Energized Barn
There was a time when architecture in the Hamptons was noted for its forward-looking design. Now however it is more noted for its in-your-face extravagance. It may not be the rule but it is certainly the reputation. There is still good design, however, and some of the best combines the sumptuousness we now expect with timeless conceptual thinking.
Architecture: A very unusual and quite successful merging of a 220-year-old barn frame from Vermont with a refined contemporary structure. The triple height main room was designed to house a contemporary art collection. Glazed garage doors on two sides connect outside with indoors.
Site: Gated private lane in Sagaponack leads to 2.5 acres with 153 feet of beachfront. Wonderful landscaping and a 62-foot lap pool complete the picture.
The inside word: Jay Chait, the advertising legend who gave us the Energizer Bunny, built the house in 1997. On his death in 2002, the property was left to his wife, noted landscape designer Edwina Von Gal. A lot of talent went into this place. Calvin Klein rented the house last summer. Now offered for $12.1 million.
Civil Court
Real estate has microclimates just as viticulture does. Experienced real estate brokers can identify a property street location just by the architectural style, the age, the trees and landscaping and a myriad of small clues. This updated 1987 traditional clearly belongs on a certain village lane in East Hampton.
Architecture: Congenial and comfortable are the themes here, and it all works. Lucid, polished and poised, the demeanor is welcoming and the details are calmly reassuring.
Site: South of the highway, on Amy’s Lane, a pretty, quiet street, 1.3 landscaped acres with pool and tennis.
The inside word: The surprise here is the tennis court in the front yard. And why not? We assume it was added after the house was built and that was the available space. But if you are a tennis buff, what could be nicer than a handsome court with lush landscaping to welcome you home? Offered at $4.395 million.
Submarine Smarts
It used to be a joke when the real estate hustler sells the chump some underwater land, akin to offering the Brooklyn Bridge for sale. But it can be serious business when the land is under the right water and abuts a luxury estate.
Architecture: A politically correct Hamptons estate, competing not so much on originality as on creature comforts and fine views of Lake Montauk.
Site: An interesting seven acres comprising the main house on 2.4 waterfront acres with 2 more acres underwater on which you can construct a deep-water dock, and 2 water access building lots.
The inside word: It’s a question of prestige. Old timers might not be ready to accept Lake Montauk as one of the vaunted estate areas of the Hamptons, but younger buyers looking to sail, swim or fish from their own luxurious home on the shoreline will definitely respond. It’s only a matter of a short time until the prestige catches up. Offered at $8.5 million.
Colonial Theme
It seems like every new visitor to East Hampton stops and asks us about the white colonial style house on the corner of Woods Lane and Main Street, opposite Town Pond. We’re not sure why people are so fascinated with this property. Is it the prominent location? Or the meticulously maintained white purity?
Architecture: Classic, colonial, restrained and proper. In addition to the three-story house, there is a separate garage and guesthouse.
Site: Corner lot at the entrance to the village, 2.9 acres, pool, tennis, gazebo and fountain.
The inside word: We remember when this property belonged to Colonel Halsey and it possessed a charming, overgrown shabbiness framed by giant copper beech trees. After it was sold fifteen or so years ago, it morphed into theme park perfection. It’s a handsome property, and, like the first table in a restaurant, a place to see and be seen. Make that an extremely, perhaps jokingly, expensive restaurant. Offered at $50 million.