The David Barrett house Est. 1955
233 Bay Walk. Domesticated Pig Est. 2015
Every house has a story and this one certainly does. Built in 1955 it consisted of the main house and a pool house. Interior Designer David Barrett started in humble beginnings only to end up as a in demand top interior designer with several homes including this one…
1978
Title
Certificate of Occupancy
It was Christmas 1942,
and 19 year old Private David Barrett of the United States Army was assigned the arduous task of decorating the Mughaberry Airfield in northern Ireland for the arrival of Bob Hope and Vivian Leigh who were to perform for the American troops. With clever wit and skill he headed to the commissary and pilfered large jars of beet juice. He next headed for the medical station where he found reams of white medical bandages. Before he knew it the set was done. Filled with pink streamers with silver stars adorning the stage. A career was born.
David Barrett began coming to Fire Island in 1950. He first settled in Ocean Beach with friends, renting for several years and the build‐ ing a small house at the corner of Seaview and Juniper. Eventually after being denied a permit to build a pool he moved to the Pines where pools were allowed. Here he built his dream house in 1966 by adding onto the existing property with a pool and pool house. The main house slept 18.
Barrett’s life in design was hugely successful. He helped some of the most famous men and women of the later 20th century create homes unimaginable to most people. He partied with some of America’s most notable talents, and lived in several of the worlds most glamorous cities. Along with his lavishly decorated five story townhouse on Manhattan’s upper East side he always called Fire Island Pines home. In 1975 a fire burned down the main house leaving only the pool house. Tired of all the houseguests by then he decided to just add on a bedroom to the pool house and call it home. 1978 below.
1990’s
While he had designed homes and houses from New York, Santa Fe, to Palm Beach he was never happier anywhere than in the Pines. His life in this tiny little beach community was rich in color and history. Claudette Colbert, Gypsy Rose Lee, Shelley Winters, Ethel Merman, and June Havoc to name a few had all been houseguests. Some of whom were dropped right off his Bayfront home by seaplane.
He passed in 2008 leaving the riches from a life well lived…
In 2015 the home then known as the bamboo house because of the over‐ grown bamboo surrounding it was bought by a young couple named Dana Spitler and Wissam Abyad. They have rejuvenated not only the home but the community with their infectious energy. Naming the Home the ” Domesticated Pig” they brought back the glamour to this tired house and the parties have begun…
Dana Spitler and Wissam have since broken up and Dana remains the sole owner.
