Distinctive Homes | Spring 2024

Distinctive HOMES

of the East Bay & South Coast

DISTINCTIVE HOMES

of the East Bay & South Coast

A supplement to the East Bay Media Group newspapers

There is nothing else like it

A compound of homes, cottages, ‘Tea House’ and greenhouse along the shore in Bristol is spectacularly unique

Home of the century

One of the grand homes of Nayatt Point turns 100 and hits the market at the same time

Dive right in Discover a secret garden

Pools are all the rage, and the source of endless innovation, adaptation and new ideas around luxury and outdoor living

Now open to visitors, a private garden provides a horticultural adventure in Little Compton

A waterside view of The Tea House, which is attached to an intimate and cozy bedroom retreat (right), with its own kitchen, bathroom and tall windows facing the water. See story on page 6.

‘It’s amazing’

There is nothing like the compound of homes, cottages, ‘Tea House’ and greenhouse along Shore Road in Bristol – anywhere

PHOTOS COURTESY OF MOTT & CHACE SOTHEBY’S

BY SCOTT PICKERING

Visit 10,000 properties, tour every million-dollar listing in the Northeast, swipe through Zillow for days … you will never find anything similar to the compound nestled along the western shore of Bristol, just steps from the Highlands Community Association dock.

The properties of 79, 85 and 91 Shore Road are every superlative one could pull from a thesaurus, but most of all they are spectacularly unique. There is nothing else like them.

Many locals know the properties were bought, separately over time, and developed into a compound by Alan and Vivien Hassenfeld. Alan was longtime CEO and owner of the global Hasbro toy company based in Rhode Island.

Three years ago, the Hassenfelds sold most of the compound to new owners, Mark

Andrus and Alissa Napoleone, and it has been their year-round home, retreat and personal resort ever since. Because of life changes — when they moved in, they did not plan to have children, but they changed their minds and now live there with a toddler – they’ve decided to consolidate life into a more traditional home, and the compound is back on the market … with a lot of bittersweet feelings. The new owners love this property.

“It’s just an amazing place. It’s so peaceful here. Our friends love it here. Sometimes it’s hard to get friends to leave,” Andrus laughed. “When they get here, and they’re coming from the city or whatever, they come here and they just … relax. They don’t want to leave!”

The properties along Shore Road create a true compound, with six distinct living spaces, three decades of brilliantly-planned landscaping, endless decks and patios, pathways

that lead through the entire property, one and a half football fields of shoreline, a professional-grade greenhouse, and the most unique structure anywhere (the “Tea House” that is the setting for infinite, breathtaking photos). The entirety is being offered for $6.7 million with Kim Ide and Mott & Chace Sotheby’s.

The best way to describe the compound is one setting at a time. If arriving at the deadend road for the first time, a visitor would first encounter “The Bungalow,” a 1,900-square-foot house designed like a European cottage. It has one enormous bedroom, two full bathroom suites, a small utility kitchen and one towering living space framed in massive wood beams reclaimed from a New Hampshire barn. The entire space faces west with enormous windows and glass spaces to soak in the sweeping

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The main living area of “The Bungalow” features a vaulted ceiling supported by large beams reclaimed from a New Hampshire barn. A wall of windows faces out toward the bay.

views of Narragansett Bay.

“The views here are amazing. You’re so in touch with the water everywhere. Every room in the property has water views,” said Andrus.

The owners actually consider The Bungalow their main house (they sleep and keep their clothes there), though they truly “live” throughout the compound.

Next comes “The Pool Cabana,” a relaxing hideaway that one would find at a posh resort. The cabana includes a bathroom, a steam shower, a bar, and a brand new sauna. It also features a sink where the sink itself is a massive clamshell about three feet wide. It of course sits beside a gorgeous pool that is nestled between the shore and the buildings.

“In the summer, with the pool, and with the waterfall coming down, it’s like living in a resort. It really is,” Andrus said.

Next is “The Main House,” a 3,000-square-foot home that is the heart of the living spaces. It has two bedrooms with spa-like bathrooms, plus two more halfbaths, a dining room, a family room, a modern renovated kitchen, a walk-in wine cooler, and more of those incredible water views from every space. This home becomes the center of life when the family has guests. Regardless of where they sleep – there are half a dozen separate options – they congregate here in the morning, or the evening, get their coffee, or their cocktails, and enjoy time together. This ability to host friends and family was one of the biggest attractions for Andrus and Napoleone before they bought Shore Road.

