Five-bedroom home features gourmet kitchen
The five-bedroom stone-andclapboard home at 900 Lake Ave. in Greenwich is currently listed for $2.85 million by Peter Rosato, sales associate at Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage’s Stamford office.
“[This] pristinely maintained Lake Avenue residence offers all of today’s modern amenities, along with the character and warmth of a bygone era,” Rosato said.
It’s true that the antique home has been beautifully renovated and expanded to ensure that the entire home functions in a manner befitting a Greenwich luxury home.
The original part of the house dates back to 1790. Cathy Goldstein, who came to live here in 2017 with her husband and their children, suspects the property was originally a working farm. A barn had been incorporated into the house during a renovation and expansion of the house that was completed by a previous owner.
In the interiors, there remains evidence of the Colonial-era design and architecture, too.
“When you walk in, it’s not your typical Greenwich home, in the sense that you see a giant, sweeping staircase. Instead, you walk in and there’s the original, very cool, vintage staircase that was used back in the Colonial days,” Goldstein said. Plus, the “main chimney that runs through the heart of the house” — one of several fireplaces here — is likely original, too.
One of the stars among the 6,016 square feet of living space is the great room — created from that converted barn — with 20foot-high ceilings. It has a floor-toceiling fireplace at one end and opens out to a tiered patio that overlooks Converse Pond Brook.
“It’s a running stream that feeds into the Byram River,” the seller explained. “In the summer, you can open the windows and hear the trickle of water in the background — almost like a natural sound machine.”
Incorporated into the design of the kitchen are details like refrigerator drawers, three ovens, two dishwashers and a dumbwaiter.
“It’s extremely functional,” Goldstein reported on the kitchen. “It’s very well thought out and flows well. I do a lot of cooking, and we’ve hosted Thankgsivings and Jewish holidays in our home.”
Inevitably, guests tend to gravitate toward the kitchen, she noted.
The kitchen opens directly to the family room and two covered verandas, affording easy indoorto-outdoor entertaining flow.
“One thing we did change about the house, which helped with the flow and hosting was that we turned the dining room into the family room, and the family room into the dining room. This way, the kids can be in the adjacent family room while we’re in the kitchen,” she explained.
Among the other improvements the current owners made to the property, fencing was added to the 2-acre lot, and the floors were refinished. Goldstein said they opted for a darker finish than the prior blonde, which gives the interiors a more updated yet still stylistically cohesive.
Another room this family appreciated was what was an earlyera “dining porch,” where the residents might take meals around a large table while enjoying the fresh air and surroundings. For the Goldsteins, it became a favorite place for the kids to play.
The home has a total of five bedrooms, including the master suite. It affords an abundance of closet space, with built-in organization and a center island, as well as a luxurious bathroom with a freestanding soaking tub, built-in vanity and a separate, custom shower room.
The home’s lower level has been finished and could be used for any number of intentions, including a media room and home gym. There’s a dry sauna in place, as well as a full bath and a mudroom
Details
Address: 900 Lake Ave., Greenwich
Price: $2.85 million
Number of rooms: 13
Features: Sited on a 2-acre lot, 900 Lake Ave. is a 6,016-squarefoot circa-1790 antique colonial that has been renovated and expanded. The floor plan includes a great room with 20-foot ceilings and a fireplace; an eat-in chef’s kitchen; a formal dining room with a fireplace and built-ins; a family room; sitting room, home office space and more. This home has five bedrooms, five full baths and one partial bath. The attached lowerlevel garage has spaces for three vehicles.
Schools: Parkway Elementary, Western Middle, Greenwich High
on this level. The garage is oversized and offers shelter for three vehicles, with lots of additional parking space outside in the wide driveway.
The way the house is sited — perpendicular to the road, with manicured landscaping in the front and the vast track of land stretching out behind the house — it makes for a notably private setting.
“The backyard is huge, and we’ve often had playdates there with our children’s friends,” Goldstein recalled. The way the lower level is configured — with a bathroom just inside and a tiled floor for easy cleanup, say, when the kids were enjoying running through the sprinkler — was perfectly conducive to those occasions.
The property is located just minutes to downtown Greenwich. Close proximity to the Merritt Parkway will also pique the interest of buyers contending with a commute to New York City. “It’s a really welcome respite at the end of the day,” Goldstein said of this home.
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