Over 20 years ago, Andrew and Susan Robertson were hunting for a new home near New York City to use as a weekend getaway. Their real estate agent suggested they take a look at a big farmhouse in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Andrew, best known as a top advertising executive at BBDO Worldwide and the mind behind campaigns like the “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” Snickers ads, told The New York Times that they “wandered around it, and smelled it, and felt it.”
Even though it wasn’t exactly what they had in mind, the couple fell in love with it.
They bought the property in 2001 for nearly $5.8 million and worked on a massive renovation with interior designer Thom Filicia, famous from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Now, 24 years later, the house is for sale at just under $13.8 million.
The listing is handled by Amanda Bates Goodro of Houlihan Lawrence and Louisa Wake of Hedgerow Exclusive Properties—one of the Robertsons’ daughters.
The couple updated the house to make better use of the space. They added a two-car garage, a limestone mudroom and butler’s pantry, and a 2,000-bottle wine room.
They connected a restored water tower to the house, hired Amish workers to build a barn that can serve as a second garage, and even put an emergency generator in an old icehouse that used to store food.
Sitting on nearly six acres of heavily wooded land in the historic Stanwich District, about an hour from Manhattan, the property is centered around a white, wood-sided Colonial home. It has six bedrooms and eight bathrooms, with roughly 9,200 square feet across three levels.
The original wide-plank fir floors and wood-burning fireplaces remain, keeping the charm of a mid-19th-century farmhouse. It’s even listed on the Greenwich Landmarks Registry as the Elkanah Mead House.
The house features two separate entrances leading to living and dining rooms, a media room, and a beautiful library. The library includes a dry bar converted from a closet and a lacquered ceiling that glows with the firelight.
The Smallbone kitchen comes with oak cabinets, marble counters, an eat-in island, an AGA range, a wine cooler, a breakfast nook, and French doors to the outdoors. The main suite has a fireside bedroom, a walk-in closet, and a bath with a soaking tub.
Outside, the James Doyle-designed grounds are full of flower gardens, terraces, a 20-by-40-foot swimming pool, an outdoor kitchen, a sitting area with a fountain made from an antique water trough, a vegetable garden, a seasonal chicken coop, and a pond.
The rebuilt water tower now houses a gym, a full bathroom, and a double-height office.
According to the New York Times, the Robertsons decided to sell because the house is “a lot of house now” for just the two of them.
Andrew Robertson, former president and CEO of BBDO and current chairman, has been named one of Adweek’s “100 Most Influential Leaders in Marketing, Media, and Tech,” alongside Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos. The couple still owns a beachfront home in Sag Harbor, New York, which is their main residence, as well as homes in Manhattan and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Author Profile
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The writer is a real estate journalist specializing in all types of New York City properties, including luxury residences, commercial spaces, and homes.
He also writes humorous articles about real estate, investors, and realtors.
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