“We looked at everything,” said Andrus. “We were looking for a new home for three years, hard, all the way from Cape Cod, to the islands, to the North Shore of Massa-

chusetts, and this one struck a chord because it is so unique, and also so wonderful for entertaining and for having extended family or friends here.”

Next along the pathway is “The Guest Cottage.” When they bought the compound three years ago, this 900-square-foot building was not in the best shape. Today it has been reborn. They completely gutted the space and gave it new life. The first level is now an open gym, office or art studio. The second level has a bedroom / bathroom with spectacular, elevated views of the bay.

Beside the Cottage is “The Tea House,” a space that cannot be captured in words. Beneath a towering roof is an open-air pavilion that could host an amazing cocktail party, a leisurely chat, a yoga class, or a relaxing business meeting in a huge table sunken

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Though built with luxury throughout, the buildings exude warm, casual charm. Here, a second-floor bedroom in the main house has reclaimed wood floors, high beams and sweeping views of the water. At right: A look inside the Tea House, where a towering roof of remarkable craftsmanship looks down on a sunken table for casual, comfortable meals.

into the floor. Attached is a one-bedroom suite with kitchen and bathroom that might be the most intimate and secluded living space in the compound.

Last is “The Green House,” a huge, professional-grade greenhouse that has some of the most spectacular waterfront views any greenhouse has ever enjoyed. The owners use it throughout the winter to store many plants that move to new locations in the warmer months, like potted lemon trees and orange trees that move beside the pool.

Growing throughout the compound is a landscape that would hold its own with any commercial arboretum. Planned and planted over the course of three decades, it is richly diverse, with careful thought given to all spaces. “They spent 30 years building this out, and it’s like an orchestra,” said Andrus. “You have the Wisteria that starts in May, and then as that’s dying out, something else is blooming, and when

that’s dying out something else come along. So there’s always amazing life in the landscape.”

There are manmade elements that add to the landscape. “Sound is wired throughout the whole property, and there are 170 or so lights throughout the landscape, which sounds like a lot, but they’re all really nicely placed. At night it’s so magical. It’s just amazing.”

Though every building and every space has its own character, all have a very relaxing vibe. A warmth runs throughout the compound, accentuated by rich woods, soft colors, simple spaces, high ceilings and huge windows. Nothing is cold or museum-like. It all breathes life and energy. There is calm elegance throughout.

“It’s tough to do justice for this property with photos because you really have to walk it and experience it,” said Andrus.

There really is nothing else like it – anywhere.

At the northern end of the compound is a professional-grade greenhouse, with its own magnificent views of the bay. Below: Stone pathways, boardwalks, decks and steps lead throughout the property, connecting one space with another.

The sunlit living room in the main house is a common gathering spot for all seasons. Below: Pool and hot tub are distinctive, intimate, lush, and clinging to the edge of the property, overlooking Narragansett Bay.

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Dive right in

Pools are all the rage, but they’re more than just popular — today they are the source of endless innovation, adaptation and new ideas around luxury and outdoor living

PHOTO BY MADELINE GUIMOND

BY LUCY PROBERT

Whether it’s including a pool in the design and build of a new home or adding one to an existing yard, paying close attention to location and landscaping choices can make spending time in your new outdoor space both relaxing and bucolic.

“It all has to be designed properly to fit in the space,” says Tom O’Connor, owner of O’Connor Design Build, a landscape designbuild firm and pool builder in Middletown. “Is there not enough shade, or too much? Is

the water on your property flowing away from the pool? Look at the topography and elevations when it comes to landscape choices.”

Even homeowners with smaller yards can now sit poolside. “Plunge pools are becoming more popular for people who don’t have the room for a pool but want something more than a hot tub,” says O’Connor. Measuring only about 10’ x 15’ wide and 4’ to 7’ deep with seats built into the sides, space issues become less of a challenge, and they can be heated or not.

