Inside the $11.9 Million East Hampton Retreat of an Emmy-Winning TV Anchor
Almost two months after it first hit the market with a $13 million price tag, a picturesque spread long owned by Doug Johnson and his late wife Liz Robbins is now available in the sought-after Georgica enclave of East Hampton with a newly reduced ask. Currently offered for $11.85 million, 38 Darby Lane is listed by Sheila Smith of The Corcoran Group.
Records show the couple—he a former Emmy-winning news reporter for WABC-TV New York, and she a prominent Washington lobbyist who passed away last year at age 76—paid $4.2 million back in 2007 for the almost two-acre property, which is showcased by a traditional English-style home boasting seven bedrooms and eight baths in roughly 6,000 square feet of rambling living space adorned with six fireplaces. There’s also a one-bedroom guest cottage, plus a detached two-car garage that doubles as a party barn.
The fireside living room is spotlighted by walls of windows and a high wood-beam ceiling.
Brian Bailey/Media Hamptons
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Extensively renovated by Johnson and Robbins during their tenure, the charming shingle-clad structure is hidden away from the street behind a dense clump of shrubbery and trees. A gated driveway empties out at a parking area. Once inside, highlights include an entrance foyer that flows to a window-lined living and dining area resting beneath a soaring pitched ceiling. A country kitchen is outfitted with pine cabinetry, an eat-in island and a walk-in pantry, while the adjoining breakfast room and den sports French doors opening out to a brick patio.
A brick-paved patio enveloped in greenery is ideal for alfresco lounging and entertaining.
Brian Bailey/Media Hamptons
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An upstairs primary suite flaunts a balcony and antique glass-paneled doors leading to a bath with a walk-in closet, while the finished basement level holds a screening room, a woodworking shop, and a gym.
The grassy and rose-laced grounds, which are showcased by a heated lap-lane pool flanked by a raised spa. There’s also a spacious outdoor entertaining space that’s hosted luminaries the likes of Paul Newman, Jack Nicholson, Jimmy Fallon, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Paul McCartney, Jimmy Buffett, Billy Joel, and Jon Bon Jovi, just to name a few.
Click here for more photos of Liz Robbins and Doug Johnson’s East Hampton home.
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