Old meets new in 1848 Oyster Bay farmhouse

This 1878 Oyster Bay farmhouse, formerly the summer home of Thomas K. Finletter -- an Eisenhower-era nuclear arms expert, adviser to Adlai Stevenson and ambassador to NATO -- offers the best of old and new.

On the market for $1,998,888, it has been renovated by its current architect-owner, who retained plenty of original details, including wide-plank floors, plaster work and an antique mantel.

The heating, cooling and windows have been updated.

French doors from the sunroom to the living-dining area and kitchen provide natural light all year round to the home’s common spaces, and four bedrooms have en suite baths.

Many houses advertise chef’s kitchens, but the kitchen here is the real thing, designed for the architect’s wife, a caterer. The setup includes a wall of professional-grade refrigerators and an enormous walk-in pantry. Numerous commercials for well-known brands and services have been shot here, as well as on the grounds.

Speaking of those grounds, the house sits on a lush, rolling 4.8-acre parcel bordering Muttontown.

“It’s probably one of the largest intact properties within Oyster Bay,” says listing agent Paul Mateyunas of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty.

The grounds feature a bridge that crosses a man-made pond fed by a natural spring, just one of several special landscape details.