Waterworks
Our temperate climate permits us only a short summer, but what a wonderful time we all have. Perhaps because we know it is both alluring and fleeting summer seems more precious. Our hedonistic friends focus their energy on the outdoors, seizing the summer days, some at the beach or round the pool, and the hardworking ones in their gardens.
Architecture: The hefty roof and wide overhangs give a sense of solidarity and shelter, as well a pleasing complexity that would otherwise be lacking. Asymmetric but traditional, the result is a welcoming place with all the comforts.
Site: A spectacular 4.2 acres in Amagansett, with one of the more ambitious hydraulic projects in town. Namely, a pool, a koi pond and waterfall, embellished with stone walls and rock gardens, shaded pathways and perennial beds.
The inside word: While the shingled house is typical of the Hamptons, all the stonework and artful arranging of nature outside suggest a timeless ambience that could as easily be in Europe. It’s luxe and serene, and could induce anyone to get out the gardening gloves.
Offered at $3.5 million.
Posh, Porches and Porte-Cochere
After many years of wanting to use the word “nympholepsy” I think the opportunity has come. No, no, it doesn’t mean what you suspect. It describes a state of ecstasy, a frenzy, caused by desire for the unobtainable. Is it a stretch to use it in real estate?
Architecture: The house successfully meets a difficult and exacting standard: updating the shingle style without diluting it. It employs the best of inherited architectural forms without theme-parking or haphazard borrowing.
Site: In the Southampton estate area, near the ocean, on 2 acres, with pool, poolhouse and bocce court. The site is certainly valuable and sought after, but another acre would give this house the spacious approach it should have.
The inside word: The price of $17.5 million is a lot of money. Is the value there? Considering the size of the public spaces—plus the eight bedrooms—the endless amenities and the unstinting quality throughout, this is a serious property.
Not Passing, Not Fancy
The first summer homes in Southampton in the late nineteenth century were usually rebuilt from farmhouses and various existing buildings. But it didn’t take long before seasonal residents demanded more luxury and prestige and began to custom build homes. As we see a bit more than a century later, that latter impulse has only grown stronger.
Architecture: This fairly plain house was intended for simple, comfortable living. Though hardly rustic, it is more suited for family pleasures than for showing off.
Site: Shy acre at the northern end of Lake Agawam, near the park and village center.
The inside word: If homes are expressions of their inhabitants, this house speaks of family values above all else. It’s the kind of place where you’d want to gather several generations on its traditional water view porch, where time-honored customs are more important than trends and novelties. Offered at $3.275 million.
Happy Hunting
Hunting in the Hamptons is rarely in pursuit of game. The quest here might be personal or social, and the chase involves status more than species. There was a time when hunting seemed right, but it’s not here and now. We’d rather track those elusive prizes of the civilized world.
Architecture: This fine residence started life as a hunting lodge in the 1830s. It must have been quite primitive, but it still adds a bit of historical color.
Site: In Southampton north, on 2.5 acres, with a gunite pool and two spring fed ponds.
The inside word: Ivy Lodge, as it is called, is a traditional estate with privacy and comfort—and room for the help. With eight bedrooms and servants wing in the main house and two more bedrooms in the carriage house, this is a place to spread out. Though its hunting lodge origins are not apparent, its pedigree is. Offered at $3.350 million.