House of the Day: Country Living in Southampton
Price: $9,750,000
Location: Southampton, NY
Type of Home: Detached Home
Looking for an alternative to oversized, 'suburban' mansions, the owners of this Colonial home in Southampton, N.Y., put a premium on open spaces and easy living.
Anthony Mayo, 76 years old, and his wife Carol, 74, purchased this Colonial-style home in Southampton, N.Y., in 1981, Ms. Mayo said. She declined to state the purchase price. The couple decided to leave New York City around 1976, when Mr. Mayo, an attorney, decided to pull up stakes and start a car dealership in the Hamptons.
The couple first moved with their three children to a home in the Village of Southampton, but the property wasn't Ms. Mayo's style. The estate section of the village, as it's sometimes called, with its 12-foot hedges, felt too much like 'suburbia,' she said. So she made her case to Mr. Mayo: 'I told him, if he's going to make me live out here full-time, I want to feel like I live in the country.' After a four-year search, Mr. Mayo bought this 1913 home that abuts 65 acres of conservation land.
The main residence, a 5,500-square-foot Colonial-style home, instantly appealed to Ms. Mayo, she said. It wasn't like some of the newer houses popping up in the area. 'Today the homes are so big. I keep going, 'Who's using all the bathrooms?' Ms. Mayo joked. The living room is pictured above.
'It's just a beautiful old Colonial house,' Ms. Mayo said. A built-in bar in the living room is pictured above.
Some of Ms. Mayo's fondest memories of the home involve using the 22-acre property for family activities. When they first moved in, the couple's young children made full use of the land, with hobbies that included remote-control model airplanes and skating on a frozen pond. For a number of years, a tenant farmer used about 10 acres of the grounds.
As the children moved out and the Mayos got older, 'Now we're just maintaining it as a lawn,' Ms. Mayo said of the property, which is a large part of the reason why they're selling. The horse stables on the property are shown here.
The dining room, with fireplace, is pictured....
The main residence includes six bedrooms, four full bathrooms and one half bath. A third-floor bedroom is pictured....
The property also includes a pool house and pool area.
There are covered porches on both sides of the home, where Ms. Mayo has spent a lot of her time. She said it's not uncommon to spot turkeys, deer and other wildlife wandering the grounds.
Ms. Mayo, who is also one of the real-estate agents listing the property, said the home will require some upgrades by today's standards. The home and all the outbuildings, encompassing about 10 acres, are listed for $9.75 million. For the home and a total of 22 acres, including buildable land, the price is $18.5 million. Ms. Mayo and Tim Davis of Corcoran Group have the listing.