6 groovy homes built in the 1970s
Featuring a skylit conversation pit in Texas and a sunken living room in California
Sands Point, New York
Architect Richard Meier designed Steamboat Landing, a 1971 3-acre estate on Long Island's north shore. The waterfront five-bedroom main house features a double-height living room with columns, exposed ducts, clerestory window, glass wall, fireplace, and loft; an attached three-story corkscrew escape slide; and Hempstead Bay views.
Outside are a one-bedroom boathouse, staff house with two apartments, carriage house, ice house, tennis court, pool, and private beach. $7,990,000. Rachel King and Chase Landow, Serhant Real Estate, (914) 643-5724.
Piney Point Village, Texas
Jack Stehling formed this 1970 house from two glass cubes. The renovated five-bedroom home has a rosewood-paneled, skylit conversation pit, a marble-and-glass primary bath with amoeba tub, and a chef's kitchen with an island connected by a deck to the three-story glass atrium.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The wooded, landscaped lot with Zen-style gardens sits on a bluff above Buffalo Bayou; Houston is about 25 minutes' drive. $2,900,000. Walter Bering, Martha Turner Sotheby's International Realty-Central Houston Brokerage, (713) 851-9753.
Greenwich, Connecticut
Spector Group created this four-bedroom home in 1979 on a 4.2-acre' 70s-modern estate about 15 minutes from downtown. The house features three shed roofs with clerestory windows, a living room with a wall of glass, a roomy kitchen and breakfast area with saltillo tile floors, and a finished lower level with office, gym, en suite bedroom, and flex space.
The lush property, in a cul-de-sac surrounded by wetlands, includes a tennis court, decks, and a pool. $3,995,000. Amy Balducci, Compass Connecticut, (917) 318-7841.
Napa, California
The update to this 1971 five-bedroom home retained its characteristic period details. The house has glass walls, cork floors, a double-doored entry with slatted screens, a vaulted, sunken living room centered on a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace, an eat-in chef's kitchen with a pantry, and a 1,200-bottle wine cellar.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The 20-acre wooded hillside lot includes xeriscape gardens, deck with kitchen, firepit, outdoor shower, and pool; vineyards are nearby and Sacramento is an hour's drive. $3,200,000. Stefan Jezycki, Engel & Völkers Napa, (707) 738-2945.
East Hampton, New York
The Butterfly House, designed by Hobby Miller and owned by star hairstylist Sally Hershberger, dates to 1976. The midcentury-modern two-bedroom features an open-plan top floor with black-beamed ceilings, oversize windows, living room with fireplace, skylit kitchen, wrap-around deck, and spiral staircase to the first-floor bedrooms.
The forested 1-acre lot has a pool surrounded by indigenous grasses, lawns, and specimen trees, and private-path access to Gardiner's Bay. $2,995,000. Kathy Konzet, Sotheby's International Realty-Bridgehampton Brokerage, (631) 252-0254.
Fountaintown, Indiana
This three-bedroom split-level ranch house was built in 1976 on 6 acres of farmland 30 minutes from Indianapolis. The home has a step-down family room with rustic wood beams and paneling, brick wall, and woodstove; an eat-in kitchen; and a separate dining room.
Beyond the screened patio overlooking the pool are mature trees, lawns, fenced gardens, a pole barn, a firepit area, a two-car garage, and wooded hiking trails. $549,900. Jim Perry, F.C. Tucker Company-East/ Luxury Portfolio International, (317) 281-9239.
This article was first published in the latest issue of The Week magazine. If you want to read more like it, you can try six risk-free issues of the magazine here.
-
How to financially prepare for divorceThe Explainer Facing ‘irreconcilable differences’ does not have to be financially devastating
-
Why it’s important to shop around for a mortgage and what to look forThe Explainer You can save big by comparing different mortgage offers
-
4 ways to save on rising health care costsThe Explainer Health care expenses are part of an overall increase in the cost of living for Americans
-
The best food books of 2025The Week Recommends From mouthwatering recipes to insightful essays, these colourful books will both inspire and entertain
-
Art that made the news in 2025The Explainer From a short-lived Banksy mural to an Egyptian statue dating back three millennia
-
Nine best TV shows of the yearThe Week Recommends From Adolescence to Amandaland
-
Winter holidays in the snow and sunThe Week Recommends Escape the dark, cold days with the perfect getaway
-
The best homes of the yearFeature Featuring a former helicopter engine repair workshop in Washington, D.C. and high-rise living in San Francisco
-
Critics’ choice: The year’s top 10 moviesFeature ‘One Battle After Another’ and ‘It Was Just an Accident’ stand out
-
A luxury walking tour in Western AustraliaThe Week Recommends Walk through an ‘ancient forest’ and listen to the ‘gentle hushing’ of the upper canopy
-
Joanna Trollope: novelist who had a No. 1 bestseller with The Rector’s WifeIn the Spotlight Trollope found fame with intelligent novels about the dramas and dilemmas of modern women