Mark Zeff launched his own lifestyle brand, BLACKBARN, in the spring of 2015, which includes real estate development, a restaurant and a book. The name comes from the home the South African-born designer built in the Northwest Harbor section of East Hampton. A sedate, sexy modern black barn that stands in contrast to the area’s myriad, out-of-place, oversized dwellings, BLACKBARN is a blend of industrial, artful, refined, and understated. BLACKBARN is a lifestyle that redefines luxury, where the cornerstone is finding the right location and creating a home that is authentic to its surroundings.

BLACKBARN is a residential design, real estate development and construction service that creates bespoke custom and spec villas, homes and communities for those who desire unconventional simplicity. 

For BLACKBARN Restaurant, Zeff partnered with John Doherty, former Executive Chef at the Waldorf Astoria hotel. Opened September 2015 and located off Madison Square Park in New York City, the design ethos of the restaurant takes nomenclature from the construction methods of barns, and uses elements like trusses, barn roof structures, and cladding methods to build its design vocabulary.

BLACKBARN Book is a lavishly illustrated monograph that celebrates Zeff’s seminal project, BLACKBARN. The barn-inspired home has been over thirty years in the making and changed the equation for how he designs residences. Oro Editions published this book in December 2015.