A 1962 Fire Island beach house has been gently transported into the 21st century with a thorough renovation and addition. Architect Don Page's lithe, one-storey design was saddled with a lower-level apartment addition in the 1980's. Rawlins Design reconfigured the ground floor and stained the exterior black, allowing the original building to once again hover over the landscape. A covered entry porch was glassed in, connecting the two levels of the home and opening up the formerly blank facade to the public boardwalk, in a nod to Fire Island's voyeuristic brand of modernism. The expanded Foyer improves upon the cramped dimensions of the original.

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The upper floor plan was preserved, while problems with its original details were addressed. A cumbersome brick hearth and wood stove are replaced by a floating, energy-efficient ethanol fireplace. New furniture, flooring, artwork, and integrated up-lighting liberate the formerly dark and cramped spaces. Porcelain walls, integrated appliances, and stone slabs elevate a simple galley into a chef's kitchen. A similar streamlining carries through to the bathrooms.

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A completely reconfigured lower floor joins two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchenette to the original dwelling. The stair that joins them attends to its sculptural potential within the parameters of a modest budget.

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In the back yard, the vintage cascading steps inspired new tiered walls that provide gradations of privacy across the site. Steps lead down to a shower enclosure with a frosted glass corner.

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This project was featured in Interior Design's special "Homes" Issue.