Hither Hills house in Montauk cascades into the foliage
A Hither Hills villa designed by New York-based Robert Young Architects, peeks through lush foliage in its green Montauk locale

Hither Hills in Montauk sits at the furthest end of Long Island, blissfully removed from the stresses of urban life and open towards the calming expanses of the ocean. It is here, in an idyllic, sloped site facing the water, that New York architect Robert Young was called upon to create a holiday home for a family living in the city. The result is a unmistakably contemporary, but open and relaxing retreat that appears to cascade into its green surrounds.
A Hither Hills house embedded in its context
Embedding the structure into the site, the architects worked with charred Shou-Sugi-Ban timber exteriors, broken down in smaller, rectangular volumes to better fit into their natural surroundings. This way, the home's generous size, spanning three levels, is cleverly concealed from the street frontage – where the Hither Hills house presents as a fairly low-slung, single-storey pavilion. At the same time, with this material palette, the team nods to the wider region's local vernacular of timber structures – and a green roof helps it all merge further into the landscape.
Young, whose practice has offices in New York and nearby Montauk, worked with design specialist Meyer Davis on the interiors. The relationship between inside and outside is emphasised through the journey into the retreat by clean surfaces and large openings that draw the eye towards the green vistas and the blue waters beyond. The facade's Delta Millworks darkened natural cedar cladding is swapped for minimalist white walls inside, complemented by dark accents and contemporary furniture throughout in this welcoming and site-specific year-round family getaway.
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
A colourful outdoor bar, inspired by an unbuilt Louis Kahn design, is coming to Philadelphia this summer
Frankie's Summer Club, a vibrant pop-up café, marks a new chapter for the former University of the Arts campus.
-
It’s big, bold and loud without a battery in sight. Meet the new Bentley Bentayga Speed
We kick up dust in the new V8-powered Bentayga Speed as Bentley brings its luxury SUV challenger to the Big Sky State
-
3 Days of Design 2025: live updates from the Wallpaper* team
From 18-20 June, design is taking over Copenhagen. Follow along with the latest news, launches and other goings-on from 3 Days of Design, as seen by Wallpaper* editors.
-
A New Zealand house on a rugged beach exemplifies architect Tom Kundig's approach in rich, yet understated luxury
This coastal home, featured in 'Tom Kundig: Complete Houses', a new book launch in the autumn by Monacelli Press, is a perfect example of its author's approach to understated luxury. We spoke to Tom Kundig, the architect behind it
-
Tour architect Paul Schweikher’s house, a Chicago midcentury masterpiece
Now hidden in the Chicago suburbs, architect Paul Schweikher's former home and studio is an understated midcentury masterpiece; we explore it, revisiting a story from the Wallpaper* archives, first published in April 2009
-
The world of Bart Prince, where architecture is born from the inside out
For the Albuquerque architect Bart Prince, function trumps form, and all building starts from the inside out; we revisit a profile from the Wallpaper* archive, first published in April 2009
-
Is embracing nature the key to a more fire-resilient Los Angeles? These landscape architects think so
For some, an executive order issued by California governor Gavin Newsom does little to address the complexities of living within an urban-wildland interface
-
Hop on this Fire Island Pines tour, marking Pride Month and the start of the summer
A Fire Island Pines tour through the work of architecture studio BOND is hosted by The American Institute of Architects New York in celebration of Pride Month; join the fun
-
A Laurel Canyon house shows off its midcentury architecture bones
We step inside a refreshed modernist Laurel Canyon house, the family home of Annie Ritz and Daniel Rabin of And And And Studio
-
A refreshed Rockefeller Wing reopens with a bang at The Met in New York
The Met's Michael C Rockefeller Wing gets a refresh by Kulapat Yantrasast's WHY Architecture, bringing light, air and impact to the galleries devoted to arts from Africa, Oceania and the Ancient Americas
-
A Fire Island house for two sisters reimagines the beach home typology
Coughlin Scheel Architects’ Fire Island house is an exploration of an extended family retreat for the 21st century