A Wrinkle in TIME

On an if-you-know-you-know island, designer Lily Dierkes uses her film world experience to create a home worthy of the big screen.

- By THESSALY LA FORCE

At the easternmost end of Long Island Sound sits Fishers Island, a narrow, nine-mile-long Eden revered for its remote coziness, unfettered sea views, and unusual foliage, including eelgrass meadows.

Though it's located about two miles off the coast of Connecticut, Fishers is officially part of New York's Suffolk County, with a resident community of around 200 people that swells to the thousands in the summer. The deliberately underdeveloped isle draws artists, oyster lovers, and last names such as Whitney, du Pont, and Luce.

The foyer's faux-bois wallcovering is by Nobilis, and the curtains are of a floral fabric by Raoul Textiles. 19th-century Swedish sideboard; artwork by Nancy Yerkes.

Designer Lily Dierkes's introduction to the island came in early 2021. The clients called her up soon after she had founded her own New York-based studio. “I spent a lot of time on boats,” Dierkes jokes about her travels to and from the classic 1920s Cape Cod-style house she was tapped to reimagine, a 6,000-square-foot property that had been renovated and expanded to include a potting room and family space. The commute allowed Dierkes to focus on the place's beauty and isolation.