Mayfair International Realty is an international real estate network representing 450 offices in 14 countries, three continents and seven time zones.
It's a company which espouses the belief that 'every apartment, cottage, house and mansion has a story to tell' — and that by telling those stories, they play their part in finding the new owners who will write their own new chapters.
Here we feature three remarkable homes on the market through Mayfair International Realty in New England — and as you'd expect, each provides a wonderful tale.
You can follow Mayfair International Realty on Facebook and Instagram.
32 Ocean Drive: Winning Hearts and Minds
Today the Hamptons in Long Island is known the world over as a popular playground for the rich and famous. But before we get to such names as Barbara Streisand and Dustin Hoffman we must delve back further in American social history.
In the middle of the 19th century industrialists woke up to the potential of a small village on the south fork of Long Island. East Hampton had been founded two hundred years before by Puritan farmers, and since then its occupants had enjoyed a quiet life in this sleepy backwater. All that was to change when a railroad was built from New York City to East Hampton.
On completion of the railway Robert Southgate Bowne — the first president of the Long Island Railroad — built himself a house just a few minutes’ walk from the pretty village, making him perhaps the first celebrity to move to the Hamptons. The house was an attractive shingle-clad building under a mansard or gambrel roof, and was typical of the area’s architectural style which reflected its farming origins.
Bowne’s original Hamptons mansion is now on the market, and despite all that has happened to East Hampton in the intervening years, it is very much the same as its first owner left it. Above, all the house has become part of the fabric and history of the area and offers the buyer potentially a ready-made entry to Hamptons’ society. The house is slightly set apart from others, giving it extra gravitas, but it is still central to the comings and goings of the now celebrated East Hampton social life.
It is difficult to imagine the number of local gatherings which have been held in this house over the years, from business to social, cultural, artistic and political. That brings us to Barbara Streisand, who once gave a political fund-raising speech from the stairs while Dustin Hoffman finished a game of pool in an adjacent room.
The new buyer will gain more than a fine house with bags of potential. It will also be an opportunity to modernise and create a Hamptons house that will impress minds and win hearts.
32 Ocean Drive is for sale through Brown Harris Stevens, East Hampton, New York, $10,995,000. Contact Elizabeth Wohl – mobile 001 (646) 645-0125; and James MacMillan — mobile 001 (516) 702-5674. bhsusa.com
Grahampton, 100 Clapboard Ridge Road: For Want of a Kiss
By 1900 Greenwich, Connecticut had become a glittering place to live – whilst elsewhere in America the shine had started to wear off the Gilded Age. Greenwich’s good fortune was in no small part thanks to its early resort quality and to its speedy commute to New York City by train. One by one, stately houses were built in Greenwich for the well-to-do.
Grahampton is one of the great Greenwich houses. There are echoes of the past in the hallways and living rooms, which would have been used to host great occasions, a magnificent society wedding for a cherished daughter perhaps. It is easy to imagine. But here is a house that has defied age. Through inspired original design, Grahampton has remained in vogue through the decades.
Built in 1917 as a summer residence for a wealthy Pittsburgh family, the estate initially had 300 acres; now it is a more manageable five acres. This house was built to enjoy and to impress, and over a hundred years later it still effortlessly manages to do both in equal measure. Despite the passage of time, the grandeur persists, the pedigree shows, and Grahampton remains one of Greenwich’s finest homes.
We all have to catch our breath now and again, and over time houses must do the same. Here is a sleeping beauty, and all that’s needed to awaken her is a kiss.
Grahampton, 100 Clapboard Ridge Road, Greenwich, Connecticut - $11,500,000 For sale through Houlihan Lawrence, Greenwich, Connecticut. Contact Julie Church — mobile 001 (203) 561-9373; houlihanlawrence.com
27 Hampshire Road: Mighty House
This Tudor style property near Bronxville, New York was once the home of Paul Terry, co-founder of Terrytoons, the animation studio that created cartoon characters such as Mighty Mouse and Deputy Dawg. The house was built in 1935 when the studio was only in its sixth year.
Today the word cartoon is associated with humorous or satirical caricature, and in a way Terry Manor uses parody to draw on English 16th century architectural themes. But in the Italian Renaissance cartone meant an extensive and very detailed drawing, and similarly this house is a painstaking work expressing the serious ideas of several owners spanning almost ninety years.
A fresh, stunning and sympathetic refurbishment has just been completed using a fabulous team of craftspeople. The attention to detail throughout is astonishing, and if one had only a word to describe the house it would be romantic. The house is a love story awaiting new owners on whom to sprinkle more stardust.
On a practical level, if there is a property that can offer such a park-like feel, wraparound terrace, pool and romance just 20 minutes from New York City, it will take a great deal of finding.
27 Hampshire Road, Bronxville, New York - $5,195,000 For sale through Houlihan Lawrence, Bronxville, New York. Contact Susan Kelty Law — mobile 001 (914) 659-5856; houlihanlawrence.com
To see more extraordinary homes from around the world, visit mayfairinternationalrealty.com
-
If the future of Ferrari is electric vehicles, then it is our future tooIt's widely believed that Ferrari will unveil its first electric car this year. It's the signal that the internal combustion era is coming to an end.
-
Gaze over Cap Ferrat in this four-bedroom French villaIgnore the wind and the rain. Imagine yourself in this hillside home with some of the best views the Mediterranean can offer.
-
Code8: Beauty on Burlington ArcadeCome along Burlington Arcade with Hetty Lintell to visit beauty gurus Code8, and try their new Day To Night Foundation.
-
The gift of growingEntirely built to suit your needs, a bespoke Alitex greenhouse not only helps you nurture flowers and vegetables, but also offers a tranquil retreat from the pressures of daily life.
-
The ultimate Canadian train journeyExperience the spectacular scenery of the Canadian Rockies onboard the luxury and top-tier service of Rocky Mountaineer.
-
The Art of Lighting: Four of Britain's top designers share their best tips for choosing lightingAt a recent panel discussion hosted at Vaughan’s London showroom during Focus/24, interior designers Emma Pocock and Sarah Peake, lighting designer Jo Mann of Lighthouse Designs and Richard Smith of Vaughan shared their top 10 tips on choosing lighting.
-
The beauty of bespoke: A journey with Julia Lloyd GeorgeGoing bespoke with Julia Lloyd George means getting not just a piece of jewellery, but a lifelong treasure.
-
Hancocks: Sparkle of geniusHistoric jewellery firm Hancocks, now in its new St James’s home, specialises in old-cut diamonds pieces that gleam and turn heads even in low light.
-
The timeless appeal of Vaughan and the secrets of good lighting to be unpacked by four of Britain's top designersFor more than four decades, Vaughan has combined inspiration from past and present to create beautifully crafted lighting, furniture and textiles that will stand the test of time.
-
The glittering new home of Hancocks London, the jeweller that makes the Victoria CrossThe new home of Hancocks London celebrates the historic brand’s history of making exquisite jewellery and providing the bespoke service that befits them.
