Last year, the venerable Pew Research report estimated that some 18 percent of households are considered multigenerational—a finding based on census data collected over the past 50 years. If you’re looking to be part of that trend, then this eight-bedroom traditional house might be up your alley.
Actually, it’s up Sheppard Street on Quiogue, a “Hamlet Heritage Resource Area” on the peninsula surrounded by Quantuck Bay. It’s known for its cluster of heritage houses built by local craftsmen, including “summer colony cottages” distinguished by their cedar shake shingles.
“There are fewer than 50 houses in the neighborhood,” Ashley J. Farrell, the Corcoran agent co-representing the listing, estimates. “They are all stately generational homes, like compounds.” Built in 1925, the house at 16 Sheppard, she says, was “made for entertaining, Gatsby-style.”
Owned by the same family for some three decades, the 4,410-square-foot house, called “The Breezes,” has been maintained and updated, though has not undergone ultra-modern renovations that would change its character.
On the ground level, the house is entered through a foyer flanked by twin powder rooms, before opening into the expansive 730-square-foot living room with a wood burning fireplace and original exposed ceiling beams. Handsome paneling original to the house extends to the ceiling on the wall housing the fireplace, matching the decorative detail and framing of the high mantle.
Built-in bookcases line the two small hallways on either side of the fireplace that lead to the 500-square-foot sunroom, now used as a family media and game room. Once part of the exterior and now fully converted to interior use, it incorporates the ornamental fountain that was previously a garden water feature.
The other wood-burning fireplace is in the 300-square-foot dining room, which features a built-in hutch. Throughout the three rooms, French doors with transoms line the back of the house opening out onto a brick patio and the back lawn. The ground-level ceilings are nearly nine feet high.
The 550-square-foot eat-in kitchen has a Viking gas range, Traulsen commercial-grade refrigerator and a walk-in pantry, and can handle large meal prep with ample work and storage space. The kitchen’s egress is to a paved courtyard suitable for outdoor dining and a breezeway to the garage. The mudroom and outdoor shower are both accessed through the kitchen.
The handsome wood staircase lands onto a window-lined, 50-plus-foot hallway that runs the entire length of the house and joins the seven bedrooms. At the northern wing is a suite of three smaller bedrooms, originally occupied by staff and with a staircase leading to the kitchen. They share two bathrooms.
One of the three secondary bedrooms could be made entirely en-suite, while the other two share a hallway bathroom. They range in size from 136 to 200 square feet and enjoy afternoon light.
At the southern end of the home, the 300-square-foot primary suite features a large bathroom, a 200-square-foot balcony and views over the bay.
The three-car detached garage offers bonus guest space on the second floor with a heated 255-square-foot, loft-style room, 10.5-feet ceilings and a full bathroom.
The owners kept it simple outside, prioritizing recreation amenities over formal gardens in the 1.5-acre lot. The 20×40 gunite pool (not heated) features a wide-tone patio around it. There’s a regulation-size, hard-surface tennis court and a putting green. The entire lot is ringed with privet hedges; other foliage includes mature hardwoods.
Sheppard Street is a five-minute walk to Quiogue Point, a short drive (1.6 miles) to the beach and Westhampton Beach’s Main Street (.6 miles). Westhampton Beach has been a destination popular with families from its early days, and that small-town vibe is still present. A clear advantage, says Farrell, is its location as the gateway to the Hamptons.
“It is a monster commute in the summer, and this is first [entry] to the Hamptons, so you have the shortest commute. It can be meaningful and measurable,” she says.
16 Sheppard Street lists for $3,799,000 and the full details are here.
