Dan's Papers - July 13, 2007 -

Every year, summer on the East End is filled with real estate events. This month, both the Designer Show House and the Idea House premiere. The Designer Show house features an exclusive estate showcasing the creative talents of renowned artisans and designers, who combine their craft for a cause and create a beautiful collaboration each season. This year, the show house, built by Gavalas Builders, will take place on 536 Ocean Road in Bridgehampton. The opening gala for the event held on the show house grounds on Saturday, July 21 at 6 p.m. Tickets for the gala fundraiser are $250 and all proceeds will go to benefit Southampton Hospital. General admission to the public will begin on Sunday July 22, everyday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. through September 2. Tickets for the tour include a journal cataloging all twelve of the contributors and their work for $30. Former show houses have included the one hundred year old Meadowcroft Estate in Quiogue and the beautiful Villa Maria in Water Mill. Last year, Peter Cook designed the elaborate Craftsman Style, also in Bridgehampton, that is now listed at $27 million. The designer show house has become one of the most anticipated real estate events in the Hamptons. It has gained national attention and has been featured in local and national newspapers, magazines and media, and has been recognized as one of the country's most successful projects of it kind. Mary Lynch, director of special events for Southampton Hospital, supervises and coordinates the effort each year.

On the grounds of the former Warner Leroy estate in Amagansett, the 2007 annual Hamptons Cottages and Garden Magazine Idea House is preparing for its grand opening and gala evening as well. The classic Hamptons shingle-style was designed by noted architect Steven Semmes. The innovative design blends the modern with the traditional. Twenty designers have lent their hand in this project, expecting to make it one of the most visited real estate events of the summer. The gala opening will take place this week inside the Idea House on July 13 at 12 Southwood Court in Amagansett. The builder, Richard J. Gerardi, is the principal owner of Sand Dollar Development, whose work has been featured in the New York Times and Builders Magazine and specializes in custom built high-end homes. Each season the Idea House showcases current area trends both in building and design. Each of its twenty rooms has been thoughtfully created by a different designer. Advance Tickets to the gala cost $150 and all proceeds benefit Guild Hall. The Idea House will be open to the public on July 14 to 15 to benefit Guild Hall and again on July 19 to 22 to benefit the Parrish Art Museum. Tickets cost $20 at the door.

Over the years, the Hamptons has seen events held in countless mansions for endless causes and house tours through the historic village sections have become a favorite summer pastime. During the US Open, WCI, a developer of resort communities, set up in a Southampton mansion to show their premiere golf villas in Palm Beach Florida. It is common for open house events to include fullscale cocktail parties on the oceanfront in one estate or the other. Corcoran unveiled a Georgica Pond project at the Woelffer Vineyard in Sagaponack. The modernist mansion will be built into the landscape and conform to its natural surroundings. The property is listed at $18 million and will be completed in 2008. The vineyard properties have become popular venues for such events and the number of vineyards on the East End are growing all the time.

On the North Fork, where there are already more than 35 vineyards, the newly built Duck Walk Winery and tasting room has now opened for business. Its sister location in Southampton is almost identical in size and style so that one easily recognizes the Duckwalk footprint. The North Fork location sits smack dab in the heart of the wine country, directly on the main road, Route 25, along with all of the other larger and well-known vineyards. Some of the vineyards have enlarged and most have facilities for weddings and other catering events.

The Clovis Point Vineyard, another new concern on the North Fork, is also in the process of getting underway, but has not yet opened its tasting room doors to the public in Cutchogue.