Martha's Vineyard Real Estate Spotlight Property
Menemsha Pond Views with a Touch of Tuscany
A winding private road in Chilmark leads to this private country estate with a spectacular view over Menemsha Pond. This 1.2-acre property gains its own privacy by bordering two large neighboring parcels of land, set off by classic stone walls.
“This place is a bird lovers delight,” the owner said. “The living level is up a flight so you feel like you are living with the birds in the trees. Otters, ospreys, hawks, deer and baby fawns frolic about.” A summer evening when the night is filled with fireflies is magical.
The owners selected a tumbling-down barn in Maine built in 1790 to create their post and beam home. Each piece of hemlock was numbered, taken down and reassembled on their land. “The day they took it down the whole town came out to watch. It was going to be bulldozed and buried but we saved it,” the owner said.
The entranceway has a bluestone-tiled floor and is a landing that leads upstairs to the living area and downstairs to the bedroom level.
“The house interior is the color of buttermilk, sunny and warm,” the owner said. “We both wanted a Tuscan feel so the walls are plastered; we mixed the color right into the plaster.”
The living area is all open with soaring ceilings above and wide board yellow pine floors under foot. To the left is the dining room and kitchen with state-of-the-art appliances, granite countertops and cherry cabinets. A walk-in pantry features a sliding glass door with an Art Deco design.
A separate seating alcove leads to the living room with a loft overhead. A central stone chimney has gas fireplaces on either side. There are two small balconies on the pond side and the living area has doors leading to a side deck, a favorite spot of the owners. “We watch the water shimmer in the summer sun and feel the warm southerly breezes.”
The owners have constant entertainment overlooking the pond. “Amazing sunsets every night, summer boat racing and a sculling group early morning,” she said. “Summer star gazing and shooting stars galore.”
The lower level of the house has three bedrooms and an open space that could be an office or child’s play area. This area has imported French limestone flooring with radiant heat. The master bedroom has a gas fireplace, large walk-in closets and bathroom with a steam shower and soaking tub that overlooks the pond.
Two guest bedrooms with French doors open onto a stone patio. A utility area and laundry area complete the level. The home has propane heat, central air conditioning and a generator. Outdoors is a small garden storage shed.
It’s a short ride to Squibnocket Beach, the owners’ favorite. “Seals, whale watching, a pair of nesting oystercatchers, terns, sandpipers – the best sunrise dog walk on the Vineyard,” she said. Chilmark town center and Lucy Vincent Beach are a short ride away.
“I know most people coming to the Vineyard are looking for a beach house which this isn't,” she said. “It is a solid year-round home which transports you to the hills of Italy.”
Offered at: $2,100,000
For more information, please contact:
Natalie Conroy
Conroy & Company
508-645-3533
www.conroymv.com
Photography by Bob Gothard
Photo styling by Kathryn Tate Interiors
Text by Susan Catling
