Charm Offensive
Some houses, like some people, are born lucky, and are wonderful right from the start. Others don’t begin with all the advantages, and are self made. Well, maybe not entirely on their own. They get a little help from the pros, but then so do people. We like those properties either way. The only thing we don’t like is when a house is not brought up to its potential.
Architecture: The front of this 1978 house lacks any inherent charm. More important is its function as a portal into an absolutely enchanting cottage. The second structure, a studio with living quarters, has a quirky and fun look by virtue of some overscaled windows.
Site: On Butter Lane, a lovely Bridgehampton street, not quite an acre, with pool.
The inside word: A design professional did all the right things here. No detail that could add to its allure and country charisma was overlooked. And the furnishings all emphasize this. The casual, homey, almost backwoods look is of course the result of cold-blooded planning. We find it enthralling and right on target. So will buyers. Offered at $2.095 million.
Just So
We are always happy to see good modernism—architectural thinking outside of the shingled box. And the kind we like best is rich, complex and evocative. We recently came across this very graceful house in the Springs and decided it was worth reviewing.
Architecture: A cerebral and challenging design by noted New York architect, Joe D’Urso. The shapes are dynamic, the materials unanticipated. It’s a rich, restless composition intended for a sophisticated eye.
Site: In the Springs section of East Hampton, on two and a half acres. Privacy and good landscaping, but no pool
The inside word: Clearly not for conventional tastes, this property offers a recondite and fastidious beauty that will certainly be appreciated by an enlightened buyer. It doesn’t offer the opulence of newer houses—just three bedrooms and 2 ½ baths seem modest—but it makes up for that with great style. Offered at $2.950 million.
Estate of the Art
Warner LeRoy, who died in 2001, was often described as a larger than life character. But in the Hamptons that is about normal size. Known for creating Maxwell’s Plum, and then reviving Tavern on the Green and The Russian Tea Room, LeRoy also created a large and lavish personal estate in Amagansett.
Architecture: A modern structure of stone and cedar with strong horizontal elements and large overhangs, it suggests a Midwestern prairie style while not exactly copying it.
Site: A beautifully landscaped and very private 14 acres with gardens, water features, long distance water views, and the rapturous feeling of a great estate.
The inside word: Conservative when compared to the décor of LeRoy’s restaurants and his extravagant and eccentric art collections, this property sold once after his death and is on the market again. LeRoy grew up in a Hollywood world that helped define fabulous, and he clearly knew quality and where and how to put his money. Offered at $8.750 million.
Outside the Box
Contemporary tastes tend toward large shingled containers enclosing masses of luxury goods. It’s the amenities that count rather than the concept of the structure. Modern architecture makes a breakthrough now and then, but the important period for creative modernism in Hamptons vacation houses is decades behind us.
Architecture: At more than thirty years old this house is the antithesis of current fashions in homebuilding in the Hamptons—and all the more remarkable for demonstrating how unimaginative and formulaic much of our new construction has become.
Site: Further Lane, the top tier in East Hampton real estate, where contemporary architecture is still slightly in the closet.
The inside word: Brokers shouldn’t even waste their time showing this to buyers with their hearts set on rambling traditionals. They will most likely perceive the structure as a malformed doughnut. It’s takes a more adventurous taste to appreciate this dynamic and innovative composition. It also takes $5.7 million.