Hydrangea Heaven

Space was not an issue for this 40’ pool in South Kingstown. “We basically had a blank canvas and wide-open lawn space,” says O’Connor. The client wanted a smaller patio with more lawn so, working with Keene Architecture designers, a large, three-foot bluestone coping, or edging, was installed around the pool, helping to prevent grass clippings from getting into the water. Simply designed and surrounded with limelight

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MADELINE GUIMOND

Designers had plenty of space to work with when laying out this 40-foot pool, but the owners wanted lots of green space, so they created a simple layout of pool, framed by bluestone, framed by limelight hydrangea.

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Squeezed

PHOTOS BY MADELINE GUIMOND

into a tight, Newport neighborhood, this “plunge pool” has the option of being heated, so it can be hot tub or pool. Beside the pool is a grill, bar and ample room for entertaining.

hydrangea using a variety called ‘Prime,’ which stays smaller than the typical limelight but still boasts magnificent white plumes, each corner of the garden was supplemented with ivory silk tree lilac.

The pool was set on axis to a bench on the opposite side of the yard and nestled next to the existing upper terrace and fireplace for a convenient walk-out to this one-of-akind space.

A tight Newport neighborhood

In this backyard (facing page), where there was not room for a standard pool, the client chose to go for a smaller plunge pool.

“They weren’t sure about having a traditional hot tub, so we installed this plunge pool they can sit in and enjoy, which has the option to be heated for a hot tub,” says O’Connor.

An outdoor living space was installed adjacent to the pool, with a grill and bar, as well as room for entertaining and dining. There were several large existing trees, including a beautiful Japanese Maple and Japanese stewartia in the yard, both more than 50 years old, and as pool construction is often rather invasive and messy, strong measures were put in place to protect these specimens.

For privacy in this busy part of town, cedar fencing and plantings were added. “The gardens were designed to create a moody space that gave accent to the trees and softened the hardscape, including lavender, catmint, and dwarf ginkgo to name a few,” he says.

Newport rendering

A design concept for a Newport property, this plan has its goal focused on maximizing backyard space, which is not expansive. “We are trying to create a peaceful setting that focuses on incorporating water, and at the end of the pool we included a relaxing sitting space with a mature multi-stem redbud,” says O’Connor.

Matching ivory silk upright lilac trees and gardens are mirrored on either side of the pool. Designed as a reflection pool, it will be functional as well for sitting and swimming, with an auto cover and smart controls.

Continued on page 20

RENDERING BY O’CONNOR DESIGN BUILD

Shown here are renderings for a pool design in Newport, where space is a premium. They are trying to create a peaceful space, with a relaxing seating area at one end of the pool.

Old Beach

Working with Jamestown-based DiMauro Architects, this Newport project site was challenging but ended up looking amazing, says O’Connor. “The pool was to be placed originally on the southeast side of the house, and a massive retaining wall was to be constructed. We worked with the homeowner and ended up moving this to the north side of the home, pushed out with a southern pool exposure,” he says. The furniture was conveniently located closer to the house, which gave it natural shade.

They built an organic boulder wall which captured 12 feet of grade and elevated the pool space.

“This was a plunge pool that fit nicely in this area, when a larger pool would not have worked well due to the large grade change on this property,” he says.

They flanked the northern side of the pool with holly trees for privacy and edged with lavender. The home’s addition was contemporary, so the patio’s design followed with a large format bluestone. The gardens and boulder wall bring this space back into nature with large spruce trees surrounding the property.

“We developed a nature screen for privacy, but also to soften the space,” he says.

PHOTOS BY MADELINE GUIMOND

Challenged by a steep grade in this yard, designers steered the owners to a plunge pool, rather than a larger pool, and flanked it with holly trees, lavender and other natural elements to create privacy.

Home of the century

One of the grand homes of Nayatt Point reaches the century mark and hits the market at the same time

BY SCOTT PICKERING

Drive west on Nayatt Road in Barrington and you will arrive at one of the most breathtaking views in all of Rhode Island. The closing holes of the prestigious Rhode Island Country Club golf course, nestled beside a salt marsh and sand dunes, provide a sweeping vista of Narragansett Bay. On a clear day, Prudence Island, the Newport Bridge, the Jamestown Bridge and multiple lighthouses all come into view.

It is a majestic view rarely available these days. Most waterfront vistas are crowded by

development, or hidden off remote pathways not easily found. Nayatt is an important road in Barrington, leading from the center of town, past an elementary school, and into some of the gorgeous neighborhoods of this bedroom community. So this vista is visible, accessible and open to all.

