Manhasset house for sale combines classic feel, modern updates

The renovation and expansion of a shingled Colonial on Manhasset's Knolls Lane is one of several similar projects Zachary Mankes and his wife, Lisa Disraeli, have taken on over the years.

"But this was for us," said Mankes, who owns an advertising company. "This was for our family."

Now, Mankes and Disraeli have two grown daughters and have listed the five-bed, 6½-bath home for $4.6 million. Taxes on the 1.05-acre property, which falls within the Port Washington Union Free School District, total $55,999.

"We bought it about 20 years ago and completely gutted it," Mankes said. "We gutted it down to the studs, and we added about 2,500 square feet."

The "classic, center hall Colonial" now covers 6,500 square feet, he said. The ceilings in the added spaces are higher, but the pair kept curio cabinets and brass doorknobs. The goal was to avoid turning the home into a "McMansion," Mankes added.

"Our objective was to keep the feel of a classic, traditional Colonial, but update it dramatically," he said.

The original home was built in 1938, property records confirm. Listing agent Clare Governale, who has co-listed the property with Grace Kusnierek for Daniel Gale Sotheby's International Realty, called the project "a very thoughtful renovation."

"As they modernized it, they really did leave all of that beautiful character that was original to the house in 1938," Governale said.

Mankes and Disraeli, who works in interior design, added custom paneling, a mahogany-filled room with coffered ceilings and radiant heated floors. A double-sided stone fireplace, which runs on gas, connects the kitchen to the adjacent room.

The bedrooms, including the primary suite, are on the second level of the home. Each bedroom has an en suite bathroom. In the basement, there are a gym, bathroom, laundry room and additional room meant to serve as an office or play area.

The pair also refreshed the exterior of the home, replacing hand-split cedar shake with the same, Mankes said. Outside, there are a bluestone patio and built-in barbecue.

"It’s a very warm home, even though it is a large home," Governale said. "It’s one of those homes that kind of hugs you as you walk in."

By Arielle Dollinger

arielle.dollinger@newsday.com@aridollinger

Arielle Dollinger joined Newsday as a staff reporter in 2022. Previously, she covered local and national news as a freelancer for The New York Times, Newsday and other outlets.