"What a marvelous sunset," she said.
"Yes," replied her husband, "Most impressive for such a small village."
A message from a vineyard house in Boonville.
"Yes," replied her husband, "Most impressive for such a small village."
A message from a vineyard house in Boonville.
7
ummm
who's cleaning these mcMansions?
check out the article on India ...
hope the lucky homeowners are fair to the help
who's cleaning these mcMansions?
check out the article on India ...
hope the lucky homeowners are fair to the help
11
Let them eat cake while playing in the sun, but only one small slice!
Oh, the struggles of the elite are such nail biting dramas, which designer to use for our $50 mil mansion?
I'm not bitter, its such entertainment actually, and great summer reading fo'sure!
Thanks Dolls!! Tell Martha toodles!! She, after all, is fabulous!!
Oh, the struggles of the elite are such nail biting dramas, which designer to use for our $50 mil mansion?
I'm not bitter, its such entertainment actually, and great summer reading fo'sure!
Thanks Dolls!! Tell Martha toodles!! She, after all, is fabulous!!
12
As someone who lives in the Hamptons full time, I can assure all the people making comments about the need for the owners of these homes to be paying more taxes that the majority of residents here, especially those that own the mega mansions, are Democrats. Every weekend during the summer, they are hosting fundraisers for liberal causes or the political campaigns of Democrats. The list of celebrity homeowners here is endless, and we all know which political party they support. Just because someone has the resources to build a home like those pictured does not automatically make them a greedy Republican. So, please stop the social justice commentary.
9
Doesn't mean they shouldn't be paying more taxes. Quite the contrary, in fact.
12
The implication in most of the snide comments about the wealth of the homeowners is that they are Republicans against paying more taxes. I don't care about the political affiliation of the wealthy. Since the top 20% already pay nearly 70% of all federal taxes (individual income, payroll, excise, corporate income and estate taxes), why do people on the left feel they should pay even more? Especially since 45% of the population pay no federal income tax (according to Tax Policy Center). I'd much rather see everyone have some skin in the game.
4
They don't give a rip about climate change do they? Idiots. Let them do their good causes for the planet that will eventually whistle in the wind. Democrats or Republicans, it matters not.
3
I have a modest 750 sq ft house with a deck and large yard.
There is a fountain, chimes, bird baths and deck.
Many birds to watch 365 days a year.
Beautiful plants that I tend.
Beauty everywhere to look at...
Who needs more!!!
Article is unimpressive...
There is a fountain, chimes, bird baths and deck.
Many birds to watch 365 days a year.
Beautiful plants that I tend.
Beauty everywhere to look at...
Who needs more!!!
Article is unimpressive...
15
And to think that before the end of this century, this whole area will be under the sea.
21
Growing up in the Bronx, my mom mastered this "indoor outdoor flow" when she would open wide the sixth floor window of our apartment, hang half her torso outside and yell down to me in the street, "Get your a-- up here before your supper gets cold!"
Sometimes we'd even open a fire hydrant and the adults would sip cocktails on beach chairs in front of the row of garbage cans.
Sometimes we'd even open a fire hydrant and the adults would sip cocktails on beach chairs in front of the row of garbage cans.
36
ahhh! the top 99%+ ... it's so hard to find a good decorator! it must be so so hard to love the outdoors but avoid the sun, it's just so hard to get by. This article shows me why taxes should be raised on the rich.
9
It strikes me that an article about home design is entirely appropriate for the real estate section of a newspaper.
Nevertheless, the undertones of income inequality in this article are hard to avoid. But we must make a distinction between upper middle class professionals who have contributed to society and have surely worked hard in their professional lives, and oligarchs spending $50 million on a second home who are almost by definition members of the rentier class. The former are not a threat to healthy democracy, in fact they are a foundation of it. The latter are, if not the cause of the corruption of our democracy, certainly one of its byproducts.
I am always reminded of this distinction when I pass by a cottage near me that was used for several summers by Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe. It is, by today's standards, astonishingly normal and humble. One can hardly imagine celebrities of their notoriety living so modestly in our current "superstar economy." Our economy worked perfectly well in the 1950s when there was a smaller gap between normal middle-class families and the unusually successful. The notion that an unimaginable wealth gap is necessary for our economy to function properly is pure propaganda disseminated by oligarchs who want to cement their status as the new hereditary nobility.
Nevertheless, the undertones of income inequality in this article are hard to avoid. But we must make a distinction between upper middle class professionals who have contributed to society and have surely worked hard in their professional lives, and oligarchs spending $50 million on a second home who are almost by definition members of the rentier class. The former are not a threat to healthy democracy, in fact they are a foundation of it. The latter are, if not the cause of the corruption of our democracy, certainly one of its byproducts.
