Inside Ina Garten’s East Hampton Estate—and the Design Tricks She Swears By for Effortless Entertaining

“Barefoot Contessa” star Ina Garten is an expert at hosting guests, so it comes as no surprise that her East Hampton, NY, home has been thoughtfully equipped for gatherings.

Garten and her husband of 57 years, Jeffrey Garten, have lived in the town since the 1980s, and they now reside in a house that’s a close replica to their former dwelling, located just down the street.

They built the home out of a need for more space, first adding an office for Jeffrey.

The property would undergo a series of additions and upgrades over time, gradually transforming into the peaceful retreat—equipped with a breathtaking barn—that the couple calls home today.

While Ina is not one to renovate simply for the sake of switching things up, the renowned cook transformed the interior of the home “during the pandemic” after leaving it unchanged for 25 years.

“It was feeling heavy and dated,” she wrote in a June Instagram post.

Ina describes the East Hampton estate as “a shingle-style farmhouse with low ceilings,” and opted for “light furniture and layers of neutral colors to make it feel airier but still warm.”

In a recent interview with People magazine, Ina explained that she and Jeffrey enjoy “spending time with people in an intimate setting” over hosting lavish events as she once did.

“We have really good friends, and we tend to have dinners with four or six people, and that’s it,” she said.

As for her best entertaining secret? It’s quite simple: “I particularly love a round table so that everybody is equidistant.”

The hosting aficionado also takes an intentional approach to seating guests.

“I tend to seat the most talkative people opposite each other because if they are next to each other, they talk among themselves, and everybody else feels left out,” she explained. “But if they’re opposite, then everybody’s included.”

In the aforementioned Instagram post, Ina uncovered more of her approach to dinner parties, explaining that the layout of her living room was also optimized for guests.

“For me, the most important thing is that the seating area is small and everyone has a comfortable place to sit,” she wrote. “The proof is in the pudding—I’ve had some wonderful dinner parties in this room!”

Dinner guests aren’t the only types of visitors Ina might expect in her home on a regular basis. She also told People that over the last 41 years, she’s had a masseuse drop by “every Sunday” for a massage, which she describes as “heaven.”

She also has a trainer who swings by twice a week for workouts.

On a day off, Ina noted she loves “doing laundry,” having lunch with her husband, “going for a walk,” reading a book, and taking an afternoon snooze.

She recently shared a glimpse at the gorgeous outdoor space of her East Hampton home, which has been a work-in-progress for years.

“When Jeffrey and I built this house in East Hampton, I decided to put in my first garden,” Ina shared in a June 3 Instagram post.

“I wanted an orchard of white crabapple trees but I couldn’t afford 25 of them so I found a local nursery that had saplings that had skinny little trunks with two branches. They were $95 each,” she recalled. “I planted them but thought I wouldn’t live long enough to see them mature.”

“Boy, was I wrong! This is what those trees look like every spring over the last 10 years,” Ina continued. “Patience really paid off!”

It sounds as thought Ina has all she needs in her Hamptons oasis, but she also spends quite a bit of time in the sprawling Upper East Side apartment she and Jeffrey snapped up for $4.65 million in 2016.

Through her new podcast, “Happy Hour with Ina Garten,” the host invites celebrities to her Manhattan dwelling, where they enjoy a compelling chat while sipping artfully crafted beverages.

She’s shared a handful of behind-the-scenes snapshots from the production of the project, giving fans a glimpse at her exceptionally decorated kitchen, which features functional open shelving, marbled countertops, and a gallery wall full of gold frames.

Of course, there’s also a round table nearby.

Ina seems to do her best to keep her audience well-informed of her design choices. When a fan complimented the bold orange walls seen in the background of her podcast videos and asked for the exact hue, Ina came through with the paint color right away.

“It’s from Paint and Paper Library, and the name of the color is The Long Room,” she replied. “It must have been somebody’s long room!”