A Sweeping View Of Architectural History In Southampton House Tour

Perhaps the humblest but sweetest of seven stops on the Southampton Historical Museum’s annual Southampton House Tour, which will take place on May 30, will be a cottage on the charmingly named Eel Pot Alley.

According to the owners, the architect Brian Brady and interior designer Franco Biscardi, legend has it that the name came from the Revolutionary War, when soldiers from one side were chasing soldiers from the other side with hot eel oil and ill intent.

Using their professional expertise, Mr. Brady and Mr. Biscardi totally renovated the little ranch house, which sits in “a little sleeper of a neighborhood” that Mr. Biscardi described as unusually quiet for Southampton Village. The original residents had been local working people, and bedrooms took up much of the one-story residence.

Now, the house is laid out around the kitchen, which flows out to a dining area with French doors that replaced what in the ranch house had been a bedroom. By knocking down walls and adding a second story and lots of windows—including diamond-paned ones in the living room—the new owners opened the interior while staying within the footprint of the one-story ranch.

The result is what Mr. Brady calls a “very efficient” 1,750-square-foot home on a little more than a quarter acre, one that is filled with sunshine and decorative detail, from its wallpaper to its furnishings.

“The house really does get light all day long,” Mr. Biscardi, who’s also a chef, said earlier this month as sunlight spread cheer in the kitchen, where he was about to make dinner for guests.

Other touches include the entrance—a 19th-century elm front door that came from a Pennsylvania barn—antique pine floorboards, a fireplace, a wall piece Mr. Brady custom-built to frame a television and sound system and at the same time conceal a plumbing pipe, Shaker-style paneling on the second floor, and an extra-deep sofa for overnight guests. Upstairs, where there are two suites, the dormers are high and private enough that there’s no need to even use window treatments.

The partners will embark on renovating a home at Post Crossing next, and they hope to sell the one on Eel Pot Alley. They will also have a room of their own to decorate at this year’s Hampton Designer Showhouse. “Our own houses and showhouses are our chance to have fun,” Mr. Biscardi said.

“It’s nice to see what you can do with a ranch,” summed up Mary Lynch, a co-chair and docents’ “captain” for the event, at the home on Eel Pot Alley.

All together, the stops on the tour will date from Colonial days to the present. Among them will be St. Andrew’s Dune Church on Lake Agawam, which was originally built as a life-saving station, then acquired by Dr. T. Gaillard Thomas and donated as a church in 1879. According to the historical museum, a local carpenter built its rustic interior, which is illuminated by 11 Tiffany windows. Nearly destroyed in the 1938 hurricane, the church was restored and twice moved back from the sea; its nondenominational summer services are organized under the direction of Southampton’s Episcopal Church.

Another stop will be a luxury bed-and-breakfast, “A Butler’s Manor,” that was originally built in 1860 as the home of William Jagger, a descendant of an early settler of Southampton; today, it is designated a New York State historic property, having been carefully restored by the present owners. Refreshments for “insiders’ view” ticket holders will be served at the Butler’s Manor from 1 to 4:30 p.m.

Tour-takers will also be able to visit Hill House, a recently renovated 19th-century farmhouse that “features unexpected contemporary art styled with traditional architectural details,” according to the historical museum. The original owners would have looked out upon the potato fields that once surrounded Southampton Village.

Also on the tour will be “the windmill,” a 12-bedroom, 10-bath mansion with a four-story windmill. Designed by W.E. Brady in the 1900s, the house retains many of its original features. Wide manicured lawns with mature trees lead to the Georgian-style residence. Ornamental columns, pediments, balusters, wainscoting, lead-pane window, steam radiators, and covered verandas and decks are some noteworthy features.

Lake House, another mansion on the tour, has “sweeping views of Southampton’s most picturesque lake,” Lake Agawam, and to be steeped in history, having been built “just as Southampton was becoming a fashionable resort at the turn of the 20th century.” The residence has an abundance of wraparound porches, bay windows and other features, and the current owner has decorated it in keeping with modern family life, according to the museum.

Finally, there is a Tuscan villa with screened-in porches, a library, and a sunny chef’s kitchen. The historical museum calls it unique and enchanting and somewhat formal, with living and dining rooms overlooking mature grounds and the water.

The house tour will run from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 30. There will be a champagne reception from 4:30 to 6 p.m. sponsored by Sant Ambroeus restaurant.

Tickets cost $95 in advance and $110 the day of the tour. They can be purchased in advance at the Rogers Mansion’s Museum Shop, 17 Meeting House Lane in Southampton; by calling (631) 283-2494; or by using PayPal at southamptonhistoricalmuseum.org. On the day of the tour, tickets can be picked up or purchased as early as 10 a.m. at the Thomas Halsey Homestead, 249 South Main Street.