There are approximately 600 homes in Fire Island Pines—and Manhattan-based architecture firm BOND is responsible for 13 of them. The studio’s founders, Noam Dvir and Daniel Rauchwerger, began visiting the historically gay summer retreat a decade ago as grad students, renting rooms and joining share houses so they could sunbathe on the beach and party with friends. When they launched their practice in 2020, it was a natural destination for their renovation and new-build projects. “It’s a utopia, it’s a dream,” says Noam. “I don’t know many places that have such a direct relationship between culture, gender, ecology, and architecture.”
For their own Fire Island Pines abode, a 1965 stilted cabin just steps from the ocean, Noam and Daniel remodeled with their queer community in mind. The upper level comprises the public areas and the couple’s primary bedroom, which is outfitted with an interior window that grants glances into the space. Guest suites can be found below and are accessed from the exterior. “We designed it for our non-nuclear family,” Noam explains. “What we created is a house that you can see through. But if somebody downstairs wants to sneak out in the middle of the night to go meet somebody, it’s more private and there’s not the sense of monitoring.”
Let’s take a tour.
Photography by Chris Mottalini.
Above: The BOND duo opted for vertical cedar siding for the façade, which blends well with the surrounding mid-century houses by icons like Horace Gifford and Harry Bates. “There’s this incredible, flamboyant modernism in the Pines, some of which is really avant-garde,” says Noam. “We are continuing the legacy of queer architects working here and trying reinvent what coastal architecture should look like today.”
Above: Inside, the couple maintained the original pine ceiling, whose dark honey tone is owed to years of smoke and humidity, and the existing 1970s fireplace that was transferred from a nearby home in an early renovation. “Because it’s an island and it’s so hard to get materials, it’s not atypical for things to move from house to house,” explains Noam. He and Daniel commissioned Lesser Miracle to craft the perforated wood shutter and the half-moon side table.
Above: A custom queen-sized daybed anchors the living room. “It’s so bourgeois to do a sofa,” Noam says. “The daybed creates magic the minute you sit on it. If you’re next to somebody you don’t know, you start chatting. It’s wonderful to lounge on. It’s really fun.”
Above: For big dinners with their chosen family, Noam and Daniel paired a long DK3 Gather table with six Ton Hoffmann armchairs, all of which were gifted as part of their collaboration with Design Within Reach.
Above: In the middle of the main level, a galley kitchen with white IKEA cabinets and plywood countertops allows for a reprieve from the action while preparing a meal. “It’s nice to have something that’s a little segmented,” says Noam. “My husband Daniel likes to cook by himself.”
Above: The powder room, by contrast, is totally open. A large window offers a view in as you approach the home’s entrance.
Above: “It’s a boys’ house,” describes Noam. “There’s this social thinking behind it about creating spaces for desire.”
Above: The primary bedroom combines striped linens with a Silvia Prada wall hanging. “She’s a lesbian artist who explores a lot of these queer motives and themes,” Noam says. “This is a part of a body of work that relates to the iconography of Calvin Klein Obsessions.”
Above: A walnut Risom desk overlooks the treetops, while an interior window peeks into the living and dining areas.
Above: The shower is tiled in cost-effective ochre squares. “We call it BOND yellow,” Noam says of the hue. “It originated from the subway stops in Berlin that are this yellow mustard color. We’re both half German as well.”
Above: Hole-punched steel patio furniture from HAY’s Balcony Outdoor Collection provides an opportunity for al fresco dining. The circular cutouts actually inspired the perforated shutter inside.
Above: Even the hot tub deck is thoughtfully designed. “It’s a little bit of a show piece,” Noam notes. “You have this stadium seating, so you can see what’s going on in the hot tub and you can join or not. People love it. People always react really strongly to it.”
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