I am always reminded of this distinction when I pass by a cottage near me that was used for several summers by Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe. It is, by today's standards, astonishingly normal and humble. One can hardly imagine celebrities of their notoriety living so modestly in our current "superstar economy." Our economy worked perfectly well in the 1950s when there was a smaller gap between normal middle-class families and the unusually successful. The notion that an unimaginable wealth gap is necessary for our economy to function properly is pure propaganda disseminated by oligarchs who want to cement their status as the new hereditary nobility.
15
"Or as Ms. Glazer put it: In the Hamptons, “too much is not enough.”
How much do you really need to make you happy?
How much do you really need to make you happy?
13
After many summer rentals in NY and playing this game, I've been in developing countries for 15 years. I'm grateful to have discovered the simple pleasure of sitting on a hard tile floor, leaving behind tons of possessions that proved useless and unsatisfying, and really focusing on the maxim "less is more." I could never go back to the type of materialism presented here (and so often in The Times).
And yes, as so many here are pointing out, the wealthy should be paying more in taxes. Much more.
And yes, as so many here are pointing out, the wealthy should be paying more in taxes. Much more.
10
The people who can afford to build these exquisite, expensive and (to me) over the top weekend homes can certainly afford to pay more in taxes. Why do Republicans object?
20
This article is ground zero for the complete disconnect between the reality of the Uber wealthy and the other 300 million in the US. I can only imagine that the hedge fund managers and other generators of vast personal wealth most of whom produce nothing, secretly are thrilled with the continued tax cuts which starve our national infrastructure and place more and more money into the few.
23
Having spent 30+ years doing high end carpentry/woodwork in these homes I can assure you the disconnect is not limited to the Hamptons. Thee folks all have primary homes in the city, equally ostentatious, and many have 3rd or more homes elsewhere. I've worked in them all. It has never failed to amaze me how their priorities differ from most of ours. A custom, site-built library of pecan, mahogany and walnut is ripped out on a whim and replaced with one of other, more exotic species, the colors weren't right. that's $50k in material and a few hundred hours of master craftsmen's labor down the toilet. A lap pool in the basement, and full size pool in the yard and you're 100 yards from the ocean? I guess it's to balance the view with the tennis court and pool house. Perhaps I shouldn't complain as I made boku bucks and might have had to do much more menial work for far less if this wasn't available. I was able to take the scraped library materials and make a staircase and balustrade that I sold and installed elsewhere for a ridiculous amount of money. Please, sir, may I have some more?
14
And for these people, we will throw 22 million (or 24 million, or the number du jour) off healthcare or Medicaid, so that they can have a tax cut? I suppose infinity pools and sun platforms are expensive though and it would be a problem for them to pay for their necessities without some tax relief.
Do I hear the tumbrils rolling? How's the cake, folks?
Do I hear the tumbrils rolling? How's the cake, folks?
24
Most of "these people" are Democrats.
3
I'd take three rooms and a broom on a beach any day of the week.
What's the sense of having a swimming pool when you have the ocean?
Do these people even go to the beach, ever?
What's the sense of having a swimming pool when you have the ocean?
Do these people even go to the beach, ever?
19
If I owned a large, multi-million dollar home in the Hamptons, I wouldn't want to be profiled in the media. I'd be embarrassed by the ostentatiousness.
42
To many, especially the nouveau riche, it's a sign that they've 'made it'.
8
My mother was right when she said "money doesn't buy class".
9
Egad, the silliness never stops. Though this article makes it seem as if the Hamptons are California sunshine and cocktails, no- summer is about 8-10 weeks, and even then it rains, you know! And all these outdoor pergolas, outdoor kitchens and furniture, outdoor television sets (!)-- well, having grown up here, I imagine how all these amenities are fun in chilly October, or a frigid snowbound deep freeze in January. The woman who had a rooftop jacuzzi and kitchen (an outdoor kitchen on your roof??) really made me laugh, thanks for that.
Unmentioned are the servants. Who is doing the cooking on your rooftop kitchen while you are luxuriating in the hot tub? And aren't you embarrassed that you do that? Who cooks and cleans and sets up your entertainments while basically you're just spending millions to lounge around your house? Two months a year. Sorry, some of this *whimsy* is just so wasteful and ridiculous and spoiled.
The best parts out here in the summer are the simple things. Feeling barefoot on the lawn, lovely summer tomatoes, a day at the beach where at the end you're sandy and salty and sun-burned, tired but happy. The birds in the trees, the lovely light, the fireflies at dusk. If you're lucky, family and friends to experience summer like that with them. Very simple things.
