Martha Stewart doesn't just buy houses. She adopts them, dissects them, and then forces them to become the best versions of themselves. For thirty years, her sanctuary was 58 Lily Pond Lane. It was the quintessential martha stewart hamptons house, a place that basically defined the "coastal chic" aesthetic before that was even a trending hashtag on social media.
Then, in 2021, she sold it.
The news hit the real estate world like a ton of bricks. Why would the woman who spent decades planting 1,800 tulip bulbs and matching her kitchen tiles to her McCoy pottery collection just walk away? Honestly, the story is more about evolution than it is about a simple real estate transaction.
The "Wreck" That Became an Icon
When Martha bought the place in 1991, it wasn't exactly a spread for Martha Stewart Living. She actually called it "the wreck of Lily Pond Lane."
It was an 1873 shingle-style cottage that had seen much better days. We’re talking tiny rooms—25 of them, believe it or not—and cracked plaster everywhere. Most people would have seen a teardown. Martha saw a laboratory.
She paid about $1.7 million for it back then. If you think about the Hamptons market today, that sounds like a steal, but back in the early 90s, it was a project. She was newly divorced and looking for a fresh start. Her daughter, Alexis, was actually the one who pushed her to buy in East Hampton, telling her it was the place to be for a social life.
Martha didn’t just renovate; she re-engineered the vibe.
She worked with Ben Krupinski, the legendary Hamptons builder, to open things up. They knocked down walls to create a massive living room and enclosed an old porch to make a dining area that looked right out over the gardens. The floors were done in teal-blue Mexican cement tiles. It sounds bold, but against the weathered cedar shakes of the exterior, it was perfect.
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Designing From the Garden Out
For Martha, the outside is just as important as the inside. Maybe more so.
The house sat on just one acre. In the world of mega-mansions, that’s a postage stamp. But she treated every square inch like a masterpiece.
- The Roses: She had these incredible climbing roses that framed the porch. They were so famous that when she eventually moved, she actually transplanted some of them to her farm in Bedford.
- The Hedges: She used privet and high hedges to create "outdoor rooms." It’s a classic trick, but she executed it with surgical precision.
- The Colors: The palette of the house—beiges, teals, and soft yellows—literally became the basis for her paint lines at Kmart and later Sears.
Inside the Martha Stewart Hamptons House
Walking into 58 Lily Pond Lane was like walking into a curated museum of "approachable luxury."
She filled the place with mercury glass and jadeite. The kitchen was the heart of the home, obviously. She had these custom metal cabinets built and shelves that displayed her massive collection of McCoy pottery. Everything had a place. If you ever saw her TV show in the late 90s, the kitchen set was actually modeled after this exact house.
It wasn't all just for show, though. This was a house for entertaining.
She’d host these legendary dinner parties where she’d serve corn and lobster, often sourced from local potato farms and fisherman she knew by name. It was the ultimate "Good Thing."
The Shocking Sale: $16.5 Million
By 2021, the world had changed, and so had Martha’s lifestyle.
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She was spending way more time at Cantitoe Corners, her 150-acre farm in Bedford, and Skylands, her massive estate in Maine. The Hamptons had become... well, crowded. The quiet, serene Lily Pond Lane she fell in love with in the 60s as a young vacationer was now a paparazzi magnet.
She put the house on the market, and the price tag was a stunner.
While some reports initially suggested an asking price around $8.4 million, the house actually sold in an off-market deal for **$16.5 million**. The buyer? Katherine Sailer, wife of Kenneth Lerer (the guy who co-founded The Huffington Post).
It was a massive profit, sure. But Martha admitted it "hurt" to let it go. You don't spend 30 years perfecting a garden just to walk away without a little heartache.
What Happened to the "Other" House?
A lot of people forget that Martha actually had a second property in East Hampton for a while.
It was on Georgica Pond—a modern place designed by Gordon Bunshaft. That one was a nightmare. She got into a massive, multi-year legal feud with her neighbor, real estate tycoon Harry Macklowe, over a strip of wetlands.
Between the legal bills and the bad blood, that property never became the sanctuary Lily Pond Lane was. Eventually, during her legal troubles in the early 2000s, she ended up passing it to her daughter, and it was later sold and demolished.
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Why the Hamptons House Still Matters Today
Even though she hasn't owned it for years, the martha stewart hamptons house remains the blueprint for coastal design.
She proved that you don't need 100 acres to create a world-class estate. You just need a vision and a lot of boxwood.
If you're looking to bring a bit of that Martha magic into your own space, start with the "re-" philosophy. She called her final big renovation there the "re-project." It wasn't about buying all new stuff; it was about re-upholstering, re-painting, and re-organizing what she already had.
Takeaways for your own home:
- Ceilings matter: Martha often painted her ceilings in unexpected colors—soft pinks or deep beiges—to make the rooms feel warmer.
- Collect with purpose: Don't just buy random decor. Pick a theme (like her teal pottery) and commit to it.
- Garden "Rooms": Use hedges or even tall potted plants to create distinct areas in your yard. It makes a small space feel much larger.
Martha has moved on to bigger things—literally. She’s currently busy turning a basement into a 100-foot granite swimming pool at her place in Maine. But for many of us, the shingled cottage on Lily Pond Lane will always be the ultimate Martha Stewart home. It was the place where her brand really grew its roots.
If you are planning your own "coastal" renovation, look at the archival photos of her kitchen. Notice the mix of industrial metal cabinets with warm wood floors. It’s a balance of "hard" and "soft" that still looks fresh thirty years later. That’s the real Martha Stewart legacy: design that doesn't age because it's rooted in quality and a genuine love for the home.
To get the look today, focus on natural materials like sisal rugs and linen slipcovers. Martha always used Safavieh sisal throughout the house because it’s durable and hides the sand. It’s a practical tip from a woman who, despite the fame, always understood that a beach house is meant to be lived in.