As the former CEO of online art marketplace Artsy, Mike Steib spent years with virtually unfettered access to a dizzying array of creative talent. From little-known painters that went viral on the platform to more established names he stumbled across at art fairs, Steib and his wife, Kemp, have amassed a gallery-worthy trove of contemporary art. So when it came time to decorate their East Hampton home—a newly built 2,500-square-foot shingle-style residence—the couple wanted art to inform nearly all of their interior choices.
“For five years I worked with people who would flag me three or four times a week about an interesting artist or artwork that I just had to see,” says Steib, who ran the company from 2019 until this past June. The author, podcast host, and former Google executive began a new post this summer, as president and CEO of TV station group Tegna. “I was fortunate because it allowed me tremendous access to emerging artists that were prolific in just about every medium.” The eclectic spirit that fuels the couple’s art collecting also influences the interior scheme inside their five-bedroom house that boldly expresses their distinctive style.
From the custom drapes and sofas in a living room infused with playful color and patterns to a curated mix of vintage furnishings in the dining room that coalesce around striking artworks, the home’s spatial plan finds harmony in vivid colors, organic textures, and simple forms. “I call it ‘hip traditional,’” says Kemp, a former finance executive who’s now CFO of the Second Shift, a members-only platform connecting professional women with businesses for project-based work. “We wanted a classic Hamptons vibe, but without being too stuffy,” she adds.
Kemp spearheaded the interior design with help from Sara Gilbane Interiors, a New York studio known for blending traditional style with a bohemian twist. The team collaborated on the couple’s Manhattan apartment and their aesthetic kinship emerges in room after room in the Hamptons home. Two vintage David Rattan chairs in the living room, for instance, help frame Dusk Waves, an oil on canvas work by Alec Egan, an LA-based artist noted for his figurative paintings of interior scenes. The club chair in the room in pink-raspberry fabric adds contrast to a space that includes a solid oak coffee table in a natural wax finish and a custom sofa in a textured pattern.
