B&B Spotlight: Fordham House Gets a Stately Makeover

For the better part of a decade, the in Greenport was home to a Key West-style bed and breakfast, complete with wicker furniture, seaside paintings and lots of flowers, owned by Jessica and James McCarthy and Pamela Paynter.

Now, the décor has shifted from feminine flowery to a more masculine vibe with leather arm chairs, gray and brown couches, understated pieces of art on the walls and more of a focus on the original walls and hardwood floors of the stately turn-of-the-century house itself.

New owner Halina Siemaszko bought the property two months ago with what she says is an “untapped” B&B market in mind — one more appealing to men.

“Down the road I’d like to try for package deals geared toward males … fishing charter trips, golfing, winery tours,” she said.

Not to say that women wouldn’t also feel right at home and comfortable in this roomy house on Main Street overlooking Manor Place. Ship builder Fletcher Fordman built the place in 1901. According to former owner Pam Paynter, the Fordham House is still the best-preserved historic home in Greenport.

“It’s a display of wealth, with the big windows and doors,” she said. “It was the first house in Greenport to have steam heat. There is a comforting quality to the house in itself. When our guests would first get there, many would be rushed and cranky, and we would watch that all peel off. Not all houses have that certain charm.”

Three bedrooms on the second floor are unusually large given the era of construction. One is tiny but features a connecting bathroom with original tile, stained glass window and an authentic “WC” — a water closet toilet complete with pull-down handle.

Siemaszko is charging $250 to $375 per night plus taxes with rates subject to change. With no hotel or B&B management in her background, this former manager of corporate transactions at a law firm in Manhattan decided months ago that she wanted to pursue her dream to own and run a North Fork bed and breakfast. She has summered on the North Fork for seven years and owns a cottage in East Marion.

“I just knew I was ready to do this,” she said, adding that the Fordham House will be a work in progress for her for quite sometime. “I think that everyone will feel comfortable with the style.”

Click here for more information on the Fordham House.