This home on Long Island’s Oyster Bay has it all: a distinguished list of owners including Bee Gee Robin Gibb, important architectural heritage, a superb location, exquisite finishes and materials, up-to-date amenities and systems, a guest house, greenhouse, swimming pool and, best of all, a 200-foot deep-water dock, the ultimate luxury for waterfront home owners.
“Robin Gibb was a very private person, and that was the attraction of this property,” says listing broker Bonnie Willamson of Daniel Gale of Sotheby’s International Realty. “It is in a small enclave with a neighborhood association that protects the privacy of its homeowners.”
“Kenjockety” (Native American for ‘Far from Noise’) is an exquisite estate home on almost seven private acres. Designed by famed architect Bertram G. Goodhue in 1926, the home has built-to-last construction and traditional styling. However, all electrical and plumbing systems, as well as the kitchens and baths, have been redone or refurbished. New insulation and a geothermal HVAC system make the house comfortable in all seasons
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Listed for $12.9 million, Kenjockety encompasses 16,000 square feet, with seven bedrooms and seven full and three half baths. There is also a renovated one-bedroom cottage, which has a fireplaced living room, kitchen and bathroom.
Bertram G. Goodhue also designed St. Bartholomew’s in New York City, the cathedral at West Point and the California Institute of Technology. He drew up plans at the behest of Canadian-American lumber baron Arthur H. Fleming, who built the house as a wedding present for his daughter, Marjorie.
The interior has charming original features like the four-stop dumb waiter, along with new elements like the four-stop elevator, second-floor supplemental kitchen, a third-floor home office with built-in file cabinets and a third-floor game room with a Crestron audio-video system. An especially lovely space is the winter garden room opening from the living room, the legacy of the home’s previous owner, a passionate horticulturalist. Her hand is also evident in the mature plantings that grace the lot.
“What’s really special about this house,” says Willamson, “Is that it’s grand, but it’s also intimate. The house is big, the rooms are large, but designed to feel comfortable and in scale with the people inhabiting them.”
The western orientation towards Connecticut provides gorgeous sunset views. And, of course, a view of the yacht tied to the private dock.