The Luxury of Space

Homes with bountiful acreage provide A lush material for bringing dreams to life and letting the imagination run wild. —by David Graver An abundance of acreage provides transportive power. Whether the acres are sculpted like rolling hills and sprawling fields or manicured like wooded paths and flower gardens, they offer privacy, tranquility—and malleable material for the fulfillment of one’s dreams. With more acres, there’s more to escape into and more to transform. And with 50,100 or more acres, homeowners can create fantastical large-scale amenities—or reconstruct worlds of pure imagination—that smaller plots just can’t contain. 17 East Middle Patent Road Anthony DeBellis , the listing agent of 339 Cold Spring Road in Hudson , New York, understands the power of fantasy that plentiful acreage offers. It’s what he’s observed on the property’s 64.2 acres, amid a variety of wildlife-rich woods and a spring-fed pond that blossoms with water lilies. “Buyers looking at this property love the quaintness of the farmhouse and pure isolation,” he says, but “Little Red Riding Hood would have had a field day visiting Grandma at this home. Laura Ingalls Wilder would have been sitting there all day fishing at this pond . . . or better yet, this is where Charlotte’s Web should have been shot.” For all the literary inspiration the land provides, the message behind DeBellis’s observations is that large properties offer a retreat into the vastness of one’s own vision. Homeowners can create fantastical large-scale amenities—or reconstruct worlds of pure imagination. 17 East Middle Patent Road Among the sugar maples, willows, and hazelnut trees of Sally Slater’s Bedford, New York, listing, 17 East Middle Patent Road , there are no sounds aside from the birds that flit about the 57-acre estate and the crickets beside the natural spring pond. Among these acres and their natural inhabitants, horses may find a home, too. This particular property hosts two barns and four stalls. Rolling fields give way to fenced pastureland; an organic vegetable garden twists into nature trails. “You are in the countryside,” Slater says, “and yet it is less than an hour from New York City—and only 10 to 12 minutes from downtown Greenwich or Bedford.” That one hour from Manhattan is not a commute, she says; it is transportation to sanctuary. Berger Ranch These attributes are not unique to the tristate area. Some 1,700 miles away from Bedford, the iconic Berger Ranch in Simonton, Texas , embodies many of the same values. This 91-acre functioning cattle ranch is in close proximity to Houston and its executive airport. “You have no idea you are nestled so close to the city,” agent Karla Miller says. “This property is for someone who loves the city but who also appreciates the land.” The beauty of buildings may fade, but the beauty of the land never goes away, she says. Atop those acres rises an 11,200-sq.- ft. French-style country manor with an expansive rose garden dedicated to the master bath. As exquisite as the home is, it’s only part of what such an estate can offer, as it’s complemented by French gardens and trees aplenty, all visible through extensive picture windows. “If you drive to the back 33 or so acres,” Miller adds, “there are pecan trees and a pond and you start to have a greater appreciation for what this property is.” Large properties offer a retreat into the vastness of one’s own vision. Hillandale Estate Straddling the Connecticut-Westchester border, North Stamford’s Hillandale Estate and its 200-plus acres (upon which rest some 17,000 square feet of living space) represent the rarity of all the aforementioned attributes in one. As listing agent Stacey Oestreich says: “When you are at this property, you’re automatically taken to another world. You cannot get an experience like this unless you are surrounded by this many acres— you lose spatial awareness that you are in Connecticut and Westchester.” Of course, the estate’s tiny historic chapel and stunning, recently restored stone manor house add to the aesthetic experience, but simply having a property of this magnitude has an emotional appeal, Oestreich says. The acres allow for features like a greenhouse and a maze garden. They envelop a private lake. And they encompass 5.5 miles of private roads that blend the literal with the figurative, inviting the lucky owner to drive—or stroll—from one part of their imagination to another. Hillandale Estate Find your next spacious home today.