I feel sorry for people who can't appreciate that. Spending millions to impress. There must be some needy emotional void. Enjoy summer, it flies by.
Unmentioned are the servants. Who is doing the cooking on your rooftop kitchen while you are luxuriating in the hot tub? And aren't you embarrassed that you do that? Who cooks and cleans and sets up your entertainments while basically you're just spending millions to lounge around your house? Two months a year. Sorry, some of this *whimsy* is just so wasteful and ridiculous and spoiled.
The best parts out here in the summer are the simple things. Feeling barefoot on the lawn, lovely summer tomatoes, a day at the beach where at the end you're sandy and salty and sun-burned, tired but happy. The birds in the trees, the lovely light, the fireflies at dusk. If you're lucky, family and friends to experience summer like that with them. Very simple things.
I feel sorry for people who can't appreciate that. Spending millions to impress. There must be some needy emotional void. Enjoy summer, it flies by.
59
I grew up out here and you are so right. So.
13
I like to look at the real estate section, it's fun and aspirational. I'm not sure what it is about this particular piece but it makes me sick.
46
So, these are some of the places where Republican Medicaid cuts would likely find a happy, healthy resting place. Trickle up forever!
20
I like that people are spending more time on their own properties. As anyone who's visited the area knows, you can't drive from one Hampton to another without sacrificing an afternoon. Stay home, have some outdoor experience and chill. Sounds good. I try to do the same, although through a much humbler lifestyle.
5
Please don't assume you can divine the pureness or blackness of soul of the homeowners profiled in this article. Having a beautiful house in a charming seaside village does not automatically make one Marie Antoinette. The commenters wallowing in disgust and self-righteousness might want to direct their gaze inward. While gluttony may be one of the seven deadly sins, each of greed and envy is as well.
9
Speaking of greed, did you actually read this piece?
9
I appreciate that the NYT enjoys a wide audience, including those who can afford something like this. Still, I can't see the imminent need for them to get a tax break while 23 million stand to lose health insurance.
79
No doubt they would stop working if they paid more in taxes
7
Not every story on every subject should have to reference politics or inequality. This is a puff piece about house design - why would they reference the healthcare debate?
15
Lol this story and the hamptons are inextricable from inequality
20
Here's a good way to bring the outdoors into your house. Open the front door, and keep it open. Of course, you get the mosquitos and here in Hawaii, those cute little lizards that usually skitter around on the rocks. Keep the door open, and the outdoors will move in with you.
38
Great places. This is where the government should put a few public housing projects.
63
there are many, many working class people in that area already. they'd have no work, if it were not for the rich summer visitors.
5
Working class people are only ever segregated out of sight of the gentry.
Please spare me.
Please spare me.
5
richguy, you forgot to add..''and they should be grateful for their 8-10 weeks of work.'' Not.
As they say in my neck of the sand, "Summer people, some are NOT.''
As they say in my neck of the sand, "Summer people, some are NOT.''
3
If you don't mind being north of the highway, you can own this type of luxury for 6 million and something almost as nice for 4 million. In the Hamptons, everything south of the highway costs twice as much as it needs to. But that's status pricing.
11
Last year, my husband and I built an indoor-outdoor extension onto our house, and I love it! It's 11 x 16 with two little decks, knotty pine ceiling, top-of the line driftwood vinyl floor, and glass galore (mostly sliding doors and windows from Habitat for Humanity's thrift store). The whole thing, with our design and labor cost $15,000 plus another $15,000, for the foundation and shell and roof. With the money left over, we can do things like pay for a child with club feet (MiracleFeet) to have a good life (thanks, NYTimes for that article), $1000 so that a janitor in my school can stay in a hotel for a month rather than, with his family, be homeless on the streets again, pay my monthly donation to Doctors without Borders, etc. Our new room is a haven, a party place, a place to watch the birds and weather and listen to the ocean two blocks away. Now THIS is living! (without guilt)
77
I spend most of my time in my screened in porch. Sunbrite outdoor TV. Any outdoor space must have heaters overhead to warm on cool nights or in June, September. They extend the " outdoor season" another month or 2 on either end.
10
...used to live like this. Now it makes me sick. Such a waste. And all that 'natural' 'integrated' 'indoor/outdoor living space' dumps tons of nitrogen laced fertilizers and other pollutants into the groundwater and through surface water runoff, into the surrounding marshes, bays and the ocean. I hate this. Pigs (and that's insulting to pigs, who are much more eco-friendly and cuter, too).
