Inside Seth Meyers and Alexi Ashe’s Old-Meets-New Martha’s Vineyard Home

“When my wife saw it, she cried because it was so beautiful. And then she turned to me and said the sweetest thing: ‘Try not to touch anything,’” writes Seth Meyers of his Ashe Leandro-designed home in the foreword of the interior design and architectural firm’s new book, Ashe Leandro: Architecture + Interiors, out now from Rizzoli. The 16-year-old firm’s first book features eight of the New York-based duo’s recent projects, from the beautifully layered Gramercy Park townhouse of artist Rashid Johnson to a Georgica Pond Long Island home with an air of zen. Seth’s Martha’s Vineyard property, which he shares with his wife, Alexi Ashe (sister to Ariel), and his children, is among the elegant mix.

Completed in 2022, the home was a pandemic-era project for which Ariel Ashe and Reinaldo Leandro say they were more or less given carte blanche. Asked what the directive was from Seth and Alexi, Ariel says, “We have worked with them so many times that they didn’t have one!”

The new build sits in the town of Chilmark on Martha’s Vineyard, on a plot of land directly abutting the Ashes’ parents’ summer home. The bright hue of the cedar planks (they skipped the more traditional cedar shingles to give the home a modern flair) that wrap the barn-like structure reflects the home’s newness. (Ariel explains that it will weather to a gray to match the Martha’s Vineyard vernacular.) In the meantime, the frame of the home was constructed with reclaimed timber, which was largely left exposed in the interior and provides a gorgeous patina to the spaces that look far beyond their years.

Outside, a combination of paned glass and picture windows add a layered look to the barn-like home. There are boulders artfully strewn about the lawn—dug up and original to the property—and a traditional New England stone wall runs the length of the yard. “The house is surrounded by farms and farmland, it needed to relate to that. The materials are largely reclaimed and rugged, so they can take sandy feet, ice cream drips, and lots of playing and entertaining. Humor lives there,” adds Ariel.

Limited in size and footprint due to Chilmark’s strict building codes, it was decided that the open-concept main floor would feel even more vast with a double-height living room centered around a limestone, wood-burning fireplace that draws the eyes up to barn-style beams. A limewash treatment on the overmantle in moody gray adds sophistication to the focus point. “We just wanted it to be the main anchor of the home, like the old homes on the Vineyard with a heart at the center of the home,” adds Reinado.

A combination of gray stone tiles and French oak floorboards leads guests into the kitchen, which is given prime placement at the center of the home and was designed to fell less like a traditional kitchen, and more like a wall of built-ins that just so happens to have a sink and an expertly camouflaged refrigerator. The black cabinetry winks to the Pinterest-famous kitchen (also the work of Ashe Leandro) at the family’s Manhattan home. “Their New York kitchen kicked off a black kitchen trend, in my opinion,” says Ariel.

Though the space is filled with some seriously good-looking furniture, it doesn’t feel overwrought It’s a place for a young family to kick back and casually congregate on holidays, where days are centered around mealtimes—meaning there are plenty of places to dine. A smaller breakfast area is punctuated with a round dining set featuring antique Gustavian chairs and a Carlo Scarpa light fixture. (Scarpa is Ashe and Leandro’s favorite designer, so no home is complete without one of the Italian designer’s Japan-inspired pieces.) A larger dining area is filled with Scarpa dining chairs (which, per Ariel, “felt very Vineyard, as they’re made out of sailcloth canvas”) and is cocooned with picture windows that give the feeling of an alfresco meal with views of the property’s oak grove. For the real thing, a covered porch is populated with furniture for outdoor summertime living. A secondary outdoor space was created around an outdoor fireplace by mason and sculptor Eben Armer, who foraged local boulders to help create the cozy space.

Upstairs, arched doorways lead to bedrooms where subtle nautical touches abound. A porthole-esque window in the boys’ room offers a prime view of their grandparents’ home; their bathroom mirror is actually an upcycled porthole with a looking glass at the center. Bunk beds in vibrant red add a jolt of color to the spaces, which are otherwise an ombré of earth and wood tones via antique furnishings and decor. In true Martha’s Vineyard fashion, this home is filled with aged designs. But in the hands of Ashe Leandro, the furniture is sparse yet oversized, filling the house but not cluttering it.

In the primary bedroom, a mounted 17th-century silk tapestry adds an old-world touch and elsewhere, a hulking burled wood secretary desk with ornate curvature has been repurposed as a bar containing silver plated Gucci Stirrup Cups with Elk Head. “I was really into this style of furniture at the moment, and I thought it just sort of threw everything off in the room in a good way,” says Ariel. “I sent it to my sister, and she just said, ‘What?’ I was like, ‘Just say yes!’ And we bought it and it’s everyone’s favorite piece.

Another benefit of decorating for your family? Not having to fully let go of some of your long-held antiques. A sconce Ariel found in a Parisian flea market has made its way into the powder room.

Almost every corner features small but impactful touches, but according to both the designers and the family, the home looks its best when it’s filled with people. “There’s so much cooking happening all the time–and cocktails. It’s full of life,” says Ariel. “The kitchen counter was always filled with people–we had to get extra stools on the side of the island because everyone wanted to sit there and chat.

As for whether or not Seth was able to abide by his wife’s original wish? Though he co-opted the guest bedroom as a make-shift podcast studio during the summer, Ariel adds, “Not one dish is out of place.”