The Bra. The Box Kite. The Cat. The Milk Carton. The Reclining Picasso. These are the playful names given to the eccentric beach houses of Andrew Geller. Built in the 1950s and 1960s, these whimsical vacation homes reflected the idea of summer leisure for a generation more concerned with fun on the beach than ostentatious display. For clients in the Hamptons, the Jersey shore, and in New England, Geller built dozens of houses, most of wood and most on modest budgets. Geller, who worked with Raymond Loewy and directed the design of such modernist landmarks as the Lever House in New York, combined a modern interest in light, breeze, and functional living with playful form-making. These spirited houses, many shown here for the first time through vintage photographs and drawings, still delight today and will inspire anyone interested in beach house living.

Alastair Gordon is a contributing editor at House & Garden and a regular contributor to the New York Times. He is the author of Weekend Utopia: Modern Living in the Hamptons and resides in Princeton, NJ.