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Nick Churton from Mayfair International Realty hits the heights of conservation vision and artistry when he visits a converted stable block in Mamaroneck, New York.

Broker: Houlihan Lawrence

Agent: Cini Palmer

The trouble with lofts is that they are often at the top of buildings in densely populated towns and cities. But what if you long for the loft look but want to be nearer the ground, out of town and in a great family neighbourhood – perhaps on a sophisticated and historic estate? What if you want to be a few blocks from the beach and not the docks?

Well, 1010 Constable Drive, Mamaroneck must be the perfect answer – loft-style living in the form of a fabulous converted carriage house and stable block. This was originally part of the Constable estate. The Constable family owned, what was once, the oldest department store in America. The company operated from 1825 to 1975. At its peak the Broadway store handled the bulk of the carriage trade of New York – with customers such as Vanderbilt, Rockefeller and Morgan – mirroring Harrods in London that was founded just a year earlier.

The influential Olmsted Brothers landscaped the original estate on Orienta Point. Not much of that survives now. But the stables and carriage house does. Originally built in 1893 the attractive block, set in 0.58 acres, enjoys a sensational position with views over Long Island Sound. When the leaves are off the trees in winter this view stretches to the Manhattan skyline. This emphasises the closeness the city is to Mamaroneck – the local Metro North station is just minutes away from the property and Grand Central station about 35 minutes beyond that.

The history of the building has been creatively captured and featured in this recent restoration. Exposed and white-painted brick walls soar to lofty timber slatted ceilings. Windows and doors have Gothic accents. Stripped oak floors stretch as far as the eye can see. And in this building the eye can see a long way – the great room is 49′ x 34′. The marble island unit in the kitchen seems about as big as a small flat.

Outside, the original brick courtyard provides an impressive and charming introduction to this airy, light filled home which offers magnificent family living. There is also plenty of room for a pool and tennis court in the grounds.

It would be hard not to let your imagination soar here. So if you have some lofty ideals about what you want in a home this may well fit the bill.

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Nick Churton of Mayfair International Realty finds it impossible to fault a lovely waterside shingle-style home close to Rye, New York.

Broker: Houlihan Lawrence

Agent: Nancy Everett

Most buyers look at a good few homes before they make a final decision. It is the right and sensible thing to do. The trouble comes when the first one they see is as near to perfect as one will get. Many buyers will still think they need to see more properties just to be convinced.

I imagine this happening at 4 Sackett Landing, Rye, New York. What’s there not to like here? The position is idyllic: a sheltered waterside spot within sight of Long Island Sound. Rye itself is a favoured spot for New York commuters (Grand Central 35 minutes) and popular with families for the excellent school district. So, no argument there. Location – tick.

Now take your time outside. Try it out. Enjoy the garden. Lie down on a sun bed on the wide, partially covered deck that wraps round the house. Take in the serene view. Watch the wildlife. Listen to nothing much. It is coastally bucolic. No argument there. Life outside – tick.

Go inside. Sit down in the comfortable living room or behind the desk in the light, bright study. Take in the superb carpentry – the craftsmanship is wonderful – and gaze out of the plentiful picture windows. Pretend you are preparing food in the slate-topped kitchen – it’s that view again. Go upstairs. Ask nicely and sit on the end of the bed. Imagine waking up to that every day. There is a basement. But it’s not really a basement. In the UK a basement is often a dark, windowless place. This is a fully functioning airy ground/garden floor. Imagine everyone gathering there in the big family room and spilling out onto the lawn. Imagine a family member, guest or staff using the garden floor bedroom suite. Take in the way that the interior has been perfectly conceived, beautifully executed and impeccably maintained. No arguments there either. Life inside – tick.

So there you have it. A lovely house that ticks all the boxes and makes it completely unnecessary to go and look at anything else.

Nick Churton of Mayfair International Realty is almost lost for words after visiting a sensational home close to the heart of Greenwich, Connecticutt.

Broker: Houlihan Lawrence

Agents: BK Bates and Ginny Hamilton

Superlatives are tricky things in real estate. If you squander them easily to over-describe a home which is merely very good then what do you use for a home that is truly exquisite?

By any measure 11 Mayfair Lane Greenwich, Connecticut is exquisite. Words like attractive, spacious, delightful and impressive have no place here. ‘Exceptional’ does.

Take 13 acres close to the centre of Greenwich and create a magnificent landscape, using rock outcrops to punctuate the grassy space, through which the drive winds dramatically under a canopy of fine trees to a stately and beautifully placed stone chateau. It is a master class in landscape architecture. It is living theatre. Andropogon Associates of Philadelphia, whose committed principle is ‘designing with nature’, had the stagecraft and the vision. And it is a vision.

