Seaweed, Estate of the Day
Last time I dragged everyone to Newport, Rhode Island for an estate of the day it was a modern home that didn't sit well with most commenters. Let me make it up to you with a classic Newport home which recently went on the market. Seaweed was built in 1905 and was designed by Horace Trumbauer, a Philadelphia architect also known for designing The Elms, one of Newport's classic homes. The 20-room house has all the amazing details you would expect, columns, crown moldings, carved mantels and elegant wainscoting. The solarium is particularly amazing, a curved room with a bank of windows facing the sea.
The home was built for the Gilded Age lifestyle, the main kitchen is in the basement with a dumbwaiter connecting to the first floor. There is a smaller kitchen in the butler's pantry on the first floor. Also the home has 14 bedrooms, six of which are on the third floor and were originally used for servants. The home has a wide lawn and a two-bedroom guest cottage. It is listed at $11.5 million. After the jump, unfortunately there are only a couple of pictures available of this amazing home.
[via Boston Business Journal]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Adam Jul 25th 2007 2:09PM
Oh how I wish there where more pictures. I love this house!
Lisa Jul 25th 2007 3:39PM
Love, love, love all those windows. I wouldn't want to clean them, but still...
I wanted to see more pics of the interior, so I went on the hunt. I found a few more here -
http://www.liladelman.com/property-details.asp?id=2033
Mary Jul 25th 2007 5:08PM
Thanks for the extra pics, Lisa. What a wonderful house!
Maggie Jul 25th 2007 7:20PM
I hate so it but that first room is decorated like a nursing home...
brett Jul 27th 2007 3:25AM
For 11.5, you'd think they could have afforded an interior decorator...
Spectacular Bid Jul 27th 2007 11:07AM
Pleasant as it isn’t the best work by Horace Trumbauer in my view, far too many better ones on the Main Line. The central drawback is that it is a tremendous amount of money for a home situated on top of the neighboring homes, with a highly uninspired parcel of land without an ounce of landscaping to be found, and with architecture that is quite nice, but not to die for.
Note the Ocean Walk fencing between 'you' and the rocky waters edge. Nothing like having hoards of people walking by daily in the summer taking pictures and bringing a degree of noise when you want to enjoy your postage-stamp sized lawn.
Newport still has some brilliant examples of the Gilded Age architecture to be found, good sailing, and a decaying aura of being the elite although today it’s mostly overrun by tourists and ten cent millionaires. The era of riding up and down Bellevue Avenue in your carriage in the afternoon is over. I’m not sure if being able to boast that “well The Elms museum is right up the street” makes an owner feel good about plunking down $11 + million.
In a world full of choices I would think that much money could acquire something with an equally lovely Ocean view elsewhere in New England with many more benefits. Even this offering in Watch Hill, RI at $10.9 million from 1930 looks to be more of a home to cherish:
http://www.liladelman.com/property-details.asp?id=1690&PageFrom=SearchResults