One of the first celebrity houses I ever featured was Richard Gere’s place in Water Mill, and I loved its clean, classic old-farmhouse style. When I heard he’s selling his current home in North Haven, I had to check it out…
The house was built in 1902 and is known as “Strongheart Manor.”
According to Curbed, “It’s been renovated and expanded since then, with two additional guest houses, an outdoor fireplace pavilion, and of course a tea house set in the middle of a pond in front of the coastline. In all, there are twelve bedrooms and twelve baths in 12,000 sf set on 6.3 waterfront acres.”
It originally went on the market for $69.5 million in 2013. It’s back again, asking “only” $47.5.
Love this kitchen. Here’s a photo from the former listing that shows it from the opposite side of the room:
He bought the house in 2005 for $6.9 million and apparently put a lot of work into the property since then.
The listing says, “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to own a truly spectacular waterfront property on the Gold Coast in North Haven. The bay front compound, which consists of 3 single and separate lots, spans an impressive 6.30 acres and includes 300 ft of bay frontage, dock permits and room for tennis.”
Like it? For more photos and information, check the listing with Douglas Elliman Real Estate. He sold this farmhouse in 2009, and I loved it, too! 🙂
P.S. Visit my Celebrity Houses page for more, including Brooke’s Place:
Yeah, I could live there.
Stunning! Richard Gere has excellent taste + (probably) a very talented designer! His Bedford Post Inn, http://www.bedfordpostinn.com/#, has the same elegant, restrained New England style as this house.
Ooh, I hadn’t seen that. Thanks, Kay!
Ah, that tea house down near the water is precious. Seems like he may have over spent on his improvements to the house for it to sell for so much money. It is a lovely house, but really big. It needs a large family to fill all those rooms. But those porches are inviting. I could just go sit on the porch and be happy!
I think you’re probably right — it’s going to make it a tough sell, which is probably why he’s already lowered the price as much as he has.
12 bedrooms and 12 thousand square feet?! Wow. Just wow.
The exterior is very appealing.
Inside, I love the wooden floors, and the lattice screens in the bathroom. I would want to redo the kitchen and bathroom(s?) though – too much marble, too cold. And bizarrely I really don’t like those light fixtures (hey, if I’m spending that kind of money on the house then I’m sure I can spare some to ‘tweak’ a little, right? lol).
The views and porches are heavenly, as is the tea-house, in which I can just imagine myself having a leisurely breakfast overlooking the water (mental note: need to install a toaster down there – it would never stay warm travelling from the house-kitchen all that way).
And I could definitely cope with that pool.
If he could just come down a *little* further on the price….
Oh my! Love this! As Kay said, he must have excellent taste. I love the rustic vibe in the foyer, and I was hoping that vibe would continue throughout. The rest of the place is a bit more formal, but still gorgeous! Why would he even want to sell it, I wonder?
Wow! What a place! Very Zen like.
Both the house and the asking price are stunning! I’ll take it with the furnishings! (except for the “head” lying on the table on the porch)
But seriously, this is a gorgeous property. He did a great job with it.
It’s a lovely house in a fantastic location, but the two don’t really go together. I don’t like cutesy-beachy, but I think a beach house should be a little less formal and austere. It’s obvious that a lot of work went into it, because it looks like a new house – not very 1902.
I have serious porch-envy!
Just perfect and perfectly suited to the area and location. The right mix of casual and New England formality. Hopefully the next owner won’t feel compelled to redo everything.
Possibly my favorite house on earth. Stunning. And that screened-in porch….
I am absolutely stunned at the price though. I know it’s the Hamptons and all that implies, but I’d love to see what the same house would be priced in “normal” markets around the country. (Not that I could afford it anywhere anyway, but one can dream).
Where do I pick up the keys?
You’ll have to pry them out of my hands, Wendy. Ha. 😉
Lovely. The guest house looked plenty big to me. The price is crazy, though.
Are you staying warm there, Julia? Our thermometer outside is registering 0 here in the NC mountains. And that’s not counting the windchill. Not used to such extremes here in the south, even though it is the mountains.
Not very warm here, either, I’m afraid. About 0 this morning, with a -17 wind chill, so they actually delayed the start of school by a couple of hours so the kids wouldn’t freeze at their bus stops. Brrr. I’m ready for Spring already! 🙂
Yes, they delayed school here, too. I can’t imagine those kids waiting at a bus stop. And teenagers never feel that it’s cool to dress warmly, at least as I remember with my kids’ generation. Girls wear tights with no socks. Hopefully they’ll wear their boots today!
So true, Carolyn! I begged my son to take a coat and gloves back to school with him but he refused, so now I’m here worrying about how he’s walking all over his college campus in Indiana without them. Lily said the boys at her school still turn up in shorts on winter days. I hope they had more sense than that today!
Maybe that 69 Million price tag included Richard Gere? 🙂
Maybe! Ha.
This house and its furnishings are EXACTLY my style.
just lovely. very minimalist, moody & manly. love the spaces, all of the black accents and the exteriror!
I knew I liked Richard Gere for more reasons that just being an actor…I love his style…what a gorgeous, gorgeous home!..from the interiors to the exterior…and that breathtaking view….I can just imagine how wonderful it would be to sit in that tea house!
Does he come with it?
This is my kind of place. Clean, bright, open an understated. That porch is to die for. My only criticism is that the pool is rather baron looking with no shade but oh, if I had the funds…….
That is a very thoughtful home, beautifully decorated. Looks so comfortable and lived in.