London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

Take a Tour of Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent’s Sanctuary by the Beach

Take a Tour of Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent’s Sanctuary by the Beach

If you had asked interior designer Nate Berkus 15 years ago where he would feel at peace, it is unlikely that he would have described a house near a beach

Berkus was on vacation in Arugam Bay in Sri Lanka in 2004 when the country was devastated by a tsunami, and though he survived, his partner at the time, photographer Fernando Bengoechea, did not.


Nate Berkus and (from left) Poppy, Jeremiah Brent, and Oskar in the living room of their Montauk home. The custom plaster banquette has a cushion covered in a Perennials fabric; the painting is by Ethan Cook, the African pitchers are from Thos. Cornell Galleries, and the Jacques Adnet candelabra is from A La Mod.


But last year, when Berkus’s husband, designer Jeremiah Brent, suggested they check out a house for sale in Montauk, New York, as a second home for their family, Berkus was finally ready to explore the idea.

“I was raised in Southern California and lived on a lake outside of Minneapolis. The water has always been how I think of a carefree afternoon,” explains Berkus, who has been living in Montauk full-time since March with Brent and their children, Poppy, five, and Oskar, two. “I didn’t want my experience in the tsunami to deprive our family of summers like that.”


In the family room, the sectional, ottoman, and rug are all by Nate + Jeremiah for Living Spaces, and the 1970s rope chairs are from 4th Generation Antiques. The 1960s floor lamp is from Galerie Half, the 1950s stool is French, and the television above the chairs is by Samsung. The photograph is from the 1930s, and the sculpture is by Marina Karella.


In August of 2019, Berkus and Brent had just returned from three years in Los Angeles, where they had planned to stay longer until they realized how much they missed the hubbub of New York City. They had downsized from a Spanish Colonial spread in Hancock Park to a West Village townhouse and weren’t looking to purchase a weekend place. But the house in Montauk, previously owned by the photographer Raphael Mazzucco, proved difficult to resist. Residing on a nature reserve, the home, which was built in the 1980s and extensively renovated by Mazzucco, boasted a picturesque landscape, ample light, and numerous handcrafted touches. “Raphael built the fireplace in the great room out of beach rocks,” Brent explains. “The wrapped walls in the family room were from a dock that was being demolished.”


The oak table in the dining room was purchased on the RealReal, the 1970s ­rattan mirror and antique ­bamboo console are from Chairish, and the 1950s dining chairs and table lamp are from 1stdibs. The wicker bar cart and Moroccan jute lampshades are from Etsy, and the vintage fish candleholders belonged to Berkus’s late partner, Fernando Bengoechea.


The couple gave the house a renovation “face-lift,” as they characterize it. They painted the exterior black to ­contrast with the brightness within, stripped and sanded floors for added lightness, and redid the kitchen with plaster walls and white concrete countertops. An outdoor kitchen is now a screened-in dining area, and they created a back patio for lounging. Perhaps most crucially, they added 40 percent more native vegetation to the surrounding land.

Inside the house, Brent and Berkus stuck to a neutral palette and incorporated design details influenced by their trips to Portugal, Mexico, and Peru, where they got engaged in 2013. Down a hallway and a few stairs from the entrance is the great room with its 22-foot-high ceilings and the aforementioned stone fireplace, which the couple topped with a collection of antique terra-cotta bulls, Peruvian objects thought to ward off evil spirits. Much of the furniture here and throughout the home is from Berkus and Brent’s collaboration with the company Living Spaces, which they mixed with online finds from Etsy and eBay that are covered in performance fabrics.


In the main bedroom, the bed is dressed with linens by Nate Berkus + Project 62 for Target and topped with a coverlet by RW Guild and RH, Restoration Hardware pillows. The table is by Leanne Ford for Crate & Barrel, and the artwork is by Javier S. Medina.


As a counterpoint to such technological textiles, the couple turned to wicker, jute, and other woven materials for an artisanal contrast.

In the wood-paneled family room, 1970s rope chairs with shearling cushions from 4th Generation Antiques in Pasadena add textural interest, while varied surfaces abound in the main bedroom on the second floor, where Berkus and Brent added a wall and pocket door to separate the previously open bathroom and sleeping areas. In the bathroom, they added a holly olive tree in an old limestone pot to go with the existing pebble-floored shower.


Entry The midcentury slate table is French, and the family’s hat collection perches on a 1950s coatrack by Pierantonio Bonacina; the basket is by Nickey Kehoe, and the artwork is by Simon Mathers.


“That was my worst nightmare when we bought the house,” says Brent of the stony surface. “But now we both love it. It is so relaxing.”

A deep sense of calm pervades the whole home, something Berkus attributes to his and Brent’s mindset when they approached the design process.


Children’s Room The bunk beds are by Pottery Barn Kids and the sconces are by Elk Lighting.

“The pressure was off. We were building and selecting things thinking, It doesn’t have to be perfect,” he explains. “I think that opened up something in both of us. The spirit in which we decorated and renovated this house is the spirit in which we live here.”


Main Bathroom A holly olive tree from Fort Pond Native Plants sits in an Indonesian limestone planter.


Main Bathroom A wood chair from Pasadena Antiques & Design is topped with towels by Nate Berkus + Project 62 for Target.

The Family Poppy, Jeremiah, Oskar, and Nate seen through a window of their home.


Patio The Living Spaces armchair and sofa have cushions covered in a Sunbrella fabric, the dining table and vase are by RH, Restoration Hardware, the runner is by Amber Interiors, and the candles are by Pottery Barn. The dining chairs are by Article, the vintage side table is teak and ebony, and the cement floor tiles are by Clé.


Exterior The black-painted exterior of the house, which the couple renovated with the help of contractor Paulette Davis. Brent teamed up with Shawn Eckardt on the property’s new landscape design, which focuses on native plants.





Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
×