Then who would have thought that a modern, high-tech and minimalist approach to interior design could work so brilliantly within the highly traditional form of a robust, French-styled manor house originally built in 1930? In 1998 design duo, Bray-Schaible did. In fact they were years ahead of their time. Many other designers are now rushing to catch up. In the world of Greenwich real estate today, sleek sells. And this house is sleek, and it is magnificent, and it is grand, and it is romantic and it is exquisitely comfortable. Architectural Digest certainly regarded it so and wrote a major article in their October, 1999 issue to celebrate it all. And if anything this home has improved with age and loving use.

So if you seek a house of superlatives, and not of lesser terms, then this is the perfect place.

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Nick Churton from Mayfair Interenational Realty takes a very fond look at a magnificent waterside family compound in Rye, New York that comes with a very special view and a fabulous extra.

Broker: Houlihan Lawrence

Agent: Michael McCooey

Boat enthusiasts will need little introduction to the Hinckley Company. The Maine-based boat builders have been making some of the finest yachts in the world since 1928. For many it is a life ambition to own, or have owned, one. For a few one will never be enough.

So here is a great way to acquire a Hinckley. One comes as standard with 96 Rye Road, Rye, New York.

The Hinckley aesthetic – ‘sleek, sculpted lines that belong naturally to the water’ – is perfectly reflected in this compound home overlooking Long Island Sound. It starts at the front door. Through-the-home, front-to-back views are one thing but this is quite another. A vast, wall-size picture window greets and then draws one to the epic views across the Sound to Long Island – and, of course, to the Hinckley sitting prettily and all ready to go beside the deep-water private boat dock. You could be at the Huntingdon Yacht Club on Long Island ready to eat seafood fra diavolo, washed down with a chilled bottle of Joseph Drouhin Puligny-Montrachet in not much more than 30 minutes.

The property comes in three parts: the main house, a spacious four bedroom guest or family house and a delightful and compact guest studio apartment with fabulous wake-up-to views – I’d be very happy in the studio!

There is also a wine closet, mirrored gym and au pair/guest suite. Outside is a water’s-edge pool with stone entertaining terrace, private beach, tennis court and garaging for eight cars.

All this is only half an hour from Manhattan by train and is in the prized Rye school district. So whether you are single with lots of friends or a family with lots of children or generations this luxury compound pretty much hits the spot. Ask for more details from the listing agent, Michael McCooey. He’s as charming as the property. And if you are very serious about buying the property I would ask for a ride in the Hinckley. It will make your day and help to make up your mind that this piece of real estate has it all – on and off the water.

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Nick Churton of Mayfair International Realty visits a rare and inspirational estate on the Hudson River in New York.

Broker: Houlihan Lawrence

 Agent: John R Friend

Most people wouldn’t happily choose to live next to a major arterial route of any description. But here is a big exception, right next to the USA’s first important trunk road – the Hudson River. The 315-mile waterway has its source high in the Adirondack Mountains and flows into the Atlantic Ocean by New York City. On its way it cuts through the ancestral territories of the Iroquois and Mohican tribes. The river, that helps connect New York City with the Great Lakes, became the gateway to the American interior for early trappers and settlers. The English and Dutch colonised the wide fertile valley that became the inspiration for writers like James Fenimore Cooper, Washington Irving and Edith Wharton, and artists of the Hudson River School.

In the Gilded Age great industrialists and financiers such as the Vanderbilts, Rockefellers and Astors built fine homes alongside the river. These homes brought cool respite from the airless and repressive heat of summers in the city. Today many of these homes like Boscobel, Kykuit and the Vanderbilt Mansion are open to the public and are well worth visiting.

What is not open to the public is Atalanta in Red Hook, New York. Set in an elevated position on the eastern bank of the Hudson, Atalanta is not so much an estate as a small country – or so it seems. Approached through 289 acres of park, beautifully landscaped in the English style, the 16,000 square foot Georgian influenced main house (there are five others plus two apartments) was built in 1851 as the home for Franklin Hughes Delano and his wife, Laura Astor Delano on land received as a wedding gift from part of the Astors’ Rokeby estate.

For the serious buyer this is one of the most important private estates in the Hudson Valley.

For the serious equestrian there are impressive facilities include an eight stall barn with office, bathroom, tack room, feed room, heated indoor ring with man-made footing, and an outdoor dressage ring with GGT footing. Of course there is ample space for challenging cross-country and carriage driving courses.

For the serious wine collector there is a 5,000 bottle capacity wine cellar and delicious tasting room.

For the serious gardener there are formal walled gardens include a terraced boxwood parterre, a koi pond with fountains, a wisteria covered pergola and a colorful perennial garden.

For the serious – and even not-so-serious – athlete there is a 75′ pool with Greek- temple-inspired pool house and an adjacent tennis court.

Outside the estate much has changed over the years. That’s progress. But one thing hasn’t changed: the sweeping view of the magisterial Hudson River sliding down to the sea with the Catskill Mountains providing a magnificent backdrop. In the autumn the colours are breathtaking. This is the sort of place that has inspired writers and painters. Now it could inspire you to live there.