Nothing Like a Dame
The expression “la Grande Dame” doesn’t have much currency when referring to women these days. But it is the name of a marvelous prestige cuvee champagne from Veuve Clicquot. When it’s not popping corks, it pops up in real estate in reference to older, important public buildings and occasionally for an important residence.
Architecture: Built in 1902, in a shingle style with colonial revival elements and restrained detailing. It’s very old money, Southampton style.
Site: Where else but the quiet lanes off the ocean did they build grand houses at the turn of the last century? Houses like this established what is now the estate area.
The inside word: La Grande Dame is no exaggeration. Large, graceful, with a real presence, from the porte cochere to the octagonal entrance hall to the winter and summer living rooms to the charming carriage house—this has every feature an important estate should have. Priced accordingly at $6.950 million.
Fowl Play
We totally love houses with history and when we came across this beauty on Shelter Island we were fascinated. Built in 1910 by a woman known only as “the widow Jones,” it became a chicken farm in 1941, and was completely transformed in 1980 by the ultra hip fashion publicists Kezia Keeble and John Duka. After both died young in the late 80s, the house and all its contents were bought by the more conservative present owners.
Architecture: Rambling, shingled and handsome, with an incredible 100 foot porch overlooking the bay, this is really special.
Site: The house is perched on a hill, surrounded by 27 acres, with a barn and pool. West Neck Road intersects the property near the bay, but it’s an easy stroll from house to dock.
The inside word: Known as Cackle Hill Farm from the days when 3,000 chickens clucked in unison, this property is now as quiet and serene as anyone could wish. The views are picture perfect, and the total effect is both stylish and laid back. Offered at $6.950 million.
Level Headed
While fashions in rooflines don’t change as often as hemlines, they do go through cycles. Complex roofs are in vogue right now. Swooping roofs suggestive of the English countryside, with hips, dormers, peaks, valleys, flairs, spires and eyebrows proliferate in new construction.
Architecture: Conservative modernism, perhaps influenced by prairie styles, while not modish, displays diffidence and reserve that looks attractive compared the brash, aggressive styles we often see.
Site: On Moriches Bay in Westhampton Beach, this 1.2 private acres comes with 175 feet of bulkheading.
The inside word: Maybe we are cantankerous but we like this house just because it runs contrary to the trends. It’s not trying to be something other than what it is: a prodigiously comfortable house, easy to live in, good for entertaining, and perhaps best for getting away from the noise and pressure. We even like the flat roof. Offered at $3.6 million.
Full Disclosure
Interesting houses, like interesting people, reveal themselves subtly. Spaces can be layered, surprises wait around corners, what you first see is not all that you get. We recently visited a house that we expected to be pleasant but dull, and it turned out to be personal and imaginative.
Architecture: Balanced formal sensibility, with some quite luxurious touches. It’s not going to win awards but it will win friends and certainly make someone happy.
Water Mill: Nice, private five acres in Water Mill north.
The inside word: We first thought this house was a bit generic—the kind you could find in any upscale suburb. But the plain front hides some very exciting interior spaces with fine details and an interesting and unusual rear façade. It delivers quite a lot. Offered at $3.495 million.