House Hopping
The tradition of moving houses is enabled by the frame construction we use in the Hamptons. It often yields surprising and fortuitous results, mainly by getting structures to sites where they are more likely to be preserved. Thus, windmills have been protected by being moved from commercial locations, and historic houses have been restored in newer residential neighborhoods.
Architecture: Authentic Federal style, built in the 1830’s, with some sensitive changes over the years. Much of the original paneling and wainscoting remain.
Site: Once the Fowler family homestead, this house came close to being torn down about 25 years ago, but was given a reprieve from the bulldozers and moved to a corner of a potato field on Wickabogue Road in Water Mill. It settled in beautifully on 1.6 acres with superb landscaping and pool.
The inside word: We like the location, near to Fowler and Flying Point beaches, and we like the local history connected to this property. It’s a tasteful riposte to the newer palazzos spreading though Water Mill, but indulging in some sophisticated irony and nipping at your more nouveau neighbors will set you back a hefty $3,500,000.
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Waterworks
Our temperate climate permits us only a short summer, but perhaps because we know it is both alluring and fleeting, it seems all the more precious. Our more hedonistic friends focus their energy on the outdoors, seizing the summer days.
Architecture: A rambling modern house with pleasing rooms and all the comforts. But this is a house that looks outward and defers to its surroundings. A large two story sunroom functions as a meaningful transition between indoors and out.
Site: A spectacular seven acres in Water Mill north, with one of the more ambitious hydraulic projects in the Hamptons. Namely, a pool and two ponds, waterfalls and a cascading stream, embellished with rock gardens and stone pathways and stone bridges, pergolas and assorted plantings.
The inside word: Shangri La or lala land? This property balances on the periphery of doing and overdoing, but in the end all the beauties of nature combine with some artful arranging to provide a serene, somewhat Asian ambience. $1,900,000.
Harbor Lights
We all fantasize about living in a lighthouse. For those of us used to the Hamptons lifestyle, however, the isolation and lack of sybaritic comforts in an actual lighthouse would drive us back to our luxurious homes and rounds of parties within days.
Architecture: Built in the 1980s, renovated in 1998, and intended to be a comfortable Montauk retreat, this house achieves its goals without pretense or striving. A generously proportioned guest wing plus a cabana guesthouse facilitate weekend entertaining.
Site: One of the highest elevations in Montauk. This hilltop acre offers heart stopping panoramic water views in all directions. And they are interesting views too. Fishing boats, sailboats and harbor traffic, along with the blue water and big skies.
The inside word: This is as close to living in a lighthouse as we’d want to be: high above the sea but with all the conveniences we require. We particularly like the romance of this location at night, with marine lights on the sea and stars overhead. At moments it can seem like a bit of the Cote d’Azur in the North Atlantic. $1,950,000.
Bridge to the Past
Certain houses have been here so long they become part of the landscape. We see them, but nothing has to consciously register because that’s the way it’s always been, for years, for decades, for generations. Some of us have known this big white house on Ocean Road in Bridgehampton for most our lives. It simply belongs in our memory and belongs to its surroundings.
Architecture: An excellent example of the Greek Revival style typical of this period in American architecture, this house was completed in 1854. Except for a few minor additions, it appears to be intact and not tampered with—something now quite unusual in the Hamptons.
Site: Set on a slight rise in the midst of open green space, the fine lines of this house function as a hub in the center of its 2.5 acres. What was undoubtedly a vernacular plan 150 years ago turns out to be sophisticated placement in our time.
The inside word: Built by Judge Henry Parsons Hedges, whose name resonates with history, the house in recent generations belonged to a potato farmer and is being sold by his descendents. Priced at $3,500,000.
