Artsy, Understated East Hampton Compound Is a Nature Lover’s Paradise

Snaking down a narrow peninsula on the northern side of tony East Hampton, N.Y., Gerard Drive has water on both sides. A birdwatcher’s paradise with a diverse tidal marsh system, the area offers expansive views and incredible light. And, for kayakers, canoers, stand-up paddle boarders, cyclists, runners, and outdoor enthusiasts of all types, the neighborhood is ideal.

The discreet street has attracted artsy folks from its beginning, including Simon Kirke (drummer for Bad Company and Free) and “Sex and the City” actress Kim Cattrall, while the local neighborhood, Springs, has long been noted for its artistic residents ever since Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner, attracted by the light and the cheap rent, moved here in the late 1940s. Prices on Gerard Drive can no longer be considered cheap, or even affordable to all but millionaires, but they are still way under typical East Hampton levels, especially the headline-making prices on the ocean side of town.

A fine example of the street’s low-key charm is a slightly more than one-third acre parcel right on Gardiner’s Bay, with two separate cottages plus an office or artist’s studio, that’s available via Kyle Rosko and Marcy Braun at Douglas Elliman for $3.35 million. Just because Gerard Drive is relaxed and informal — and this waterside compound is invitingly so — this is still the Hamptons, so the finishes and fixtures throughout are high end, naturally.

There are three bedrooms and two bathrooms across the property’s three shingled cottages that combined span about 2,200 square feet with fantastic views across the bay, over to Gardiner’s Island, one of the largest privately owned islands in the United States. The front cottage offers two bedrooms and one bath, an updated kitchen, a great room with fireplace, a sleeping loft and laundry facilities, while the one-bedroom and one-bath waterside cottage has a great room with fireplace, an updated open kitchen, and an additional laundry set up. A smaller structure between the cottages provides flexible space for an art studio or home office.

We say: stuff the kids (and their nanny) in the two-bedroom cottage for the duration and retreat to the smaller cottage at the water’s edge. You can thank us later, possibly while you pop out the back door and paddleboard across the bay.