Platinum Pond
There’s something wonderful about being close to nature and far from neighbors. But this is the Hamptons, not rural upstate New York or New England, so our privacy tends to be more about landscaping than distance. A few properties offer true privacy and one that we know if offers it in abundance. The listing broker calls it “Thoreau in the Hamptons,” and she’s not exaggerating.
Architecture: A simple, airy, modernist structure. It’s refined but no means unique. But who cares? The whole point is to be looking out at the spectacular views. Only birds get to actually see this house.
Site: Two waterfront acres on Barcelona Neck, just outside Sag Harbor. The neighboring 340 acres are state owned and include a golf course and nature preserve.
The inside word: The current owner is a woman with impressive style, and this property reflects that. Everything about the house is sophisticated and well conceived. You can find that in other houses in the Hamptons, but you’ll never find this kind of land or these views. The isolation is not for everyone, but for $6.8 million you can have the luxury of being alone—transcendentally alone—any time you want.
Charmed Afterlife
We’ve always liked the simple older houses built mainly in our villages but occasionally in the fields as a farm house. The skills and imagination of the carpenter are evident. Architects were in most cases not involved. These are true vernacular styles, simplifications and adaptations of more formal, academic styles—but the origins are still recognizable.
Architecture: A modest, handsome structure from the 1840s with elements of Georgian, Federal and Greek Revival styles, interpreted by a very skilled craftsman.
Site: A small village lot just steps from Main Street in Bridgehampton, with a cute guest cottage.
The inside word: If we remember our history correctly, the first owner of this house is buried in the cemetery of the church across the street. She would be truly amazed at the changes in her house and her village and in the Hamptons—but perhaps most of all in prices. She had taste and imagination—and both have survived for 160 years in this charming property. Offered at $1.695 million.
Preserve the Dunes
Onadune is one of East Hampton’s great estates. To look at in now, you would never guess that it has had a difficult and thorny past. By the 1970s, the two acres had been subdivided and the vacant acre was sold off. The house was dilapidated and decaying. Finally, someone bought both properties and merged them and restored the house.
Architecture: A splendid example of shingle-style estate architecture from 1902. Half timbered gables above two stories of shingles suggest an English influence.
Site: Two acres in Georgica, with the house built on a high dune, with lush gardens, pool and a poolhouse built to match the look of the main house.
The inside word: After the first renovation the house became quite grand and comfortable. After a later renovation, it became sumptuous and majestic. This is an important old estate with all the style and amenities a 21st century buyer expects. Such princely surroundings command regal prices of course. Offered at $21.5 million.
Making History
“Every American who is in the habit of traveling must have noticed the inexhaustible demand for rural residences in every part of these Northern States. Nothing like it has ever yet occurred in the world’s history.” Calvert Vaux, co-designer of Central park, wrote that in the introduction to a book he published in 1857. We’d love to hear his comments on the Hamptons in 2005.
Architecture: The brokers describe this elegant, totally renovated house as barn style. If that’s true, we wouldn’t mind being a stylish chicken or a cow or a horse for a summer.
Site: Southampton, not quite two acres of beautifully landscaped grounds with pool and tennis.
The inside word: There is no barn door. The elegant entrance with its double columned portico and arched window above the door all say Southampton estate. And the whole house carries through on this theme. It’s posh and stylish, with a knockout kitchen and lots of traditional detailing. Occasional postmodernist riffs on size and proportion will please some buyers but disturb others. Offered at $6.9 million.