Sawyer and Nichols took great care with restorations upon purchasing the property, ensuring that the home’s original understated elegance was preserved. The duo added dormers as well as hand-carved replica windows and doors to the three-bedroom main home, which also boasts 10 chimneys. Raw wood beams, ceilings, and wall paneling are highlights of the main house, as are floor-to-ceiling windows that allow light to pour into the interior.
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There are several porches and decks for lounging around the property, most notably the patio hosting the main house’s pool, which overlooks the Sound. A tennis court is also discretely nestled in a private corner of the property.
Former owner Cornell loved entertaining the influencers of her era at the estate, including playwrights and actors like Noel Coward and Laurence Olivier, and cultural and political figures like Eleanor Roosevelt. Once the property was in their hands, Sawyer and Nichols followed suit. Nichols, a successful film and stage director himself, had a chance to be hosted by Cornell; Sawyer tells The Wall Street Journal that he “fell in love with the Vineyard in the ’60s and always remembered the day he visited Katharine Cornell at her home… He said it was the most beautiful house he’d ever seen.”
Sawyer also told the publication that “the rhythms of summer have changed,” when explaining her reason for selling the storied property. Her family is now larger and “there is less free time for long visits to the island.” Sawyer was represented by Mark Jenkins of Wallace and Co. Sotheby’s International Realty in the sale. Malm was represented by Tom Wallace, the principal broker of Wallace and Co. Sotheby’s International Realty.
