Old Purple Farm

To be honest, it's easy for me to get excited about a lot of my real estate listings. I love good home design. I've gone so far as to fall in love with more than a few properties over the years...some for their views...some for their kitchens...or the general feeling you get when you walk in.

This home is one that I've loved for over 23 years now. It's an antique center-chimney colonial circa 1746 known as Old Purple Farm, and today I put it on the market for the owner.


Isn't it a beauty? You enter through the courtyard at the back door into the kitchen with a lovely tiled mudroom spot to sit and remove shoes, and hang your coats. The owners remodeled the kitchen in 2000 and kept the original chestnut posts and beams, and the fireplace is just stunning! Right now it is outfitted with a ventless propane system, and the propane is also used for the cooktop. The light fixtures were custom made by local artisan shop Classic Lighting Design for the kitchen, and I especially love the one over the cooktop! Windows are 12 over 12 panes to replicate the classic look of the home and provide great natural night. There are lots of cabinets for storage, and the kitchen is fully applianced. The table by the fireplace is the coziest spot!




To the left of the entry, overlooking the courtyard, is the tiled sunroom, filled with Southern exposure sunshine.
The kitchen also leads to a large formal dining room, with original wideboard chestnut floors, and original fireplace. 

From the dining room you move to the front of the house, where there is a staircase to the 2nd floor, and the formal living room, with fireplace, and built-in shelving, wideboard floors, and more of those gorgeous 12 over 12 windows!



The first floor continues with a full bath, and one of my favorite very cozy rooms, the library. This room was the original dwelling of David Bailey, built in 1746. From there the home was expanded by Ezekiel Spicer who owned the home from 1747-1752, before selling it to the Purple family, who owned the property for 59 years. (The owner has a lot of great history on the house, including the complete chain of ownership and ancient deeds!)

Off of the library is what the owner uses as a family room. It was also used as the sitting room for the 1st floor master suite which was added on as an in-law suite in 2004. The family room has French doors to the large deck, and a utility/storage and laundry room sits off of this room.

The family room leads to a separate entrance and coat closet before opening to the 1st floor master suite. This master has a walk-in closet, and more French doors to the deck, as well as a very large en-suite master bath with both walk-in shower and soaking tub. 



Back in the main hall, another staircase leads to the 2nd floor, where there are 3 additional bedrooms (1 with fireplace) plus an office with access to the walk-up 3rd floor attic, a walk-in linen closet, and a full bath with shower. These rooms feature original floors and 12 over 12 windows







One of the many things I love about older homes is they're almost always oriented correctly. That was one of the things my dear carpenter dad taught me to look for in a home, and this one does not disappoint with its southern exposure in the kitchen, sunroom, and courtyard, and western exposure on the back deck for great sunsets while dining alfresco!  

The driveway leads to a courtyard planted with perennials and herbs, with the entrance to the kitchen and the old carriage house attached to the home and now used as a storage room.

The house also has a 24 x 28 post & beam garage with loft by Country Carpenters built in 2004.




I'm not just wowed by the beauty of this home...I'm also a mechanicals and utilities girl, and again, this property does not disappoint! 

There's a very sexy Buderus boiler with 6 (yes 6!) heat zones for the house and there are 2 (yes 2!) oversized 330 gallon oil tanks in the basement. The owner is diligent about getting the furnace serviced and cleaned annually, and the boiler has its own chimney.

Electrical service is 200 Amps and the house is wired for generator.

The house is on public sewer, which is a rare gem in East Hampton. 

2 wells service the property, with a system installed by Frosti Water Care. If one well runs low, the pump kicks in to draw water from the other well. It works great - the owners never ran out of water!

There's even an extra furnace in the carriage house that is not in use, but can be run on wood and/or coal. 

Too often I show homes like this and they're in a state of disrepair and neglect. This home is loved. This home has so much to offer, and such a positive energy and even a grace about it. It's special and it's rare to find a home of this vintage in such beautiful condition! 

For the 3D virtual tour, click here.

For the Multiple Listing Service link, click here.

I also think you can't beat South Main Street as a convenient location! You can reach all 4 town schools in about 5 minutes or less. The bustling historic village center 2 minutes away has been revitalized and is home to fabulous boutiques, adorable galleries, studios & shops, restaurants, a bakery, the most delicious coffeehouse/tavern, a great bike shop with access right onto the Airline Trail, and even our own farm brewery has a tasting room/record shop/live performance space here! You can also find the town library, senior center, post office, and historical society museum in our sweet village center. 

Just a few minutes farther brings you to all of the shops, services and restaurants on Route 66, or to enjoy beautiful Lake Pocotopaug (free access via Sears Park to all residents!) We also have other great recreational opportunities with Hurd Park, Salmon River, Airline Trail State Park, and both gyms and yoga studios! This is a great area if you love the outdoors!

Route 16 at the beginning of South Main Street takes you to either Colchester or Middletown, both with more great choices for shopping and restaurants, services, movie theaters, etc., and East Hampton is an easy commute to either Route 2 or Route 9. We are located between New York City and Boston, with train service in Old Saybrook, New Haven, Kensington, or Hartford, among a few other places along the shoreline!



















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