Rich Cribs: Shelter Island's modern Gothic Victorian, and more

Dine in or out at this 1890 Gothic Victorian, on the market for $1.5 million, in Shelter Island’s historic Heights District: The house has a sunny, round dining area in the eat-in kitchen, an outdoor dining gazebo connected to the wraparound porch, and a grilling patio.

Gothic details abound in the four-bedroom, two-bathroom home, says listing agent Susan Cincotta of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty. “One bedroom has Gothic doors out to a veranda with a swing. The other has Gothic windows whose shutters pull up with a rope,” she says. “And there’s a bedroom with a ladder up to a loft and another with a fenced-off window seat.”

Other architectural curiosities include an observatory with water views --  though its main function is to let in the light -- and front stairs that can be lifted up for access to the full basement.

“It’s not one of those historic houses that isn’t modernized. It’s very modernized, but you can’t see it. You can just appreciate the ease and practicality of it,” Cincotta says. A previous owner updated carefully to brighten the interior while protecting the character of the home.

“Knowing Gothic Victorians are very dark, she opened the second-floor foyer where the stairway goes around and recreated it by restoring all the Gothic details -- all the little nooks and carvings and matching details in the wood -- to bring more light into the house.”

The garden of the .37-acre property was designed by former owner Martha Baker, the author of three books on landscape architecture and garden design.

FARM RANCH. An adobe fireplace, colorful tile work and exposed wood ceiling beams bring warm, Mexican-style flair to this Lloyd Neck farm ranch, which is listed for $1.495 million. The four-bedroom home, built in 1967, has three bathrooms, two half-bathrooms and an expansive addition -- a new four-car garage with a sprawling lofted playroom above it.

“There are all sorts of spaces for everyone to hang out in,” says listing agent Peggy Moriarty  of Daniel Gale. “If you’re a horse collector, a car collector, into entertaining, the house can suit everybody’s needs,” she says.

There is a six-stall barn and a two-stall barn and turnout rings on the 2.62-acre property. “The horses definitely have the best gig going, because the barns are air-conditioned, heated, and there’s a watering system,” Moriarty says. The home also comes with an in-ground pool with a new heater.