Is This the Best Airbnb in Montauk?

If anyone understands the vibe of modern day Montauk, it’s Robert McKinley—as the man behind the interiors of The Surf Lodge and Ruschmeyers, he helped make it. So when he and his wife, Kate Natua, decided a few years ago to buy and transform local homes into what they called McKinley Bungalows, it’s no surprise that the properties soon became some of the most sought-after rentals in town. After all, what’s better than a home with both a sense of style and place?

This year, the couple took on their most ambitious project yet: a five-bedroom New England Shaker-style house two blocks from the beach. “It was a labor of love during the pandemic months,” McKinley says of his creation, which is getting its final touches this month and is now listed on Airbnb. With a moody earth-meets-sea color scheme—think sienna backsplashes, raw umber accents, pine wood floors, a “National Geographic yellow” front door and a coastal green kitchen floor—the couple says they took inspiration from the work of famed photographer and legendary Montauk resident Peter Beard as well as the life of Jacques Cousteau.

One of the five bedrooms at the Edison Bungalow, designed by Robert McKinley.

Photo: By Nicole Franzen