Martha Stewart Not Living Here
We all like the narrative of real estate, the adventures and chronicles of famous or colorful owners, the tales of how houses mesh with certain lives. But as much fun as this might be, the real estate itself transcends the drama. The bottom line for buyers concerns value and utility. One hand might write the story, but a different hand writes the check.
Architecture: A sleek travertine faced box in the International Style, it is architecture of the first order, long considered a gem of modernism. Gordon Bunshaft, the managing partner of Skidmore Owings Merrill, designed the house as his own residence.
Site: Fabulous 2 ¼ acres with almost 600 feet fronting on Georgica Pond. The extraordinary collection of outdoor sculpture was willed to the Museum of Modern Art on Nina Bunshaft’s death, but the property still takes your breath away.
The inside word: Martha Stewart first spotted the property while out canoeing on Georgica Pond and called her broker. She then beat out a pack of hungry buyers to acquire the property from the museum. She has gone through a lot since then, and the property has gone through a number of changes also. Now on the market for $10.5 million.
Leading Edge
Traditional houses by nature are boxlike or at least variations on a box. Modern houses have the freedom to deviate, and when done skillfully can assume sculptural qualities. For us, that is the appeal of the deconstructionist movement in architecture. But even less ambitious modernism can be very pleasing if shapes and forms are artfully blended.
Architecture: Angular and soaring, this was a style popular in the Hamptons in the 1980s. The better examples are still attractive to the eye and dapper in their geometric forms.
Site: Rose Hill Road is a sought after street, south of the highway, in Water Mill. This acre has fine old trees and plenty of privacy.
The inside word: Just renovated, the interior of this house is sleek and dramatic, with a stainless steel kitchen, marble tiled baths, and stone floors. The look is appropriately smart and burnished, with loft like qualities. Traditionalists, look elsewhere. This property is meant for a young, adventurous soul. Offered at $2.795 million.
Restored and Revived
The last time we visited Linden, the great Southampton estate, was some years ago, and the house, a splendid architectural expression of its time, was looking a bit dated and tired. When we recently returned, it was to see a rather different property, one that had shaken off the creaky signs of age and is sparkling in its newest restoration.
Architecture: The main house, three stories and sprawling, was built in 1910. The best of the architectural qualities of that period have been retained in the extensive renovation.
Site: Four acres on Great Plains Road is a reduction from the size of the original estate, but still a large and grand property with pool, tennis, carriage house and the irreplaceable hundred-year-old copper beech trees.
The inside word: We love estates from the turn of the twentieth century, with their optimistic expression of wealth and power at that time. But we also love our creature comforts. This property truly has it all. There is a graciousness that age bestows that is almost priceless. Or at least quite expensive. This property is offered at $11.9 million.
English Major
Variations on English country themes are very much with us these days. As with any style that becomes popular and gets into the hands of spec builders, we are now seeing some capable practitioners and some less-than-expert adherents. We recently examined an attractive reworking of this theme in Amagansett.
Architecture: A fairly typical Hamptons interpretation of rural English forms and shapes.
Swooping gables and detailed stonework set up a pleasant rhythm that is reinforced by the new shingle style mantra of massed windows and big chimneys.
Site: Landscaped acre in Amagansett south, close to the ocean.
The inside word: It’s a spec house, and certainly not unrivaled. But it’s not run of the mill either. There’s some drama where you want it, but nothing that jars the eye or the mood. And there’s plenty of luxury, where you need it, including six bedroom and 7 ½ baths. All you have to do is get over this repetitive feeling that you’re not as rich as you used to be, grab your bathing suit, and write the check for $5.9 million.