EAST of EDEN

A West Coast artist brings new life to a vacation house with views of the Atlantic Ocean.

- Elizabeth Kiefer

IT WAS A LITTLE RED DOT ON A ZILLOW MAP.

That was the first time Serena Dugan laid eyes on the Adirondack-style cottage, nestled into the quiet, coveted corner of Coecles Harbor on Shelter Island. The Californiabased textile designer and artist, who is also the cofounder of Serena & Lily, had been contemplating a vacation home on the East Coast and asked a local friend to check it out for her. "Get on a plane, right away," he told her after driving by. She booked a ticket, and the rest is history.

"I drove up at dusk, along this narrow strip of road that takes you farther away from civilization into another world," she recalls. The massive stone fireplace, the sprawling front porch, the silvery reflection of the water: "It felt like magic. And I just thought: This is a slice of life I need."