“Revolutionary” estate in Greenwich sells for $11.8M

A 200-year-old Greenwich, Connecticut mansion that was built by the son of a Revolutionary War soldier has been sold for $11.77 million after spending more than two years going on and off the market.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting the home, built in 1820 by Israel Peck, Jr., whose father fought in the war for independence, was originally listed for $15.95 million back in 2019, and has been bought by an unnamed local family.

The 9,500 square-foot, seven-bedroom home, which sits on 5.12 acres of landscaped property, has six working fireplaces, red oak beamed ceilings, french doors and original antique heartwood pine floors throughout the house — along with a three-story spiral staircase in the marble-floored foyer.

Outside, there is a pool with a pool house, gardens, a tennis court, a covered living room and a cottage.

The property was sold by trained interior designer Deborah Nielsen, who purchased the home in 2002 for $8.58 million with her then-husband, Bjorn Nielsen, according to the publication, She spent the next 20 years meticulously restoring the home, spending $3 million alone on improving the grounds around the home.

The sale was brokered by Jennifer Leahy of Douglas Elliman, with the buyer represented by Joseph Barbieri of Sotheby’s International Realty.

Deborah Nielsen told the newspaper she going through a grieving process as she let go of the home she’s been in for two decades.

“Walking up and down the stairs as I’m packing, I stroke the wall like it’s a person. I talk to the walls and to the fireplace,” she said. “When you love something like that and have to leave it, it’s so bizarre.”

She added that, now that her three daughters are grown, she is downsizing to a nearby home that was built in the 1940s.

[Wall Street Journal] — Vince DiMiceli