67
What worries me about all this lush, outdoor space designed for evening use is this: what kind of pesticides are being sprayed to keep people from being eaten up by bugs? People living in the woods doing the indoor/outdoor thing, at night? I live in a forest, and if I want to hang out outdoors in the evening I have to cover myself in bug spray.
4
I encounter very few insects in the Hamptons, even the woody areas. Maybe because it's not marshy? I don't know. We're talking about about, what 7 miles of island north/south between the ocean and a bay.
1
Democrat or Republican, nice to have the resources (i.e. $$$$$) to spend on things like this.
Nice that you posted it on Bastille Day!
Nice that you posted it on Bastille Day!
85
I remember when the Hamptons had the reputation of being the summer home of NYC's literary and cultural elite. Too bad that era has passed. I guess now it's all "gauche is good".
78
All the more reasons to build a few Public Housing Projects in this neck of the woods. The moneyed won't mind, will they?
10
News flash NYT....this is a architectural trend, not a NY trend
Common in high end houses across the county. Even in Chicago with our winters
Common in high end houses across the county. Even in Chicago with our winters
9
My home can have an integrated interior-exterior by moving patio furniture into the garage and leaving the door open. Plus it is way cheaper.
105
Yeah, I was thinking the same kind of thing. We just open all the doors and windows on our old ranch-style house, and felt the breezes go through. Now I have a fancy name for airing the house out.
14
Funniest comment ever! Thank you for making me laugh when I couldn't decide if I was jealous or happy with the way I view the ocean while dining outside under an umbrella with my feet in the water (at Jones Beach with a ham and cheese sandwich and a bag of pretzels on an overpriced sand chair with my feet in the water and a plastic umbrella for when my sunburn gets really bad.). If I really want to merge my indoors and outdoors I sit on a chair on the back deck under a sleeping bag in the dead of winter gazing up at the crystal clear sky. And still I consider my ways decadent when I think of my former poverty stricken clients who live in high rise buildings with no A/C in the summer and inadequate heat in the winter. And no car to go the the beach in comfort. The Hamptonites need a reality check.
7
Rob in Minneapolis in the garage, excuse me, on the deck. Don't forget the gunite pool.
I assume all these nice people vote democrat to ease the tremendous guilt of spending a life acquiring expensive stuff, eating well, and thinking politically correctly while avoiding the unpleasant experience of living anywhere near all those folks the republicans are oppressing.
55
No. There's no shortage of R's in the area, including Los Kushners. Perhaps you are familiar with them.
40
One of the owners mentioned is the CEO of an Insurance Co - you know, one of the very same Republican types blocking the very idea of reasonable, basic, accessible Health Care for all Americans? Insurance cos (lobbyists for Republicans) have held Health Care hostage for decades, so while all the rest live with the stress from the lack of medical coverage, the amoral & immoral - even corrupt - live in these homes built solely as monuments to themselves. The greed & consumption of resources is ugly indeed & no amount of pools, showers & bathrooms can ever wash the guilt from their dirty work that brought them there. The superficiality & hypocrisy inherent in any conversation around all those lounges would bore to tears (or infuriate, frighten, etc) any real thinker with any integrity to the serious issues of the day.
14
I love house porn just as much as the next person but this just made me feel sad, knowing that I will never, ever be able to experience this life. Those pools do look great, tho!
16
pools need a lot of maintenance - staff if you're rich - then your family is into the Roman 'familus' which I think meant how many slaves you had to manage - the more slaves you had, the more of your time was spent on their housing, health, feeding, caring, allocating, fixing problems - a big headache.
Which may be why when the Saudi super-rich come to London for the season, they simply book out an entire floor of the Ritz or whatever - no maintenance, just 'room service !'
Which may be why when the Saudi super-rich come to London for the season, they simply book out an entire floor of the Ritz or whatever - no maintenance, just 'room service !'
4
The same edition of this newspaper carries a link to a story about YIMBY in California. What a great juxtaposition showing the gap between the rich and just folks.
11
Lot of sour grapes here...as if you all wouldn't love a house in Hamptons.
36
and the money and contractors to sustain it (houses are needy children that never grow up)
7
PFFTTTT! Why? To be among people so easy to dislike who live where "Too Much Is Never Enough", as quoted here? Not everyone ultra materialistic in America
5
I can only imagine that the one thing worse than a house in the Hamptons is a home in L.A.
2
If the article is meant to be a parody of materialism's triumph, of status insecurity on steroids, well done, Times.
Alas, I don't think it's a parody.
Alas, I don't think it's a parody.
66
In the end, you cannot take it with you. But - enjoy while you can.
