Step Inside SoulCycle Cofounder Julie Rice’s Light-Filled Montauk Retreat

Kathryn Romeyn
·10 min read
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SoulCycle founder Julie Rice knows a little something about the romance of a beach house. She and her now husband, Spencer Rice, fell in love and got engaged while living for a year in an abode on Malibu’s serene, wave-studded coastline. They moved to New York City just after, but the self-confessed beach people never lost sight of their desire for sand dunes, sky, and surf.

Fire Island was their summer retreat for a decade, but when SoulCycle began opening studios in the Hamptons, the Rices started to explore the area’s real estate offerings. However, “nothing quite felt like being at the beach enough,” says the entrepreneur. “Then, we finally opened our Montauk studio. Spencer and I always say once we hit the Napeague Stretch, everything in our body shifts. We really feel like we’re home. You begin to see the ocean, the topography changes. It goes from proper towns and suburban life to a surf [community] on the beach.”

Once the couple found a super-private five-bedroom five-bathroom home on nearly an acre with direct beach access, prime Atlantic Ocean views, and Shadmoor State Park just minutes away, they didn’t hesitate to put in an offer. “It feels like it’s a world away from anything,” says Rice, who admits that as New Yorkers with shpilkis (a Yiddish term for being easily bored), they appreciate the fact they and their 14- and 9-year-old daughters can quickly walk or bike to town for coffee or ice cream.

As architectural as the place is, Rice feels it’s “much more about nature and the ocean and being outside.” Still, after living in the Steven Harris–designed home for two summers, they launched into a sizable renovation by the firm Resolution: 4 Architecture, which Rice had worked with on their Upper West Side home. The big idea? “To tie the indoor and outdoor spaces together.” Inspiration from Greece, Tulum, and Malibu began populating the Pinterest boards Rice and interior designer Vanessa Alexander sent back and forth.

“In the summer we spend most of our time up on what we call the bluff, a little outdoor seating area that looks over the ocean,” says Rice. Much-used chaises and a sofa from RH’s Maldives collection sit around their second fire pit.

The massing stayed essentially the same, but was re-clad in new materials and schemes conceived by Alexander, Rice’s friend from their Hollywood talent manager days. According to Alexander, the house seemed designed more for an art-collecting couple than a family. “There was a sterile quality to it, and the flow was broken up by materials, harsh transitions, and furniture placement.” The previous owner had loved wallpaper and installed it everywhere—even on the fireplace, where there was green brocade.

From living in it, “I think we really understood how to make the house function better for us,” says Rice. Post-reno, all the doors open, dissolving any barriers between inside and out. A new outdoor kitchen and courtyard reconfiguration have, in effect, made the living room twice as big. “For me, it’s blurring the lines between the indoor and outdoor. We wanted the architecture to breathe and for the house to live in a more friendly way,” says Alexander.

In the city, the family lives in what Rice describes as a “white cube.” For their beach house, “[Julie] wanted to bring a funkiness to it. While she doesn’t like clutter, she wanted to explore a more layered, Bohemian interpretation of this architectural property.” Organic was a keyword. Materiality was, to Alexander, the biggest element of accomplishing this particular flow and feeling—most significantly, plaster floors, ceilings, walls, and even countertops. “It doesn’t feel like Vincent Van Duysen or Axel Vervoordt, because it’s not as moody as that, but we brought somewhat unexpected materials to this modern space that are very clean but also soft, with that tactile nature and light play.” Otherwise, unity was achieved by the tight palette of bleached woods and matte black fixtures. Within that, they played with layering subtly textural, nuanced materials to create a sense of laid-back drama.

Because many spaces are flanked by floor-to-ceiling glass, Alexander set about choosing strategic furniture and lighting pieces to set the tone. A heavenly vintage Mario Bellini Camaleonda sofa and sleek stone Axel Vervoordt coffee table in the living room establish the aesthetic of elegant minimalism warmed up and softened. Throughout, custom furnishings by Alexander Design and a profusion of vintage pieces—such as wood objects and Moroccan rugs—pervade. A creative control freak she may be, Rice says she “let go a little bit on this one. I really trusted Vanessa.” And Alexander brought options that almost always made her friend and client very happy. Rice’s favorite: hanging bedside lamps with ceramic tops and woven shades.