Just past the 18th hole of the golf course is a stretch of homes that speak to another era. A couple were built in the late 1800s, and a couple more arose in the last 30 years. But the majority of these homes — the ones that sit proudly along the roadway and give it so much remarkable character —

were built a century ago.

One of the most grand, a three-story brick mansion with iron gates, was erected in 1910, looking like it belongs at the center of an Ivy League campus, home to the president of the university. Two more were built in 1924, and they turn 100 this year. One of these is changing hands for the first time in three decades.

The home at 139 Nayatt Road, now on the market for $2.65 million, is closest to that 18th-hole putting green. It sits back from the roadway, behind a large, circular driveway and a row of hedges that screen it from

PHOTOS BY TODOR TSVETKOV PHOTOGRAPHY

An aerial view of 139 Nayatt Road shows the many areas for entertaining, relaxing and outdoor living. Much of the home’s infrastructure — its laundry room, pantry, office, etc. — are positioned in the front of the home, while the main living spaces, primary bedroom suite, kitchen, decks, porch, patios and sunroom all reside in the back, facing south toward Narragansett Bay.

passersby.

At first glance, it seems unassuming and understated. Though an elegant home, there are no bells and whistles in the front, nothing grand, nothing showy. Yet its front face is not the heart of this property. This is a home where it’s all business in the front, and all party in the back.

The rear of the home features large, open rooms, with walls of windows facing the water. There are patios, porches, decks, sunroom, stone walls, all of them facing the bay.

“This home is clearly oriented to face the water,” said Elizabeth Kirk of the Kirk Schryver team at Compass, which is listing the property.

The true grandeur of the home is seen from the water side, looking back at the modern additions designed to add space and maximize those bay views. Today the century-old home has nearly 7,000 square feet of space on three levels, with

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A covered porch steps down to a rolling lawn, which leads to a deeded path down to the water.

This sprawling living room is loaded with character, with moldings and built-ins and an entire wall of windows facing out toward Narragansett Bay. It opens to a sunroom, which leads to covered porch, patios, sun deck and more outdoor spaces.

an expanded kitchen, enormous living rooms and oversized porch, all facing south.

The “business in the front” vibe is actually something that speaks to another era in this home. When it was built, the original kitchen was in the basement level, with a set of stairs for the servants that led up to the main level. Another set of servant stairs leads to the second floor, where there were servant quarters.

Today all that is a distant memory. The servant bedrooms have been opened and expanded into one larger bedroom. The basement kitchen is an old memory, but with a great space for storage and utility. And the home, like many of its era, has two sets of staircases leading to the second floor — the grand, main staircase, and the “secret” smaller staircase.

As would be expected in a home that is 100 years old, 139 Nayatt is loaded with charm. Built-ins abound. Most rooms are rich

with moldings and wainscoting and trims and shelves. Closest to the golf course is an office that is its own private retreat. A grand desk anchors the space, which includes marble fireplace, built-in shelves, window benches and French doors opening to a covered porch and then an open-air deck.

Upstairs, the original wood floors remain intact, refinished and gleaming. Three of the five bedrooms connect to their own bathrooms, and two additional bedrooms share one “Jack and Jill” bathroom. There are three additional half-baths throughout the house.

Another unique thing about Nayatt Road is how so many of the original, grand homes were built close to the roadway, up high on a hill that rolls down to the water. Over the years, some of those lower areas down below, closer to the water, have been developed as their own house lots, and now many of the original homes look out over their younger neighbors.

The same is happening at 139 Nayatt, where a new home is under construction on the water side, between the home and the bay. However, now that the roof line of that new home has been constructed, it’s clear that impact on the water views will not be significant. Sweeping views are unobstructed to the southeast, overlooking the golf course and beach. “For this house, the best views have always been this direction,” Kirk said while standing in the living room and looking out toward the country club’s driving range.

In addition, views remain to the southwest, looking out toward the Conimicut lighthouse. And views remain from the first-floor living areas, and especially from the second-floor bedrooms, looking directly over the new house and out toward Narragansett Bay. They are some of the best views in all of Rhode Island, positioned atop a hillside along one of the most unique, character-rich stretches of homes in all the East Bay.

A sunroom maximizes light and opens to the numerous outdoor living spaces.

