Manse

While others start their day checking their phone for world news (rarely good these days and nothing I can change), I’m up with the chickens, out in the garden, happily tracking what’s blooming in my wildflower meadow and catching up with my new heron friend whom I call Bob. Blissful are these hours outdoors before calls start coming in. John Muir—the renowned preservationist whose advocacy created the Grand Canyon National Park, among others—was spot on: Nature is as essential to our well-being as food, clothing and shelter. Stress levels fall as our experience of green spaces and fresh air rises. In this summer of unpredictable forecasts—to put it mildly—the goal was embracing nature in all its capriciousness. “There is no bad weather,” the old Norwegian saying goes, “only bad clothing.” Similarly, the most remarkable properties in Private Brokerage right now are those that rise to the occasion of every climate quirk: they are all about ingeniously conceived outdoor spaces! When I came upon California photographer Julie Pointer Adams’s recent book Al Fresco: Inspired Ideas for Outdoor Living, I knew it would serve as a muse for our August newsletter.

An iconic 19th century Ridgefield masterpiece with ornamental garden and saltwater pool adds a stunning colonial-style pagoda for sipping frozen cocktails in the shade (or escaping the rain!) The panoramic multi-level terrace view from a stately 1920s home in Rye takes in endless sky, water and three contiguous golf courses. Ideal spot to bring your work laptop! When meandering along the stately old stone walls of a Federal Manor in Red Hook or those that snake around a 108-acre parcel bordering Greenwich, who doesn’t feel connected to the long-ago generations who built them? Why not settle in for a picnic right here? Here’s to finding your luxury dream property that will afford you the option of being truly “out there” as often as possible.

Tony Cutugno Senior Vice-President Private Brokerage

Gathering at Home

The new normal for friends and families who live together is to occasionally also work from home together. What a bonus when everyone can carve out their own space outside with panoramic golf course views and the sheer delight of daylight—which boosts mood and the ability to focus?

Gathering in Nature

While the best landscaped terraces and formal gardens number among the greatest of human achievements, a picnic “in the wild” with thick blankets on the ground and birdsong the only music can be heaven. Nothing stimulates the appetite like food and drink amid the trees and ancient stone walls.