We like our homes with a little history -- especially if they manage to intertwine an interesting background with modern flourishes. This $8.49 million, four-bedroom barn in Southampton, NY, does just that, transforming a home for horses into an estate worthy of society's best. Here are four reasons you'll love this modernist abode.
1. Don't call it a barn
Fine -- if you insist. Besides its shingled exterior and gambrel roof, this 137-year-old horse barn shows few signs of its storied past. Sure, you've got the vaulted, exposed-beam ceiling, which looks entirely modern in crisp white paint. The kitchen's vintage red tiles might fit the equestrian theme, but not the modern (and double-wide) stainless-steel refrigerator.
2. It's made for outdoor living
Year-round entertainers will flock to this Hamptons hideout: Landscape designer Elizabeth Lear created an elegant escape, surrounding the three-quarter-acre grounds with high, manicured hedges and sculptural accents. A slate patio surrounds the heated pool, and the wooden deck offers numerous seating options for everything from intimate soirees to high-society galas.
3. You'll never run out of room
This former barn could fit a fair number of horses -- and with 5,440 square feet, it's got space for plenty of humans, too. The white chimney of an enormous fireplace stretches from the great room to the second-story loft. The airy loft is a perfect spot for billiards and exercise.
4. The master bedroom is your own private paradise
When Hamptons Cottages & Gardens profiled the barn's renovation in 2013, writer Michael Lassell called the master suite " baronial" -- and it doesn't take more than a quick peek to understand why. With a vaulted ceiling and a large, curved fireplace (dressed, of course, in white) with a limestone bolection mantelpiece, the room is truly fit for a king.