The kitchen features arched ceiling, window benches and an enormous amount of space. Below, The primary bedroom suite is huge and includes a dressing room and spa bath, along with sweeping views of the bay.

Discover a secret garden

Now open to visitors, a private garden provides a horticultural adventure in Little Compton

BY LUCY PROBERT

Surround yourself with the sights, sounds, scents and beauty of a ‘secret garden’ this season on a visit to Little Compton’s Sakonnet Garden. “It’s an intimate space,” said Mikel Folcarelli, who along with partner John Gwynne tends their private garden, which covers more than an acre. “It encompasses 50 years of plant collecting, design and horticultural adventures.”

Walk through garden ‘rooms’ of high hedges, living walls and those made of stone and logs, through to a moss-carpeted space and an evergreen azalea wall they dub “flowered wallpaper.” Find the Black Border area, which holds dark-leaved plants and the Pollinator Garden, created to encourage native bees, butterflies and wasps to visit.

Other paths leading to 20-plus spots include Green and Orange gardens, the Rhododendron Punchbowl, the Silver Garden (a showstopper in June), and the Subtropical Quadrant, with large-leafed plants evoking a kind of jungle.

Previously only available to the public for a few days a year, this is their fourth year open from May through mid-October, Thursdays through Saturdays and viewable by reserva-

THE WORLD OF MOSS:

“Moss seems to create its own miniaturized “fairy world.” For years we have been experimenting with the moss at Sakonnet Garden’s entry – enlarging, regrading and weeding to expand its plush carpet. The scale imparted by this landscape of tiny velvety plants and gnarled trunks imparts a good entry experience for the garden – not revealing what lies ahead. In fact, by being miniaturized, it seems to set up visitor expectations in a way that subsequently seen tree trunks and flowers appear much larger than reality.”

tion only, with a restricted number of guests at a time. Last year they welcomed about 3,000 visitors.

“It’s a very personal experience in a private garden, which is why we choose to limit how many people come in at a time,” said Folcarelli. Visitors are often greeted by the owners’ three cardigan corgis when they arrive. “It’s probably the most asked question I get,” he said. “’What kind of dogs are those?’ I need to put up a sign introducing them.”

Sakonnet Garden is co-sponsoring a plant sale with Issima, a nearby specialty nursery once again this year on May 4 at the third annual Sakonnet Plant Fair on Veterans Field in Little Compton, where a portion of proceeds will support the Brownell House.

The garden is open May 2 to Oct. 11, Thursdays through Saturdays, and reservations are required. Non-refundable tickets are $25 for a visitor’s car with driver and $20 each for additional passengers. The two ticketed time entries are 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 2 to 4:30 p.m. Ticket reservations are available only at SakonnetGarden.net

Note: Accompanying each photo is a description written by the loving owners (and gardeners) and shared on the Sakonnet Garden website.

RIBBONS OF BLACK BEECH: “Beech trees, when tiny, seem to take forever to grow. Then they pick up steam. We had conceived of a series of 9’ steel hoops covered in black foliage, through which would would walk. We planted the darkest black-leafed form of weeping European Beech that we could find – Black Swan. Then stretched the growing shoots up upon the steel … About a decade later, they started to do what we imagined – dropping their side branches into long, wavering streamers of black.

Matt Blais, Owner

SOME LOOK BETTER

BACKLIGHTED: “Some plants look much better when their outlines are exaggerated by backlighting. Here we see Mikel’s sculptural Euonymous ‘snakes’ looking wonderful, with backlighting showing off their silhouettes. The peeling bark of Paperbark Maples look much better when the tree is planted to the South of viewer, so that sun can pour through exfoliating bark and make it glow orange. Our little garden sometimes appears huge, in part because there is no vantage point when one can see how small it is, in part because of long ‘enfilades’ that lure you down tunnels punctuated by flanking walls, in part due to carefully thought out ‘layers’ that put one 3D object in front of another and another, each layer seeming to create space. Backlighting is a trick that works.”

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GARDEN ROOMS: “Sakonnet Garden grew from being a group of sunny little clearings within an overgrown dark thicket into more formalized intertwined rooms divided by high hedges and walls. These partitions separate spaces and enable each to have a different spirit. The doorways and passages between rooms become important for enabling the framing of views. Here the steel Gothic frame that copies our house’s front door helps to compose a wonderful picture in the garden.”

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