Shoreside estate of Shaker simplicity

Saved from a wrecking ball, this 1680 Shaker meeting house was moved to Shelter Island from Mystic, Conn., in 1985.It had become dilapidated and was about to be destroyed when it was salvaged by preservationists. They persuaded an heiress to buy it and move it across Long Island Sound. Each piece of the three-story house was numbered before it was transported to Shelter Island by barge.

The house was reassembled by shipbuilders on a foundation set on a knoll in the waterfront estate section along Peconic Bay. "You can see the water from just about every room," Moore said, noting two rooms overlook a grove of mature specimen trees.An original barn was brought over as well and is now a two-car garage with a loft. The restored home is built around a massive stone chimney, which opens to six fireplaces, Moore said, three on the first floor and three on the second. The largest - about 8 feet wide with a baking oven inside - is in the dining room. Other original details include double front doors, hand-blown 12-by-12-inch sash windows, hand-hewn beams, extra wide plank floors, built-in cabinets, front and rear staircases, and iron door latches.Current owner André Balazs, a hotelier whose properties include The Mercer in SoHo, the Chateau Marmont in Hollywood and the Sunset Beach Hotel on Shelter Island, had the home furnished with Japanese appointments, including handmade rice-paper lanterns. "André wanted to keep it simple, because the beauty of the house is the simplicity of it," Moore said.The kitchen, which has a wall of windows and open floor plan, is dressed with black cabinets and a maple butcher block.The second floor has a master suite and two large bedrooms, and the third floor has two large bedrooms. There are four bathrooms in the house: one on the first floor, another on the third, and two on the second floor.The unfinished basement has a wine cellar, laundry room, computer room and storage area.The shared dog-leg dock, reinforced by a sea wall, is one of the largest on the island.Location: Shelter IslandPrice: $6.999 million Taxes: $16,727Lot size: 1.80 acresSquare feet: 3,050Number of rooms: 9 Amenities: Waterfront with docking rights, central air conditioning, two-car garage with loft.