I wanted to share two properties that are currently on the market that are completely different than most of anything else in town. Interestingly, they are next door neighbors located at the end of a very normal looking side street dotted with small and very average (cute, but average) homes. Not every home in town is historic or large, despite what I've shown! You'd never know there was not one but two mansions at the end of the road, I can promise you!
The first home, at 32 Morton's Hole Way, is described as a California Arts & Crafts style home with strong Japanese influences and was built after 2003. I've been by this home several times on my way to house #2 (more on that later) and have found it to be an intriguing property that I'm happy to finally see more of. I love the exteriors of Arts & Crafts home, but funny, not so much the interiors. I think it's just that they are so relentlessly "of a style" and unless that style truly speaks to one's soul, I would think it would get monotonous. I would liken it to jazz - you either love it and "get it", or after a while it's just a lot of noise that's hard to interpret. Not sure if any of that makes sense.
So, let's take a tour. Photos courtesy of Redfin.com. This house is on the market for $3,750,000. And for this town, the location with water views and quality of the home itself, the price feels like a steel and is truly priced based on the current economy. Three years ago, there were comparative shacks for that price. Okay, I exaggerate. A little.
A room with a view. The columns are like those at the Porte-Cochere. The shape is pretty magnificent, isn't it?
The bedroom seems oddly empty, but it could be the camera angle.
The master bath is spectacular - but you would you want to take a bath in a picture window overlooking the driveway? It's hard to imagine that the sight lines aren't actually obscured so that this room is indeed more private, but from the photo...
The beamed ceiling... yum.
The backyard overlooking Kingston Bay.
Looking out from the back deck of house #1 towards Kingston Bay, you will see that it looks over another property, which is the second stop on our tour.
The neighboring property is located at 34 Mayflower Lane. The house was built in 1995 and was designed by a California architect and is in a style I would describe as California Shingle style. This house has been on the market nearly four years and is a victim of the recession. It's currently on the market for $5,999,000, which is significantly lower than the original asking price. I was brought in to stage the home by the original real estate agent. While it was beautifully decorated, it had some organization issues and an empty room or two that needed to be dealt with.
This is a very large home, but only has four bedrooms, as it was custom-built by the sellers who had a young family. The house has an unobstructed view of the waterfront, which accounts in part to its higher price tag than House #1. I've never been a fan of the driveway side of the house (above), but this water side below is gorgeous.
The house boasts an outdoor swimming pool with fully outfitted pool house (as well as indoor lap pool) and beautifully manicured lawns and gardens. House #1 overlooks the pool, pool house and garden.
An inside view - the front foyer is overlooked by a wrap around second story. The doorway underneath the stairs leads to the in-house lap pool and mini spa, as well as the home-theater. The glass door is the front door of the home.
Here is the view into the living room. The pendant light is large and spectacular. When I was first brought in, there was a large round Dakota Jackson table placed right underneath the pendant, blocking the view of the seating area and fire place. That table was the first thing to be moved.
One of my favorite spots in the house was this adorable little sun room, which is off the living room.
Here is the fully outfitted home theater. I never particularly loved this room as it was too bright and almost garish as compared to the calm tones of the living room. But, that's just paint and new owners an easily rectify that!
The kitchen was a beautiful space that showed great restraint in decor and is a real cook's kitchen. This was actually a remodel of the first kitchen that was put in.
The breakfast room. I so covet that lantern. You can see the pool outside the glass doors.
This is the family room area off the kitchen. I suggested the large photo canvas over the fireplace in order to remind potential buyers of the proximity to water, as this room has little water view. It also related to the yellow ceilings. You can see into the dining room to the right of the photo.
One of the reasons I was brought in was to deal with the very empty dining room. This room had the best view of the bay yet due to circumstances, the room sat empty - not a big selling feature. You can see the living room down the long hall at the right hand of the photo.
Here is my staging of the living room. It now sits empty again (apparently, by the newer real estate shots).
The owner was not interested in purchasing new dining room furniture just to stage the home and at the time, there were no rentals available that fit the style and quality, not to mention size, of the home. So, instead, I suggested a "music salon" concept with grand piano in one corner (large and in charge!) along with a smaller, more intimate dining area by the fire place. I made use of the Dakota Jackson table that had originally been taking up space in the living room here. The red leather chairs were purchased from Design Within Reach and the oriental carpet was purchased to complement the yellow walls, blue water view and red chairs. These colors are softer versions of other rooms in the home. 
Dining Room staged by Linda Merrill
Here is the "salon" that is off the front foyer and sits between the dining room and living room. This was the most traditionally styled room in the home.
Upstairs is the library that was tucked away for private reading.
The home office.
The Master bedroom. Given the size and scope of the home, the Master was actually quite small. It was nice, intimate. The bed is placed in front of an etched glass wall that lead to the dressing rooms and master bath. The bedroom also had a private deck over looking the bay.
The master bathroom. These photos do not do it justice.
There are no photos, but there are three more bedrooms and two more full baths.
My favorite part of this property was the antique guest house. I don't know why the realtor's never show the interiors of this house - it is completely adorable! It has a full scale kitchen with cream colored cabinetry and granite counters, 3 bedrooms and a living room. I'd have moved in here in a heart beat and let my guests have run of the big house.
This property is currently represented by William Raveis and you can see the full listing here.
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