Scott Baxter: Art and the Value of Sophisticated Living

Art collector Scott Baxter’s Wainscott home is a feast for the eyes.

Injected with cultural wonderment, the interior of his impressive house innately lends itself to being a pure canvas for his diverse collection. Cultivating this modern home was a project that encompassed a firm understanding of dimension and unified depth with an encouraged sense of savoir faire. With his amassment having a sentiment and honorable narrative, each piece is displayed with a precise intention to radiate personality with respect to its surroundings.

Initially embarking on a career in computer science, Baxter reached success as an engineer parlaying to a passion for architecture and art where he has built homes from the ground up.

While building a horse farm, Baxter was unable to source the desired hardware he wanted, resulting in him opening his own company, SABaxter, that is now globally known and considered one of the highest end architectural hardware companies in the world. With a strong presence in outfitting super yachts, his company turns 20 this year, marking a triumphant milestone.

Baxter has a strong history of buying and building homes, and he is intrinsically summoned to see the full potential in a structure’s existence.

Basking in a unique and intimate side street, Baxter uses his residence to recline and check out of his hectic schedule while balancing the task of entertaining, which is first nature to him.

The striking white contemporary 7,000-square-foot home is guarded and camouflaged by a curved wall at the entryway, pronouncing it to be a key element to the design that leaves intrigue to the multifaceted life exhibited on the other side. Nicknamed “Behind the White Wall,” the curve of the outer wall mimics the one of the house itself, giving a correlated dance of design.

Baxter is the third owner of the residence that was designed with a prominent Spanish influence. The home conducts its shape by framing the central pool area, which the eye navigates to naturally.

Curating a floating sitting area in the center of the main living room allows the entire space to be heartily consumed with no neglected sector. A set of Vladimir Kagan sofas are in the central domain and mimic the rounded shape of the house, exhibiting a committed and cohesive dialogue. Kagan was known in the 1970s for his organic modern shapes, and with a showroom in the New York Design Center adjacent to Baxter’s, it was inevitable that Baxter would became friendly with the team, resulting in Kagan ultimately gifting the iconic sofas to him knowing that they were going to be showcased in their elite prime.

Keeping on the theme of revitalizing burdensome properties, a genuine touch Baxter accomplished was restoring the fireplaces to being functioning and wood burning, bringing extended warmth to a modern home.

“What I like to do is find diamonds in the rough and bring them back to what they are supposed to be,” Baxter said. “The house itself, because of its shape with curves, angles and ceiling height being dramatic, is essentially an art gallery. I knew I could take my modern furniture and throw a few antiques in there and bring it back to what it should be.”

Putting his art at the forefront of the refurbishment, Baxter intrinsically chose to paint the main entertaining areas an eggshell white so each piece would shine in full fruition without having to compete with a combative wall color.

Each bedroom is allocated a different color scheme, which is where he found enjoyment in styling corresponding and complementary art to complete each space.

The gray office that doubles as a movie room displays a collection of Andy Warhols that harmoniously pop with color against the dense wall coloring.

“I like my art to be featured. It’s a show-and-tell house for art,” Baxter added. “I love big spaces; there’s nothing worse to me than a crowded room. My style is not minimalist, but it is minimal in the sense that I don’t put too much in a room, which I think is a common mistake that people do.”

Embedded in this property is an art collection that has a palatial range of styles from eminent eras in time. The collection encompasses well-regarded photographers, including a limited edition book on the daring and dramatic Helmut Newton and an array of images from lifestyle master Slim Aarons, to Surrealist painter Salvador Dalí and poetic sculptor Auguste Rodin. Each piece exudes a notable attendance where they have found a home that portrays their spirit as it was intended to.

Being a man about town, Baxter finds his gradation in the Hamptons society as continuing the tradition of existing as a true local, possessing an authentic character and residing as a genuine fixture in the community.

Commenting on his affinity and admiration of being a longtime resident in the Hamptons, Baxter said: “I love being out here, from the farms to the beach. The sophistication in terms of architecture is astounding. You have some wonderful Dutch-influenced buildings with my favorite being the Episcopal Church in Bridgehampton. Additionally, Egyptian architecture stands out, for example the Presbyterian Church in Sag Harbor. There is an unbelievable culinary scene here as well as such an amazing historic art scene. Jackson Pollock, who created a movement and radicalized art by throwing paint on a canvas, is a prominent part of the history of the Hamptons.”

A world traveler and always in a momentous stride, Baxter expressed his ultimate praise to his native surroundings stating, “It’s a unique place where we live and I’ve been all over the world. I don’t know anything comparable to what it’s like being here.”