Matt Lauer recently sold a little New England-style cottage in the Hamptons. Measuring 1,800 square feet, with three bedrooms and two baths, the partially renovated, waterfront home changed owners for a cool $3.5 million. Lauer purchased it about seven years ago for $2.15 million.

Located in North Sea, N.Y., a village in Suffolk County, the cottage is a classic coastal residence, albeit less compartmental in design; renovations have opened up the great room for airiness, and better flow. Exposed timbers only add to the sense of space. Walls of faded, periwinkle blue allude to Wooley Pond, which falls away beyond the rear deck. Whitewash is predominant—including the brick fireplace—upstairs and down, giving the cottage a nice, bright look; baths are white tile and marble. A sunroom culminates in a series of sliding glass doors leading to the deck, and outdoor lounge area.

The three-quarter acre property includes a boat dock, and is nicely landscaped. Mature trees, mainly conifers, dot the front lawn, allowing for a degree of privacy, and an entrance into the cottage’s ambiance of escape. Lauer and spouse Annette purchased a large property in Sag Harbor last summer, which is perhaps why they’ve given this one up, and placed another estate in the Hamptons for sale at $17 million.

Matt Lauer got his start in broadcast journalism as a producer for a local news show in West Virginia in the late 70’s. He joined the full-time staff of ‘The Today Show’ in 1994.