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The house: 117 West Patent Road, Bedford Hills, New York

Broker: Houlihan Lawrence

Agent: Cecilia Heller

Nick Churton from the Houlihan Lawrence London office takes a good, long look at a a very fine house in Bedford Hills, New York.

The world over, and for thousands of years, the long house has been a domestic architectural fixture across the Americas, Europe and Asia. The Vikings lived in them, so too did the British and the Iroquois people.

So what made long houses so popular? Form follows function in great design and the design of the long house made it ideal for large family living. And all those features and benefits that made them so functional years ago are just as apt today.

An excellent example is 117 West Patent Road, Bedford Hills, New York. This is a handsome, cupola-topped home that sits long on the ample property. It packs a powerful punch in the way of accommodation.

Being long means that one doesn’t have to delve into the basement for all the fun. Here the games room, the media room and the amazing wine cellar aren’t detached in the cellar but very much attached on the first floor. They are easy to reach and connect seamlessly and socially with the more formal reception rooms and kitchen.

It also means that one doesn’t have to go up two flights of stairs to reach second floor bedrooms – because they are all on the first floor.

117 West Patent Road looks long. It looks big. But it doesn’t really live big. That’s because it works for families as perfectly today as long houses have worked for thousands of years.