On the Market: Bauhaus in Bucks County for $1.349M

On the Market profiles homes for sale in the Philadelphia region.

When Nancy Samet and James Lightstone became empty nesters in 2013, they took an unconventional route to homeownership: they moved from Center City to the suburbs.

The couple, whose daughter had just moved out of their Rittenhouse brownstone they had owned for 18 years, was planning to move to New York City. But driving around New Hope one day, they came across a home that made them take a detour.

"It was just everything we ever wanted in a house," Samet said. "We loved the modern elements in the house. It was completely the opposite of what we had."

The home – unique to Bucks County for its Bauhaus style – was also filled with theatrical history, something that interested Samet's husband, a theater producer.

Samet, a retail worker, said the home was built for Solomon Jacobson, the press agent for Fiddler on the Roof.

"There was a whole Broadway musical theater scene going on there at one point," she said.

In the home's 80-plus years, there was only one major renovation.

"In 1997 an addition was put on that almost doubled the size of the house," Samet said.

She said the 1990s architect, Richard Luthringer, kept up with the Bauhaus style, and it's hard to tell what's new and what's original.

Rooms added with the new renovation include the kitchen, great room, upstairs bedroom, and garage.

Samet said she and her husband kept up with the upgrades as well, restoring the floors, and enhancing the landscaping.

Many of the home's features, described in the listing as having an "emphasis on functional design," were influenced by Walter Gropius, founder of the Bauhaus School.

When a visitor enters the "sugar cube" home, they open a custom-made stainless steel sheathead front door that leads to a vestibule with Pennsylvania black slate floor and a stainless cherry accented railing.

The master suite is on the first floor, which includes silver-leafed cabinetry and a custom terrazzo-tiled bath.

The kitchen includes custom cabinets, concrete counters, and upgraded stainless steel appliances. An exercise room is adjacent to the kitchen.

Samet said the original floors are the features she loves most about the home.

"They're magnificent," she said. "In the dining room there's a combination of wood and slate, and checkerboard."

Outside, the front of the house has a curved wall with a fountain. In the backyard, the landscaped grounds contain unique trees such as Dogwoods, Azealeas, and Sequoias, among others.

The 4,400-square-foot home, which sits on about a 2.25-acre lot, has three bedrooms and two full baths.

The couple has decided to sell now to relocate to Florida. They have put the home on the market for $1.349 million.

Click to view listing >