Beach house meets cozy cabin in this renovated home sited on 1.35 acres on Richmond Creek.
Built in 1985 and renovated from tip to toe last year — a project overseen by New York interior design firm DIRT — this 3,364-square-foot house is open and airy, with water views from most windows. The contractor kept the footprint of the home and the original wood finishes — mahogany trim and cedar beadboard — and updated the sensibility along with all the infrastructure.
Scott Bennett, the Douglas Elliman agent who is listing the house says before renovation, the house was kind of a style of home “popular in the later 1970s-era with open layouts, dark wood and high ceilings — a cool style that was kicked to the curb for a while.” The owner took that and really pulled it together and gave it a modern, slightly European sensibility that dovetails into Malibu flair.
“The house packs in a lot for an attractive price point and has had significant investment from the current owner,” he says.
The 383-square-foot atrium-style great room on the first level features 19.7-foot ceilings, exposed brick walls, handsome wood trim and beadboard, a woodburning stove and expansive views over a creek and nature sanctuary. It offers views into the second-story bedrooms and egress into the dining room and open foyer leading into the kitchen. While walls and sliding glass doors provide separation, it’s all transparent, creating the sense of an open plan while still giving each room an identity and structure.
The renovation optimized the house’s green-energy potential, says Bennett. With its six oversize skylights in a southern exposure, the great room generates enough passive solar energy to heat the first level. Newly installed heat pumps are energy efficient and wherever it was possible, sustainable materials such as tile, cork and Silestone were used.
The kitchen and dining area are separated by a counter that seats three and, combined, comprise nearly 500 square feet. DIRT installed custom-fitted cabinets by the German company, Form, and topped them with Silestone counters. Stainless-steel appliances are by Samsung. Wood ceilings with exposed beams echo the rustic-wood theme elsewhere in the home; the new custom Terrazzo slab flooring completes the rehab. The dining area offers access outside through sliding glass doors and views of the creek and its lush greenery. On the opposite side of this level are a media room and office, combined in a flexible open space of 343 square feet.
The second floor is devoted to the 250-square-foot primary bedroom suite with a skylight and walk-in closet, and two smaller bedrooms of equal size that have access to a hallway bathroom. There’s a 256-square-foot room currently used as a yoga studio, accessed through the laundry room, and an adjacent small storage room. The bathrooms were renovated with colored, glazed European wall tiles and custom brass and copper faucets.Bennett says the furnishing were largely customized to the space and if desired, the home may be purchased as is with the contents negotiated in a separate transaction.
The basement level, with 7.4-foot ceilings, is unfinished and houses the mechanicals. The 322-square-foot attached garage fits one car and offers access into the kitchen, near the powder room.
The owner kept the original cedar siding on the exterior, staining it a dark color. While he rejuvenated the landscaping close to the house, he left the surrounding yard leading to the creek simple, and Bennett says the yard offers potential for expanding an outdoor entertaining area. The creek offers access to small boats such as kayaks and canoes, and access for larger or motor boats is at the end of the street. Beyond the creek and in clear view is Hog Neck Bay, which feeds into the Little Peconic Bay. There is capacity for a pool on site, as shown in renderings, and anticipating such, the owner installed an outdoor shower.
Wells Road is a one-way no-outlet street and, as such, remains quiet with only uber-local traffic to the houses along its stretch says Bennett, who calls it a “cul de sac without the circle.” It’s about 1.1 miles from the center of Peconic and 2.3 miles away, from the town of Southold, which he says, is “developing in a nice way – a really nice buzz without being off the charts.”
Nearby attractions include a number of local wineries, Founder’s Landing Park, Horton Point Lighthouse Nautical Museum and the Custer Institute and Observatory, Long Island’s oldest public observatory, which offers telescopic tours on Saturday evenings.
The home at 1235 Wells Road lists for $2,195,000 and the details can be see here.
