Last May, Reed Krakoff, the president and executive creative director of accessories company Coach, and his wife, Delphine, an interior designer, toured a $25-million fabled estate on Further Lane in East Hampton. Designed by architect Arthur Jackson and built in 1917, Lasata (a Native American name that means "place of peace") was bought in 1925 by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis's paternal grandparents, Jean Vernou Bouvier II and Maude Sergeant Bouvier. The two-story, gray-stucco mansion featured extensive vegetable gardens, a grape arbor, a Boxwood-enclosed Italian garden with classical statues, and a sprawling stable complete with a jumping ring and horse paddock where a young Jackie learned to ride.

When the Krakoffs toured the 11-bedroom, 8,500 square-foot property a block from the beach, it was listed with 6.5 acres of private grounds. The sellers, the children of the late Miriam and William M. Meehan, the former governor of the New York Stock Exchange, wanted to keep a piece of the property to potentially build another house.

A few months later, the Krakoffs returned with Brown Harris Stevens broker Peter Turino, who insisted they take another look. The Meehan children, whose parents purchased Lasata in 1961, had decided to throw in the property's entire 11 acres without raising the asking price. "It was a record-breaking sale for an off-ocean estate in the village of East Hampton," says listing broker Joe Kazickas of Brown Harris Stevens, who was assisted by Lisa Levitin and James Makrianes.

"We were looking for more of a family home," says Krakoff, who moved with his wife into a house on Great Plains Road in Southampton about five years ago--before the couple had three children. (He also has a daughter from a previous marriage.)

Krakoff hated the "luxury" East End homes, complete with spas, wine cellars, and media rooms, he'd toured before discovering Lasata. "We thought it was such a beautiful piece of land and a great opportunity to keep the original piece of property intact," says Krakoff. "Only a few families had lived there in 80 years so it hadn't been renovated in any way, which I was really thrilled about. We want to keep the flavor of this period house and update some of the systems to make it more comfortable."

The Krakoffs are planning to keep the original moldings. "The doors are crooked, the windows aren't perfect, and the floors are slanted. We love the imperfection. That's the way a beach house should be." Under the guidance of architect Mark Ferguson and landscape architect Perry Guillot, the process should take about a year. (This summer, the couple will be renting in Amagansett.) They plan to decorate mostly with early-American furniture to evoke the house's history.

The past few years have given the Krakoffs a colorful real estate history of their own. In August 2001, they paid $3.75 million for a townhouse on East 61st Street, which was extensively renovated with architect Joseph Vance. Last summer, they sold it for about $15 million. (Brokers: Paula Del Nunzio and Shirley A. Mueller of Brown Harris Stevens.) In September 2005, they bought a $17-million townhouse on East 70th Street with broker Richard Steinberg of Warburg Realty and started a major $2.5 million renovation.

Last fall, 140 firefighters extinguished a blaze in the East 70th Street house sparked by the overhaul. Though the renovation is not complete, the Krakoffs hope to move in by next year. Last year, they sold the $12 million Southampton manse. Up next: building a house designed by Richard Meier on oceanfront land in Palm Beach.

When it comes to Lasata, however, the family plans to stay put. "I hope never to move in the Hamptons again," Krakoff says. "I really feel like this is the house we will have forever."