The house: 193 Mead Street, Waccabuc, New York

The agent: Susan Stillman.

The broker: Houlihan Lawrence

Nick Churton of Houlihan Lawrence’s London office visits a heavenly retreat in Waccabuc, New York and lets his imagination soar.

Are you looking for a beautiful and peaceful retreat, dear reader? I didn’t know I was until I arrived here. Here, by the way, is a cottage high above picturesque Lake Waccabuc – only about an hour’s drive from frenetic New York City. A long pine-scented driveway leads to a woodland clearing with a stone-built house seemingly hewn from the hillside. The interior of the home is innocent of any pretence in a highly comfortable, mountain sort of way. Instead, the beguiling view and the people who enjoy the view are the essential components of this drama. It is like a theatre set where the players and the backdrop, not the stage props, hold the essential interest. Still, the rooms flow like great dialogue. Nothing jars; nothing upsets the rhythm of the place. All is quiet save for birdsong.

The home is set within thirteen acres and abuts preserved land – thus ensuring its seclusion and peace in perpetuity. The main house includes three bedrooms, a high vaulted open plan living area, and a magnificent floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace. There is a sophisticated modern kitchen with a view-to-die-for breakfast banquette and large open-air decks with eyrie vistas.

The detached two-car garage has additional accommodation, including an exercise room/office/studio with a bathroom.  Down by the lake are 300 ft of private shoreline and a large, rare and grandfathered-in dock. 

I learned that Waccabuc is a popular area for creatives. Actors, writers and artists like to live hereabouts and I can understand why. In 1956 Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller were married in the home of Miller’s literary agent just across the lake. 

Could you do with a place like this? Trust me, there is a chair outside in the clean, aromatic air overlooking the lake, with your name on it.