My dream homes – This Old House 2

Down Country Roads

I may swear at the typical dreary spring weather or long winters we get here in New England, but in truth the list of what I love is far longer than the issues I complain about. The old stone walls and foundations and quarries, etc. are among my favorites. Houses dating back as far as the 1600’s are a treasure too. Many 1700 and 1800’s houses are fully functional and the history present because of them is something I would miss terribly if I were to move away from the area.

We’re on our third day of dreary rain, but it’s good for the newly planted things outside and the trees who are pushing out their spring leaves and flowers. The guy and I took a ride over the river -just because- yesterday, traveling back country roads we have not paid much attention to before. We both love exploring areas not far from home to discover hidden gems like one. I was standing on a bridge crossing a river as I took this picture of a lovely 1800’s home… what a beautiful spot to come home to, no?

Kate’s Place

I’ve mentioned before my long time admiration for actress Katharine Hepburn. Previous post HERE. Yesterday, Mike was asked by one of his subcontractors to come look at some cedar shingle siding work at a home in the seaside hamlet of Fenwick, Old Saybrook. He knew I love the area and asked me if I’d like to tag along. Incredibly, we came up close and personal with the now refurbished estate of the late great Kate. It was bought years ago after her passing by a contractor who did a beautiful job raising it three feet, brick intact!…He then rejuvenated the interior, which had been left kind of ramshackle with very little updating since the 1940’s. It was on the market for a period of time once the renovation was complete, but currently remains as the contractors summer home if the articles I’ve read on it are accurate.

Since I was just yards away from Kates place while the men talked about cedar siding and it’s virtues, I wandered around and marveled at the home that has such a history. There are large security cameras around the house, so big brother might just have been watching. I can only hope they won’t be offended by a Kate Hepburn fan in her glories, admiring this grand old dame of a house,once occupied by the grand old dame herself.

Some pics of Kate at her beloved estate…

This is how she liked to dry her clothes… in the sun on the lawn. Note the circular rock jetty formation, which you will see in a photo further down.

Kate was in her 70’s when this photo below was taken..she took a daily swim, year round.That’s snow in the picture.

The house as it stands now, from the road. This is as close as you should get if you are not a resident. In front of the house is the brackish water pond Kate loved. Behind it is the ocean.

This canoe, Gertrude, was kept at Fenwick.

once used in her film – On Golden Pond –

The old brick and chimney remained intack despite being raised three feet, I find that amazing. It was not a striking home originally, although large..and the new owner/contractor has made some lovely additions to soften the face.

The House as it was for Kate…

..and now. The Interior has changed dramatically. This is something I find a little sad, as it has lost some Kate character, although the renovation of course is beautifully done. If I had had my druthers with the place, I would have kept more of the original guts.

I do love the brick, which they have sandblasted to expose more of the natural brick color…unique in a seaside home. I’m guessing it was chosen to fortify the home after it had been destroyed in the Hurricane of 1938.

Ms. Hepburn rebuilt it for her family, still a young starlet in Hollywood at the time.She remained here until she died in her mid 90’s.

She had a view of two lighthouses in the immediate distance…

Saybrook Breakwater Lighthouse…first activated in 1886

And Linde Point Lighthouse ..

Fenwick is a haven that a lucky few get to call home.

It’s easy to see how a public figure of such fame could enjoy a peaceful

existence here for all the decades of her life.

Well that sucks

Because I was over the moon in love with the house of decrepitute on the water in the post below, I did further research last night, and learned it is already on deposit. *sigh* Not only that…. the taxes on the old girl as she stands right now, are $18,000. annually. Once we renovated, the value would go up and our taxes per year would be somewhere in the mid $20K’s… That’s just not do-able unless we win some major lottery in the coming year. So , for now, our seaside fixer-upper remains a pipe dream.

The sad thing is not really that it’s out of our league… what I find disheartening is many of these homes which have been on the Connecticut Shoreline for over 100 years, are being torn down and in their place, bigger and in some cases tacky residences are being put back up. The old trees around them come down too. We are the rare exception that prefer to renovate and keep the old house standing….and to be fair, that’s probably because M has the ability to do so. What’s worse – to the average middle class family?… it will never be feasible again to have a second home or even ONLY home.. on the water for summer family enjoyment. This is a dream that was far more attainable 30-40 years ago. Nowadays, even if you can afford the purchase price, the taxes will kill you instead.

I am going to follow the house’s progress, and will report back to you exactly what the soon-to-be owner does with her. Do you think maybe, if it turns out to be a tear-down (likely)…. they’ll let me have the purple glass door knobs? I just might ask. If I do, I’ll make one of them a give-away on the blog.

Another Grand Old Dame

This 1890 beach house here in Connecticut has been for sale for some time. It’s not abandoned, but severely neglected and only occasionally visited by the owner. We heard it was on deposit when we first inquired last year, but it is for sale once again at a drastically reduced price. I wonder if Hurricane Irene has something to do with that. She sits right on the water with a high seawall, no room for expansion, as the houses on either side are right up next to it. Mike is going to look into whether it can be salvaged as is… a girl can dream, you know.

We walked around the outside only, M wanting to determine if the house is sound before pestering the realtor. The pics are taken through glass, a bit rude, but there are similar pics online, so, hopefully no offense.
I love the old fireplace. We’d sandblast it to get the paint off and bring it back to its original face.