Masi said, getting to the heart of its story and the experience of being there. It’s the hardest part of what he does, he said.

“I was schooled as a modernist — and I love modern architecture — but back in the ’70s and into the ’80s, there was a huge reaction against modernism because it got to the point where it was really unlivable,” he said. “I like our work in the sense that we’ll continue on with modernism, but in a more vernacular way and a more livable way, connecting the human body and our emotions to the buildings and landscape.”

The East Hampton Historical Society’s 2025 House & Garden Tour will be held on Saturday, November 29, from 1 to 4:30 p.m. at five homes that will be announced that day. A kickoff cocktail party the night before is sold out. Tickets to the tour are $120. For more information, visit easthamptonhistory.org/product-category/house-garden-tour-2025.