9
That's odd: I don't see a floating Uber car in the pools. How do they from one end to the other?
24
Humph. Really... I just move from the city to Los Angeles.
4
And to think that these are extra, summer, homes, used only a few weeks out of the year. So many resources, devoted to so few. They must have made amazing and outstanding contributions to the world. If not, the system is certainly screwed up. And they wonder why working people are furious. I can imagine the cocktail parties around their state-of-the-art outdoor kitchens while they dip their toes in their infinity pools -- wondering how Trump could possibly have made it to the White House.
114
because Trump lives in a trailer? doesn't have multiple gilded residences? say what? the GOP are the party of restraint? small houses? no tax credits to billionaires?
16
They get used 14 weeks a year.
2
Who said anything about Trump living in a trailer or the GOP being the party of restraint? Trump made it to the White House because the fury of the working class had no where else to go. He promised, with his incompetency and immaturity, to take a match to the whole rotten system. People, unfortunately, were ready for that.
As MLK Jr. said, "a riot is the language of the unheard.' The Trump election was a uncontained riot and I suspect that nothing good will come of it, but it was a long time in coming.
As MLK Jr. said, "a riot is the language of the unheard.' The Trump election was a uncontained riot and I suspect that nothing good will come of it, but it was a long time in coming.
5
"Good to be rich."
17
Vive la Revolution.
72
I enjoyed it completely, written from here, in Buenos Aires. I fondly remembered many Long Island weekends thanks to your pages! Fun. PS. I work every single day on issues related to poverty, the rights of the oppressed and social injustice.
Nice houses!
Nice houses!
21
Self indulgence if you have more than enough dollars, social consciousness who knows if these people have it or contribute in viable ways to those that have less or to those that have suffered greatly in present conflicts. While the design and tech is state of the art never is a mention about security systems. You'd think these people would harbour deep seated anxiety about incursion.
24
It's weird. I drive my Porsche out to the Hamptons every so often, and I always feel strange about locking it. I know that people don't hotwire cars anymore, but, out there, one feels surprisingly safe. I feel like I could leave my wallet on an outdoor table at a cafe and nobody would steal it. I would NEVER do that in NYC. One always feels like everybody else in the Hamptons has 10x more more money that you have. It seems gauche to lock your car, as if anybody would stoop to steal a Porsche (maybe a Bugatti). I'm serious. The Hamptons are almost a world in which money seems irrelevant, because everybody seems to be so crazy rich. Of course, you still have to pay for coffee and sushi and stuff, but the almost total absence of anybody NOT rich makes money seem almost fake. I think that's part of the allure of the Hamptons. Last weekend, a guy in a Ferrari seemed to scoff at my Porsche. I'm not kidding. It's totally surreal. Last year, I saw a kid park a Lamborghini Huracan worth almost 300 grand, look full of himself, and then get upstaged by a very rare Porsche worth around 900 grand. It all sounds a bit disgusting, I know. But I think the Hamptons are place that is SO wealthy that money almost ceases to matter, which maybe account for the odd euphoria people feel hen they visit.
1
I'm so glad the new Trumpcare Bill will give these people much-needed tax breaks so they can afford to maintain such cultural and artistic treasures. These are brave patriots struggling to maintain American values of freedom and patriotism in the face of vicious attacks from the unappreciative majority. Thank goodness for Mr. Trump.
154
Nothing like spending $50 million to pretend to experience the outdoors.
150
the other outdoors has bitey insects and stingy weeds - scary stuff - and doesn't come with staff bringing drinks to your lazyboy
3
And you wonder why folks in the US interior voted for Trump!
65
The working class does not necessarily hate the rich or excessive personal spending. Typically their issues are with morality issues or with the political elite telling taking their own hard earned money to redestribute it to wasteful projects or poor people.
5
Because they wanted to be sure the one-percenters here would stay rich?
23
The irony being, of course, that the Trump/GOP tax breaks will be a great help to those rich Hamptonites and of no help at all to the US interior voters (except the rich ones).
33
Much as I love swimming pools and house porn, this is plain old vulgar and disgusting.
119
How do the mosquitoes know not to bite the rich people?
116
Wonder how many voted for Trump EPA rollbacks... oops the air in the sky.
8
*smile*
This is an elegant example of less is more. Only one reader comment to this article, but oh isn't it just the perfect single comment? Kudos to you, C. Wolfe, kudos.
This is an elegant example of less is more. Only one reader comment to this article, but oh isn't it just the perfect single comment? Kudos to you, C. Wolfe, kudos.
1
Let them eat cake.
22
Shallow? They bring new meaning to the word.