When Alyse Borkan first set foot in her East Hampton home, she felt an immediate connection. It was right after the passing of her father, and stories from her new neighbors about a compassionate architect—the previous homeowner—nurtured a comforting resonance in her. This architect had built the house in 1986, crafting it with love and a spirit of community, always ready to lend a helping hand. It’s no wonder that the space exuded a warmth that touched Alyse’s heart, making her feel she had found not just a house, but a way to foster new connections in her life.
A Home with a History
The first few weeks in her new abode were not about cozying up. After closing in April 2022, Alyse and her partner Dave jumped straight into renovations. While they were enthusiastic about updating the house, it took little time before they realized their home would have to serve dual purposes as a rental property. By September of that year, tenants began to fill the space, and although renovations were demanding, Alyse embraced the bustling schedule.
Her background in marketing for trendy brands like Casper, Billie, and Our Place fueled this drive for reinvention. Yet it was a serendipitous encounter in the startup scene that charted Alyse’s next course. Meeting Sam Naparstek, who shared a vision for modernizing wine refrigerators, inspired her to launch the Rocco Super Smart Fridge, a hot product designed to mirror the friendliness of her East Hampton home.
Melding Old and New
As the renovations progressed, Alyse’s signature style began to unfold. With guidance from Tangible Space, run by Michael Yarinsky and Kelley Perumbet, she stripped away the overly shiny finish of the terracotta floors, allowing them to shine in a more matte elegance. In a nod to the atria of the past, Alyse had glass blocks integrated into the walls between the dining and living areas, promoting natural light and a sense of connection between spaces.
“It allowed me to pull from the original intention of the design but make it my own,” Alyse reflected on the renovation process. The former architect’s vision intermingled seamlessly with hers, from the yucca green walls to the reeded glass doors that reflected the warmth of the house but with modern twists on classic designs.
Personal Touches and Thoughtful Details
Alyse drew heavily from both the structure’s original aesthetic and contemporary trends. For instance, she chose to replace the outdated white kitchen cabinets with a similar but refreshed custom design featuring curved handles. Though bathrooms once adorned with unfortunate hues of purple were revamped, Alyse retained elements such as tiled walls, now adorned in earthy tones of yellow, brown, and creams—a homage to the home’s history.
She was juggling multiple projects, but creatively infused her entrepreneurial spirit into the renovations. The bathrooms bore fluted partitions inspired by the clever reeded glass door on the Rocco fridge, blurring boundaries in the most artistic of ways.
Furnishing a Warm Atmosphere
Alyse’s home was not just a renovation project; it became a canvas for creativity. Unique custom pieces completed what she had envisioned. The third-kind studio crafted a stunning kitchen table, a dining set, and even headboards that pulled together the interior design intricately.
The heart of the home—the kitchen—features an extraordinary piece: the Rocco fridge, strategically placed for easy access from both the dining and living areas, stocked with refreshing beverages. “It’s not just for wine; it’s for really anything that you drink,” Alyse remarked, highlighting her inclusive approach to hospitality in her home.
A Living Space for Memories
Walking through Alyse’s home today, you see a vibrant blend of history and modernity—paintings from the likes of Nathalie Du Pasquier hang above contemporary furniture pieces. Each room tells a story: the elegant Kelston sofa, painstakingly sourced from secondhand shops, marked with signs of a prior life, now boasts a fresh upholstery—a perfect setting for laughter, friends, and cozy movie nights.
Guests can nestle into enhanced spaces, often enjoying flavored shrubs Alyse crafts, a representative element of her inviting spirit shaped by the warmth shared from neighbor to neighbor. In her home, moments are celebrated with observant elegance and loving whispers of community, just as her home’s architect would have wanted.
Conclusion
Alyse Borkan’s East Hampton home is more than just renovations; it’s an evolving story of warmth, grief, and renewal. It reflects her ability to transform a house that once belonged to someone else’s family into a vibrant living space that honors the past while thoughtfully embracing the future. In this blend of architectural history, personal design, and thoughtful hospitality, Alyse reminds us all that home is not just where you live, but it’s also a sanctuary for relationships, creativity, and nurturing connections.
