House Staging Firm Expands To Sag Harbor

ASH NYC, an architectural design firm based in Brooklyn, has expanded its offices and services to the East End with its first-ever satellite office located in a quaint Sag Harbor coveside cottage.

The 1,000-square-foot office space on 16 Redwood Road is the “Hamptons headquarters” of Andrew Bowen’s home-staging operation, from furniture and art, to music and fragrances.

“We have seen a lot of opportunity on the East End, because a lot of people who spend their time here are the same people that live in and spend time in New York City. It’s a natural growth. We really recognized the same need for the kind of work that we do there out here,” said Mr. Bowen, the ASH director of staging. “I’m from here. I grew up in Manorville; Dylan Stilin who works here is from East Hampton. And we just have always really wanted to activate what we can on Long Island.”

Founder and CEO Ari S. Heckman, whose initials give the firm its name, started ASH with the intention to combine historically compatible disciplines—design, development, hotels, staging and product—under one roof to create both top-notch residential aesthetics and economic value for his clients. This metaphorical bridge between design and development that ASH has built with its services now extends onto the South Fork.

The Sag Harbor office will help complement the East End’s prolific real estate brokerages and “notably expensive” real estate market, Mr. Bowen said.

“We have done a few projects out here over the years,” he said. “We did a really great little whalers cottage on Hampton Street a couple of years back—that was more of a design and development kind of project. And then we did a staging project on Hill Street for Douglas Elliman.”

When it comes to his craft, Mr. Bowen contends staging is an art in and of itself.

“A lot of staging tends to be neutral, basic; a lot of projects look the same from one project to the next. But we are really focused on site specificity, design, high-end pieces and things that are melding different time periods and different styles. We look at it from the lens of the designer who can stage, rather than a stager who stages [haphazardly] …” he said. “I think that understanding the history of the building and the area is important to us, and incorporating local elements is key. We really believe that every home is just completely different and therefore warrants a fresh take.”

The creation of unique, intimate and contemporary spaces for commercial and residential properties can be seen in a recent ASH project—teamed up with The Corcoran Group’s Mala Sander—to adorn a newly constructed five bedroom home at 50 Bay View Drive North in North Haven.

“It’s a modern home and lots of open floor plan space, so it’s hard for people to actually know how to work with that space,” Ms. Sander said. “Typically, when you are dealing with an open space, it’s hard to gauge the real size of it.”

Only putting in furniture reveals how spacious a house really is, she said, adding, “ASH came in and staged most of the rooms in the house. And it looks amazing.”

“A lot of times when people think of ‘the Hamptons,’ they are thinking some of them are shingle style or more traditional, but this [newly built] house actually had cedar shingles and a saltbox shape that called for a more contemporary staging,” Mr. Bowen said.

The home’s staging features pieces from ASH’s furniture line, vintage items and works by Tommaso Cimini, Kalmar, Christian Liaigre, Poul Kjærholm and Guillaume Delvigne. Some projects have partial staging, though “the goal is always to stage as much as the home as possible,” Mr. Bowen said.

The foyer, living room, dining room, and master bedroom are a must, according to Mr. Bowen. And, he noted, home buyers always have the option to buy and keep the staged furnishings.

Ms. Sanders added that staging is crucial for the sale of both newly constructed homes and older homes.

“Staging does make the transition from what could be considered a new construction into what someone could visualize themselves sitting in, living in, sleeping in, entertaining in,” she said. “It sometimes takes a little change, or sometimes a lot when it comes to a house that has furnishings that aren’t as spiffy, but you’ll eventually get more bang for your buck in the sales price. It’s probably one of the number one things you can do to enhance the perceived value of your property.”

Even the inside of the Sag Harbor office cottage—a space for three, plus a kitchen, bathroom and living room used for client meetings and a staging sandbox—includes designs by local artists and vintage finds, such as items by Herman Miller, John Risley, Schoolhouse Electric, Ibisco Sedie and Lyle Owerko. It’s staged with the village’s history in mind.

Another project ASH was a part of was 65 Dune Road in East Quogue for Bespoke—an all glass, modern build with ocean views from a sugar-sand beach. “There is was a different look. It was contemporary, a lot more modern pieces with cool tones, more glass, more metal, and inspired by the late 21st century,” Mr. Bowen said.

“All projects are fun, but I like a challenge. I like the spaces that really are hard for people to understand when they are vacant. I like when I hear from brokers who get into a bidding war frenzy over properties that are filled with my staging. We have to think really carefully, and ask, ‘What are we really using that room for, and how big should this table be, and how grand should the art be?’ and more of these involved questions, and do all of that on a strict budget and timeline for a very discerning clientele.”

ASH is also in the process of opening offices in Los Angeles to start up a West Coast expansion with continuing projects in southern Florida, Boston and Washington, D.C.