Amazing Architect-Designed Wainscott House is Yours for a Mere $19.5M

This property has us flummoxed. It offers really interesting and cool spaces, but somehow, the overall effect adds up to high-end hotel, not home. It was designed by Alfredo DeVido and updated by Maziar Behrooz. The house is a massive 13,000sf, with a 1200sf "Japanese barn-style great room." There are seven en-suite bedrooms and a separate two-bedroom apartment. We love the tall greenhouse dining room—that's a great touch, and the library is fantastic and looks like the books have actually been read and enjoyed. In the lower level is a bar dining area with wine cellar that, again, looks more like a hotel than a home, and a media room ditto. 2.7 acres of land include pretty gardens and a tennis court. As for the asking price, we can't picture anyone paying $19.5M; the property is south of the highway but would have to be nearer the ocean to command that, we think.

· Modern Masterpiece, Park-Like Setting [Sotheby's]