The East Hampton Historical Society presents its 39th annual House & Garden Tour, celebrating some of the finest examples of East End architecture. This year’s tour — consisting of five distinguished houses — is scheduled for Saturday, November 30, from 1 to 4:30 p.m. A cocktail party will be held at Maidstone Club on Friday, November 29, from 6 to 8 PM.
The East Hampton Historical Society’s House Tour Committee has creatively selected houses that express the unique spirit of living on the East End. The annual tour offers a once-in-a-lifetime glimpse inside some of East Hampton’s most intriguing residences… each with a unique story to tell. Drenched in history and hidden just behind the hedgerows or down a long and winding lane, this year’s tour aims to inspire, delight, and invite appreciation for the stewardship of some of these most charming properties.
One of the homes featured is The Pink House on Egypt Lane. To local historians, this pale pink-tinged shingled home is known as the George Eldredge House, built by East Hampton’s premier builder of the summer colony and self-taught architect in 1876. The place has an elegant and modern flow with its wide hallways and extra-wide doorways. Designer Steven Gambrel renovated it for its previous owners, who were looking for an English clubby-feel with dark walls and heavy paneling. The present owners brought Gambrel back to lighten it up and provide a more casual, beachy atmosphere to reflect its nearness to the ocean. The wide-plank oak floors were all bleached the color of driftwood, and the wall colors include quiet neutrals and pastels.
The first noticeable change came with the outside makeover: a brick retaining wall spaced with a cinnabar-colored entrance gate. The sunken living room has a notable coffered ceiling and one of the six original fireplaces. The kitchen has been made larger and contains an incredible terra-cotta colored, 8-burner Lacanche range. Art, books, and antiquities abound.
The property seems vastly larger than its 1.2 acres and is created for relaxed entertaining. To start, there’s an outdoor kitchen, an enclosed 18-seat dining table at one end of the terrace, a teal-painted potting shed, and a rather stately pathway lined with 26 crepe myrtle trees with their peeling bark. One oddity in the Village Zoning Code: the charming wisteria-covered, two-story cottage is split down the middle, with the next-door neighbor owning half. At the far end, past the pool, is a long pavilion whose red lattice roof throws enticing squares of light and shadows down its rustic stone floor, a hangout for all ages of the family to lounge on cherry-upholstered couches under dark basket-weave lighting.
Additional homes included on the House & Garden Tour are a hexagonal beach house belonging to interior designer David Netto, a historical gem on Main Street, an oasis of chic in Springs, and the carriage house of the iconic Grey Gardens. To reserve, visit easthamptonhistory.org.
