Nelson DeMille's Garden City house for sale for $5.5 million
The Garden City home of Nelson DeMille is on the market for $5.5 million. Credit: Sands Media House/Tyler Sands; Chris Ware
The Garden City home of late bestselling author Nelson DeMille just hit the market for $5.5 million, his son Alex DeMille confirmed.
Totaling 10,000 square feet, the house sits on a 0.7-acre lot. The taxes are $71,813. DeMille and his wife, Sandra DeMille (who died in 2018) designed the house together, Alex said. The author tore down the house on that lot to build his own.
The Garden City Tudor, dubbed Trafalgar House, was built in 2003. Credit: Sands Media House/Tyler Sands
"I think he secretly — not that secretly — wanted to be an architect," said Alex. "That would have been his dream profession, if he didn't make it as an author."
DeMille is known for penning Long Island-inspired literature including "Plum Island" and "The Gold Coast," among many others. He died in September 2024.
His Tudor-style home boasts six bedrooms and 10 bathrooms. Alex finds some humor in the number of bathrooms his father included in the home.
"He grew up in a house with three brothers and his parents in Elmont, and among all of them, they shared one bathroom, and he would always complain to me about that," Alex said with a laugh. "So now, every bedroom has a bathroom. This was his way of making up for his childhood lack of bathrooms, I guess."
The estate was dubbed Trafalgar House, named for DeMille and his own father's interest in the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar and its key figures (including Lord Horatio Nelson, after whom DeMille was named, said Alex).
"What I love about this house is, this is a 2003 build, but when you walk in you feel an Old-world charm," said Scott Wallace, of Daniel Gale Sotheby's International Realty. He is co-listing the property with Mary Krener.
Despite its modern amenities, the house exudes a "nostalgic feeling," Wallace said.
"Everything that Nelson picked out — between the light fixtures and the moldings and the mahogany wood of the bridal staircase — everything that he chose for this house is reminiscent of how a Tudor would have been built in the 1930s," said Wallace.
Seeing the home move on to its next chapter is bittersweet, said Alex.
"I have a 7-year-old, and I have so many memories of her and her cousins running around and having such a fun time there," he said. "It was such a good space for kids, for playing. So I have a lot of nostalgia and I'm going to miss it, but I also feel like it's ready for a new life with a new family."
See inside the house
The name Trafalgar House was a nod to DeMille's and his father's fascination with the 1805 battle. Credit: Sands Media House/Tyler Sands
The wet bar. Credit: Sands Media House/Tyler Sands
The author made sure his home was his paradise, not a workspace. Credit: Sands Media House/Tyler Sands
Alex said he and his father brainstormed story ideas in the kitchen. Credit: Sands Media House/Tyler Sands
The home sports 10 bathrooms, which son Alex said likely stemmed from his father's having to share a bathroom with his entire family growing up. Credit: Sands Media House/Tyler Sands
DeMille picked everything out, from the mahogany to the bridal staircase, the co-listing agent said. Credit: Sands Media House/Tyler Sands
There are mahogany finishes throughout the house. Credit: Sands Media House/Tyler Sands
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Rachel Weiss joined Newsday in 2016. As a real estate/living multimedia reporter, Rachel writes feature stories and contributes to and appears in on-camera video packages. She was the lead reporter on Newsday’s LI Acts of Kindness series.