Step Inside SoulCycle Cofounder Julie Rice’s Light-Filled Montauk Retreat

“Sometimes it’s hard to get me outside even on the most gorgeous day because I can just lie in my bed and be at the beach,” says Rice, whose primary suite floats above the pool, offering Atlantic Ocean panoramas. And that’s saying a lot coming from a fit, active boss. “We walked into the bedroom for the first time, I said, ‘Now I can have peace about getting old. If I grow old in this room and look at the ocean change seasons, I will be fine.’” After the renovation, floors visually flow from indoor to out, with teak door and window frames bleached to “blur that line. Even if the doors are closed we wanted you to be drawn outside,” says Alexander, who cites boutique hotel references from Punta del Este, Uruguay, and Comporta, Portugal, as playing into the inspiration.
Though the views toward the beach and the pool compete hardily, the star of the living room is the vintage Mario Bellini Camaleonda sofa, from Morentz Gallery. A custom Axel Vervoordt coffee table sits atop a custom Woven Accents rug. Also in the room but out of sight: a Blackman Cruz hanging chair.
For a Bohemian nod, Alexander mixed vintage pieces with new, custom furniture in a pale, sun-bleached palette. A custom live-edge white oak slab dining table by Alexander Design is surrounded by Stahl + Band custom undyed hide and white oak Campaign chairs. The wicker pendant is by Atelier Vime while the vintage rug is from Garde.
“I like everything to go away; I don’t like anything outside of cupboards, or open shelves. I like everything behind a wall,” says Rice. That proclivity for having things hidden informed the significant kitchen renovation, which also made for more space. Bleached white oak cabinetry obscures all appliances against plaster walls, ceiling, and countertops. “It was all about making the space feel better, more continuous,” says Alexander of the heart of the house. The fixtures are by Brizo.
“Vanessa tricked it out in the best way possible,” says Rice of the primary bedroom. “It feels like the most amazing, luxurious kind of hotel suite ever.” Besides being Rice’s favorite space in the home, it also holds her favorite piece of decor: ceramic and woven pendants by Harriet Goodall. An Ed Ruscha print and draperies in custom de Le Cuona fabric increase the dreamy factor. Alexander Design designed the bed, covered in Society Limonta linens, a Libeco throw, and custom pillow by Alexandra Kohl.
“The [primary] bathroom is really killer,” says Alexander of the well-lit space. The vanities are custom-designed by Alexander Design in bleached walnut with sandblasted titanium travertine, made by Vaselli and Cooritalia, with matte black plumbing by Vola and custom Cam Crawford mirror.
“You get out of the city and want to feel like you’ve got as much sun and blue and air around you,” says Alexander of the concept behind the glass-topped primary shower. Plaster-clad, like the rest of the home, the double-rainfall shower’s glass ceiling produces the effect of showering outside, sans the elements. (There is an outdoor shower as well.) “It’s getting harder and harder to kick my teenage daughter out of my bathroom,” laughs Rice. “Even with all the other bathrooms in the house, we’re fighting over this one.”
Living in the house for two summers before renovating gave Rice and her family the opportunity to understand exactly what they wanted to change, and a major desire was a greater emphasis on outdoor living. An outdoor kitchen was added alongside a comfy courtyard with a pair of Luteca’s woven Tule chairs and ottomans, plus a custom outdoor sectional and chair covered in Janus et Cie fabric. A woven palm umbrella was sourced from Europe.
The Rice family renovated and re-clad their Montauk home, designed originally by architect Steven Harris, but didn’t touch the turquoise pool that flows under the primary suite. What was so successful, says Alexander, was “maintaining architectural integrity [while] really softening the edges with a seamless flow of hopefully effortless material transitions.”
“In the summer we spend most of our time up on what we call the bluff, a little outdoor seating area that looks over the ocean,” says Rice. Much-used chaises and a sofa from RH’s Maldives collection sit around their second fire pit.
“Adam Pendleton is a really cool artist whom we bought a series of 10 works from a little while ago…. They were perfect for the family room; they wrap the whole room,” says Rice. Woven Charlotte Perriand chairs with a custom Michele Quan side table and an Extrasoft sofa also feature prominently.
Each of the bathrooms follows the concept of the primary, outfitted with a vintage rug from Mehraban, towels from Hale Mercantile Co. and Matteo, and vintage counter accessories sourced by Alexander Design. In the guest bedroom beyond the doorway is a vintage kilim from Lawrence of La Brea.
Like the others, the guest bath features a custom vanity of bleached walnut by Alexander Design, with a Cam Crawford custom mirror, matte black Vola plumbing, and a vintage Moroccan rug.
Alexander Design created the custom bleached walnut bunk beds for Rice’s daughters’ cozy room, complete with Parachute bedding, Teixidors throws, vintage pillows, a Moroccan pouf and rug, and a Clic sheepskin stool. A Michael Dweck photograph from Rice’s collection hangs on the wall.
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“The [primary] bedroom feels like it’s floating in the clouds, and I absolutely love it,” says Alexander, who helped reconfigure the layout to create a closet plus downstairs pool access and a deck with a fireplace for 360-degree water views. “Now the bedroom is this perfectly intimate size, a dreamy space that’s very ethereal, with linen drapes from de Le Cuona that the sun filters through.” Rice agrees, “the [primary] bedroom-bathroom situation is pretty epic. Vanessa tricked it out in the best way possible, so it feels like the most amazing, luxurious kind of hotel suite ever.” Plaster-wrapped, with a glass-ceiling double-rainfall shower, the bathroom is a particular area of envy for the rest of the family.

It’s no surprise the four of them clamor after the bright, airy shower when one considers that, come summer, “the entire sides of our house and every door in this place open up and it becomes like one giant box you can walk through,” says Rice. “I feel like that’s a big metaphor for the way we live.” Morning surfs with friends devolve into coffee, family beach days lead to lunches and pool parties, followed by sunsets on the sand, bonfires, live music, and picking up sleeping kids to bring them to bed. An annual end-of-summer party involves a big beach dinner and an ice cream truck. “It’s sort of like we open up the doors and people come and go and enjoy the ocean, and we all enjoy each other,” says Rice. This, the house that looks right at the beach, has been her one dream since starting SoulCycle in 2006. “It’s pretty magical.”

Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest