Usually I'm not a fan of recent homes in developments but this one in the Tanglewood area of Houston is rather charming, perhaps because of the current owner's use of modern art. The Tanglewood community is perhaps best known for being home to George H. W. Bush and has seen a boom in which many of the original homes in the neighborhoods have been replaced by newer modern homes like this one. This one was built in 2001 and has four bedrooms. It won me over with the elegant exterior, slate floors in some rooms, a brick wine room, plenty of built in shelfs and a lot that includes a tranquil pool area. It is listed at $4.8 million. Experience more lush living in luxury homes and mansions or see the stars living large with celebrity homes galleries at AOL Real Estate.
Most live/work situations for artists are lofts in cities but today's home is a live/work in a more rural location. Today's home is located in the Santa Ynez Valley area of California and sits on 20 acres of land. The contemporary home was completed in 2006 and featured in Interior Design Magazine and is the 2007 AIA Design Award winning home. The 7,000 square foot main residence has a spare design that showcases the outdoor patios and walkways. There is an 800 sq ft master bedroom suite with his and her walk-in closets and laundry, a huge 1200 sq ft guest suite with two bedrooms and a common den with fireplace. Meant to be a live/work facility, the home also features an 800 sq ft art studio with adjoining 75 sq ft office, large 260 sq ft office with adjoining bath and an exercise room with bath. The outdoor areas include a picnic area, fireplace, and a pizza oven as well as a thin 70' foot long lap pool with a large spa. It is listed at $8 million.
With baseball in the playoffs, the annual shuffle of free agents is set to begin. One possible free agent is left-handed pitcher Tom Glavine of the Atlanta Braves. Coincidentally, his Alpharetta, Georgia home is also on the market. Glavine and his wife Christine have a seven-bedroom brick home on 1.95 acres. No big spender here, the Real Estalker reveals that Glavine spent just $146,700 for the lot which is in the gated community called the Country Club of the South (a community that was also home to Usher and Whitney Houston).
Glavine's home is an impressive 14,550 square feet and done in an elaborate style that includes columns, curved staircases, large crystal chandeliers and tall windows adorned with elaborately swagged curtains. Oh I could go on about the curtains but the Real Estalker summed it up by calling them "some of the ugliest swagged curtains Your Mama has ever seen." And they aren't just in the living room and the dining room, the Glavine's curtain craze has made it into the bedrooms and bathrooms as well.
As befits a sports star, the home does have a large recreation area downstairs with a black granite wet bar, a wine cellar, a billiard area, exercise room and a putting green. The home also includes a media room, a second kitchen and a library/office. There is also a swimming pool on the grounds.
This home is listed at $3.75 million and it looks like the Glavines may be moving just down the road. It seems they paid $620,000 for a another in the Country Club of the South community in 2001 and that lot now has a new home with a baseball diamond in the backyard.
Today's home belongs to the one and only Joss Whedon, creator of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Firefly" and the summer's internet sensation, Dr. Horrible. Ann Brenoff of the LA Times Hot Properties column reveals that Whedon is selling his English County style home in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles. The home is on a double lot and has four bedrooms. Clearly a home for someone who works, and plays, at home, it's got two offices, a media room and music studio. There is a two-story guest house and park-like grounds but no pool. It doesn't look like Whedon has enlisted the help of a decorator but the home is full of books and art and cozy places to sit and think. It is listed at $3.695 million. Experience more lush living in luxury homes and mansions or see the stars living large with celebrity homes galleries at AOL Real Estate.
There are only six pictures of this New York City townhouse but they are a very evocative six pictures. This is the home of Jack and LuAnn Grubman. He's the former lead telecom research analyst for Citigroup's Salomon Smith Barney and as the New York Observer's Manhattan Transfers column puts it, "a star in its telecom investment banking." Grubman ended up banned from the industry amid a scandal involving shady dealings and had to pay a $15 million fine. He may be counting himself lucky now that he got out in 2001-2002 and isn't a Wall Street player today.
It seems that the he managed to squirrel away plenty of money (he did after all have a $30 million severance package). Grubman's home is a neo-Federal mansion built in 1883. The home is a five-story mansion located steps from Fifth Avenue and the Metropolitan Museum. It has been completely renovated and includes a marble entrance hall, iron and bronze adorned staircase, 13' high ceilings in the living and dining rooms with full-height oak paneling and period plaster moldings, an elevator, and an eat-in chef's kitchen that has a dumb-waiter to the butler's pantry off the dining room. There are two planted terraces as well as an ivy-covered south-facing garden. It is listed at $32 million.
Today's home introduced me to the small lakeside community of Long Beach, Indiana. The town is a popular vacation spot for those looking for a quick getaway from Chicago, which is an hour away. Today's home is one of the most lavish in the area. It sits right on the water with lake and Chicago skyline views and has 280 ft. of private beach. The four-bedroom home was built back in 1927 with a Mediterranean style that seems more suited for a warm weather location. The home has a great outdoor terrace, wine room, a gym that looks to be tucked into a porch-like space and has had its classic style updated with granite countertops in kitchens and baths and those glass box showers that are currently so popular. The home has retained its beautiful beamed ceilings and original fireplaces. It is listed at $6.24 million.
You may not have ever heard of Steve Florio but if you've ever picked up a Conde Nast title then you may have seen his influence. Florio was the former CEO of Condé Nast Publications which includes Vogue, Architectural Digest and the New Yorker among many others, until he stepped down in 2004. He died in December 2007 at the age of 58. The Wall Street Journal's Private Properties column reports that his widow, Mariann has put their vacation home on the market. The home, in Key Largo, Florida, is a six-bedroom Mediterranean-style house located in Ocean Reef, a private club and community. The home includes an expansive screened-in pool and spa area as well as a long dock with room for a 70-foot yacht. The Florios bought in 2001 for $4.8 million and it is now listed at $8.9 million.
Today's home is listed with Kurt Rappaport of Westside Realty which as usual with him means we get a whole lot of pictures. And today's home is worth it. The Harvey Mudd estate was designed by Elmer Grey in 1922 and sits on an acre of beautifully groomed land that includes a pool. Harvey Mudd was, as the Real Estalker mentioned, a Los Angeles based mining magnate and engineer whose name may be familiar to some as adorning Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California, a science and engineering college. I attended Pitzer College, another of the Claremont Colleges for a time, and remember fondly the students of Harvey Mudd who were known for riding unicycles, throwing wild themed parties and blowing off steam in very unique ways after exams.
Mudd's home has recently been in the hands of John Bersci, a noted house flipper in the area. The Real Estalker reveals that the home was listed for $5.95 million around the time Bercsi bought the home in 2004. The Tudor style home has seven bedrooms and many impressive details such as handcarved wood paneling and bannisters, leaded glass windows and ornate floors. As the Real Estalker points out, the weak point is the kitchen which doesn't match the grandeur of the rest of the home. I suspect also that some of the bathrooms need an upgrade. But what you are really paying for is the impressive swath of land on Benedict Canyon Drive and the beautiful bones of this older home which is not always such an easy thing to find in Beverly Hills. This home is listed at $11.495 million.
Today's estate has a beautiful setting on over 58 acres in Garrison, New York. Whippoorwill Farm is nestled between two ponds and open meadows in a secluded valley. The former Vanderbilt Webb country house (it dates back to the 1880s) has been restored and has antique wood floors, all new systems and generator, nine fireplaces, six bedrooms, a large kitchen, formal dining room, solarium, study and laundry room. The master suite includes a private bath with steam shower, sauna and separate dressing rooms. The guest house offers four bedrooms, a country kitchen, library and more. The property also includes a caretaker cottage, other outbuildings, tennis court, pool, gardens and miles of stone walls. It is listed at $7.45 million.
Cornelia Guest's Templeton isn't the only grand home in Old Westbury, New York for sale. The Phipps estate was built in 1930 by the famed architectural firm Delano and Aldrich. The Georgian-style estate is on 20 wooded acres that include a garden, fishpond, waterfall, vegetable garden, tennis court, heated pool, a five-bedroom apartment and a three-bedroom caretaker's house.
The main home has parquet and marble floors, high ceilings, deep moldings, pine paneling in the library, carved wooden fireplace mantelpieces and hand-painted wallpapers also contribute to the interior's splendor. The home includes a breakfast room, greenhouse, a master bedroom with a hall of closets, additional bedrooms with fireplaces and a second-floor staff area. It is listed at $11.5 million.
Today's home is a real piece of Washington history. Halcyon House is now a 30,500 square foot property and the oldest part of the house was built in the late 1780s by Benjamin Stoddert. the first secretary of the Navy. The home has undergone a 17-year restoration. HGTV has a piece on the restoration of the home which was also once owned by Albert Clemens, the nephew of Samuel Clemens, a.k.a. Mark Twain. Clemens added two wings of apartments in 1880 and Halcyon House was used as rental apartments and housing for students at Georgetown University during most of the 20th century. HGTV reports that John Dreyfuss moved into the home in the 1970s and details the extensive work he did to restore the home. A piece from the NY Times back in 1995 goes into even greater explanation, including the detail that Dreyfuss began the huge project when he was just 28.
The mansion has five bedrooms and the property also has five rental apartments and a separate townhouse. It has been the site of many weddings and grand events. It's also got one of the highest prices I've ever seen in the area, it is listed at $30 million. Experience more lush living in luxury homes and mansions or see the stars living large with celebrity homes galleries at AOL Real Estate.
This home on 1.94 acres right on Long Island Sound offers more than a room with a view -- how about a whole house with a view? Located in Riverside, Conn. (part of tony Greenwich, where Kathie Lee Gifford and hubby Frank live) and built in 1956, this estate is offered for $12,900,000.
Sited in the gated Harbor Point Association, a peninsula of more than 500 feet of shoreline, this Contemporary Colonial offers the next owner the chance to build under current zoning for a new 11,000-plus square foot custom waterfront estate or live in the existing home, which is light-filled and recently updated with a cook's kitchen, built-in bookshelves, five tiled baths, new systems and new landscaping by a professional designer. There are two family rooms and two master suites among six bedrooms on both first and second floors. Three fireplaces and an artist's studio complete the picture.
Walk or jog to Elias Point, a sandy beach. A spectacularly landscaped enclave, historic Harbor Point is situated on the sweeping grounds of the former 49-acre Frederick T. Bonham estate, "Walhall," a legendary LI Sound private property with some of Southern Connecticut's best water views. The association's other amenities include a boat dock, boat mooring, picnicking and fishing privileges.
Gallery: Riverside, Conn., with Water Views, Estate of the Day
What is it about sports stars and Manhattan Beach, California? Over my years of real estate obsession I've noticed that a variety of basketball, baseball and football stars have made the seaside community their home. The rich and famous often cluster near the ocean but Manhattan Beach, with its soft beaches and relatively easy accessibility to Los Angeles, has seen more than average interest from those who make their living tossing, catching and chasing balls. In fact, the LA Times recently had a story on the phenomenon. Some past and current Manhattan Beach residents include Luke Walton, former NHL player Ken Belanger, former L.A. Clippers forward Yaroslav Korolev, L.A. Lakers' assistant coach Jim Cleamons, Jeff Garcia, Lamar Odom, Tim Brown and Nomar Garciaparra and Mia Hamm.
Over the past couple of weeks I've noticed three sports stars with homes in the area put their places on the market so I've combined them into one triple threat estate of the day.
First up, Tony Gonzalez. The Real Estalker notes that the Kansas City Chiefs tight end has put his four-bedroom home in Manhattan Beach on the market. Gonzalez bought in 203 for $1.575 million. HIs four-bedroom place is certainly nice enough but not particularly remarkable except for one fantastic feature: a huge roof deck with a barbecue area, shaded lounger and a hot tub. The home is a couple blocks from the ocean and so the deck has some truly fantastic views. It is listed at $3.999 million. The property website is here.
A little further from the beach but with a bit more room is a home owned by Milwaukee Brewers catcher Jason Kendall. According to the LA Times Hot Properties column, Kendall doesn't live in the home which is in the desirable hill area of Manhattan Beach. The home is still within walking distance of the beach and the main living spaces are on the upper floor for maximum view potential. The home has around 7,400 square feet of space which includes a formal living room and dining room, a great room, large kitchen with a separate breakfast room, a kids' study room, game room, a master suite with an adjoining sitting room and a rather makeshift home theater. It is listed at $7.3 million. The property website is here.
The third home belongs to former Boston Red Sox and current L.A. Dodgers pitcher Derek Lowe. The Real Estalker reports that Lowe bought the home in 2006 for $5 million. It has four bedrooms and two outdoor terraces. The home is located a few blocks from the ocean. It is listed at $5.7 million.
Last week, we looked at a home in Santa Monica, California that was pretty charmless but this week I've got something in Santa Monica more to my (and I hope your) liking, It's the home of actress Julianna Margulies, the curly-haired brunette actress best known for her role on the NBC drama "ER." Her home is currently rented to Kyra Sedgwick, star of TNT's "The Closer" and the wife of Kevin Bacon. There's much to love about this home, which was built in 1927. It's a cozy three-bedroom with charming details like a living room with a wood beamed ceiling (the listing describes this as an "emotional living room") and a bathroom with Delft-style tiles. The small property includes a pool and directly opposite the pool is an adorable guest house with one bedroom, kitchen and bath. You might need to rent that out to afford this one, it is listed at $4.5 million which seems a bit ambitious given the fact that the main house is under 3,500 square feet. Experience more lush living in luxury homes and mansions or see the stars living large with celebrity homes galleries at AOL Real Estate.
Billy Baldwin has always been, to my eye at least, the most calm of the Baldwin brothers. The other three have spun around in various stages of manic fervor but then there is Billy who has been living a quiet life for many years with singer Chynna Phillips (who sang in Wilson Phillips) and their children. But since Billy got his new gig on Dirty Sexy Money and is spending time in Los Angeles, the family is leaving the suburban life and their suburban house behind. The Real Estalker reports that the couple is selling their New York home. The couple bought this home in Bedford Corners, New York in February of 2005 for $3.35 million. The renovated 19th century carriage house is on 4.36 acres and has five bedrooms.
This is a lovely family home. It's not going to inspire oohs and aahs over the architecture but it's got all the family friendly details like a big dining room for family holidays, a comfortable den for hanging out and a big kitchen with a huge refrigerator and freezer. There is a cute little glass conservatory for escaping the family with a good book and a the yard has a lovely gated pool area. It is listed at $3.895 million.
