To get their ideal retreat in the Hamptons, Frank Selvaggi and Bill Shea didn’t just renovate one house — they overhauled two. But that wasn’t the original plan.
In 2015, the couple bought a small cottage in Amagansett, N.Y., for about $1 million, on a street nestled amid sand dunes extending to the ocean. The house was small — less than 600 square feet — but they figured they didn’t need very much space. And even if they had wanted to expand, local building regulations made it almost impossible.
Gramercy Design, to rebuild it within the original footprint.
Anthony Bonsignore, Mr. Selvaggi’s business partner, for $1.7 million, which Mr. Selvaggi said allowed the couple to break even.
Then they spent another summer in their larger, unrenovated cottage after the building permit was delayed, and finally began their second renovation in September 2019.