This week KDHamptons catches up with über talented Walt Lindveld, Creative Director and Designer of The Montauk Beach House, and the hot new Left Hand Coffee shop in Montauk.  Like many full time Montauk residents, Walt has written his own personal love story with “The End”.  He tells KDHamptons, “Montauk is where my son came to be on his journey of this planet, so I would say that it has given me the greatest love and gift of my life: my boy Clash.”  Fold into the Montauk life of Lindveld in this NEW KDHamptons Diary, below:

KDHamptons:  How long have you been living in the Hamptons? Why do you love it so much?

Walt Lindveld:  I’ve been living in the Hamptons for seven years.  I love it because it is the place that brought me back to my essence; for quite a number of years I was way too involved in the grind – all work and no play; so focused on trying to “make it big” that I sort of forgot who I really was: a simple person driven by the desire to create art, and to live a life influenced by the love of the sea.   Montauk reminded me of that essence – before I strived to become anything else in this life,  I was a surfer.  Surfing is that one thing where I always find my soul….and Montauk just put me back on the right path.

Ditch Plains

KDHamptons:  How would you describe your career to our readers?

Walt: I am primarily a Creative Director – I work with brands to help them find their look, feel, identity, meaning, message, voice, so that they can best define themselves to their target audience/consumers/market, and hopefully become cool and successful lifestyle brands.  It is a multi-faceted endeavor.  Design is a very prominent aspect of what I do; whether it be spatial [interiors, architecture] or graphic [brand identity, advertising, merchandise] or conceptual [ideation, campaigns, creative consulting].  I have worked with amazing brands like I.AM.YOU., Elizabeth & James, Monc XIII, Double Lucky Co., ModernGreenHome, Mayya+Movement, and now Left Hand Coffee, just to name a few. For the past 3-going-on-4 years, I have been the Creative Director of The Montauk Beach House, a project which I also designed back in 2012.

Montauk Beach House

 KDHamptons: Which design project are you most excited about this summer season?

Walt: I actually have 2 projects which I am psyched about this summer.  Obviously, the newly opened Left Hand – the feedback has been amazing since we opened in spring.  I can’t wait to see it pumping out fine coffee culture to the summer crowd.  And second, I am reeeeeally excited with all the new things we’re doing at the Montauk Beach House – we redesigned the exterior bar areas to create an outdoor lounge for guests and customers to find an alternative to the over-hyped Montauk party scene.  We want to offer a different vibe, a place were you can come with your friends and relax by the fire at tables, listen to good music [at a fun, but conversational level]  have some drinks, and enjoy some good light fare.  That’s the vibe that I actually like about Montauk that you don’t find in a commercial environment.  I love the fun dinner parties at friend’s houses!  I want to create that atmosphere, but in a public setting where you can also mingle with new people hanging out around you instead of just the friends invited at those private get togethers….the best of both worlds.  Michelle Swavely [our events director] and I are working on putting together some great entertainment concepts to keep the summer weird ;)

Montauk Beach House

KDHamptons:  How would you describe your perfect Hamptons day?

Walt: Start with breakfast: An awesome smoothie I make for myself at home with avocado, berries, peanut butter, oats, spirulina, honey, and almond-coconut milk… the breakfast of champions.  Then, I start up my beloved 68’ chevy van, head to the beach [whichever spot is working best] and find a perfect glassy little swell in the water to get a little surf session before going to work at the Beach House.

Boards on wheels

My son Clash 

I love to spend time during the day or afternoon with my 5 year old son, Clash, for some “dad time”.   For dinner, I’d have to say my top spots are probably The Dock, Navy Beach, Crow’s Nest, or Gig Shack – For me, dinner is not just about good food.  I really want to feel a good vibe at whichever spot I eat.  After that, some point of the night would entail a drink somewhere, either at the Beach House [shameless self promotion] or another of the usual suspects….. Hopefully, or more like wishful thinking, I would get to spend time with an interesting, beautiful woman…yeah right…but the reality would probably be that I just end up hanging out with my friends and coworkers before going to bed.  Wake up.  Press repeat, and do it all over again the next day − ahh that Montauk summer grind.

The welcome sign at the Dock’s Door, below

KDHamptons:  Do you have any special plans for summer?

Walt:  I really hope to continuing to develop the Beach House as a really cool place for people to stay and to hang in the summer.  And also continue to develop the Left Hand Coffee concept …all the while, hopefully be able to make my day as described in the prior question [my perfect Hamptons day] be like groundhog day, every day of the summer :)

* For more information about Walt click HERE, and follow his awesome Instagram @waltlindveld