Sea Cliff home for sale renovated with original style in mind
This Sea Cliff bungalow is on the market for nearly $2 million. Credit: Dynamic Media Solutions/Frank A. Urso
By the time he was 5 years old, Rob Himes' son had lived in four different Sea Cliff homes his father had renovated to resell.
"The house we're in now was a stretch for me to get," said Himes, a licensed contractor. "We've really made it something special, so we're not leaving here."
Himes' latest flip, a multifamily property on Glenlawn Avenue, is now on the market for $1.95 million. The parcel includes a main house with four bedrooms and 3½ bathrooms, as well as a detached 800-square-foot apartment with one bedroom and bathroom.
"It's extremely challenging to get that particular situation legalized now, to have a multi-family in Sea Cliff, so that's kind of cool about the property," said Himes, who confirmed the legality of the arrangement. Taxes on the property total $19,476.
The main house sports four bedrooms. Credit: Dynamic Media Solutions/Frank A. Urso
Himes purchased the property for $700,000 in September 2023, having previously flipped the house next door, he said. He had been eying both properties, which fall within the North Shore Central School District, for at least a decade.
"It was in disrepair, it just sat empty," he said of the main house.
Himes put in close to $1 million in renovations to the main house and the cottage, he said. Seven-foot ceilings on the lower level are now 9-foot ceilings thanks to underpinning. There are new mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems; the siding, roof and windows have been replaced. He redid the driveways and landscaping.
The 3,050-square-foot, three-level main house has "been gutted back to the studs," said Melinda Toner, Himes' sister and Compass listing agent.
"Every single thing in that home is brand new except the front door," Toner said.
The 3,050-square-foot main house has three levels. Credit: Dynamic Media Solutions/Frank A. Urso
Himes retrofitted the front door of the main house with new hinges and a new lock set, and created a new frame for it with weatherstripping. The siding on the home is new, but is meant to replicate the cedar shake aesthetic the home wore before.
It was a priority to not "disrupt the neighborhood" by changing the style of the home, Himes said. Instead, he worked to retain its "original charm and appeal."
"The house very much looks the same way as it did when we purchased it, the front of the house," Himes said. "We replaced everything very close to being in kind."
The house is heated by natural gas and forced air, and cooled by central air conditioning.
The kitchen in the main house. Credit: Dynamic Media Solutions/Frank A. Urso
In the two-level cottage, in addition to the bedroom and bathroom, there are a living room, dining room, kitchen, study and laundry. An original beam runs through the cottage, Toner added, but that structure has been renovated, too.
The project as a whole includes many hidden closets and other practical features, Toner said.
"Every little nook and cranny has been utilized for storage or an office or a little playroom, and he kind of does that in all of his builds, he makes really good use of every inch of space," she said.
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.
