Beach house season is upon us and Figure Eight Island is one lovely place to spend your summer. The private island in North Carolina has around 450 homes and is reached by a guarded causeway bridge.Today's home on the island is a new build. It has a reverse floor plan with the main living level on top floor. The home has four bedrooms including a large master suite that includes a steam shower in the master bath. The home has large porches and decks and is built for entertaining with a chef's kitchen, wine cellar, family room with a wet bar and an elevator to all three levels. This home is listed at $4.595 million.
Today's home is located in a prime area off Dupont Circle in Washington D.C. This home was built in 1890 and is a stately townhome on Massachusetts Avenue next to many other similar homes which are embassies, cultural institutions, foundations, associations and private residences. The first floor of the home is given over to grand public rooms for entertaining including double formal parlors and a large dining room with a fireplace. There is also a catering kitchen and a custom wine cellar . The second through fourth floors are the family space including a family kitchen, living room and five bedrooms. The home is done in a luxurious and formal style that would befit the family of a senator or dignitary. It is listed at $17.5 million.
Today's grand estate is located in Malvern, a small town that was once the end of the Mail Line railroad in Pennsylvania. Today's home is located on a quiet country road and expands over 19 acres. The six-bedroom home has an original part that dates back to 1755 but had a major addition six years ago. There are 40 rooms total including a home theater, a large kitchen, hand-carved Parisian paneled living room and a billiards room in over 18,500 square feet. The grounds include a pool, tennis court, pond and there is a beautiful terrace that looks out over rolling green lawns. This home is listed at $10.5 million.
There are few apartments in New York more romantic than this one. This penthouse in the St. Urban building at 285 Central Park West is a writer's dream with a library that makes me weak in the knees. The circular, two-level library is inside the domed northern turret of the building. The lower floor has bird's eye maple bookcases, and the top floor or thinking level is designed as a reading retreat inside the dome, opening to a private rooftop reading terrace and observation deck. The library looks out over the park and the city.
The penthouse also includes a living room with wood burning fireplace and access to a terrace, two-story greenhouse, dining room, chef's kitchen and a master suite with two dressing rooms and two marble bathrooms. The second bedroom has a wood burning fireplace, and both the second and third bedrooms have marble baths. There are also two laundry rooms.
The apartment was cobbled together by architect Lee Harris Pomeroy from several different spaces to create one unit with two wings which are anchored by the central turret. It was no easy task, new windows were cut through the mansard roof for better park views. The apartment is 4,000 square feet total and the St. Urban includes amenities such as a 24 hour doorman, a basketball court, full gym, and bicycle storage. This apartment is listed at $14.5 million.
Today's home comes front the land down under. This penthouse in the heart of Sydney, Australia has views over Sydney's Botanical Gardens. The three story unit is located in the northern half of the Macquarie Apartments building designed by Renzo Piano. The modern glass and terracotta building lends itself to contemporary interior design. This apartment has an open floor plan and big windows and a terrace to enjoy the view. There is also a private roof terrace with gardens and a whirlpool tub.
I saw this apartment listed in the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties column and liked it so much I decided to make it an estate of the day. This condo on Water Street in the Georgetown area of Washington, D.C. overlooks the Potomac River. The current owners combined three units into one to create a six-bedroom expanse decorated in a modern style. The building also has a rooftop pool, gym and 24-hour staff. The Wall Street Journal reports that the city's condo record is thought to be a Georgetown sale for $6.25 million which means that even if this one sells pretty far below the listing price of $10.6 million it will still likely set a record.
Actor Jamie Foxx hasn't lived in his Tarzana, California home for a while, moving on to a 40-acre spread in Thousand Oaks. This three-bedroom in Tarzana had been his home since 1997 when he bought the home for $930,000. As the Real Estalker mentions, the home has been the site of some of Foxx's famous wild parties and the police were once called over a nude basketball game being held on the home's half court. The home has been customized by Foxx with details such as aquariums in the living room, a game room in the basement, a media room and a recording studio. The home has since gone through a major renovation which explains the blandness of the current decor.
It's not exactly ski season but today's estate in Vail, Colorado is probably fun in the summer time too. The five-bedroom mountain home has a contemporary style that combines the rustic and the modern to great effect. It is on 1.2 acres of land and includes a large four-bedroom guest house which brings the total bedrooms on the property to nine. The main house has views of the Gore Range Mountains and surrounding aspen forest from large floor to ceiling picture windows. In addition to large living, dining and kitchen spaces there is also a family and recreation room, Jacuzzi and dry sauna. The home has ski-in access and walking distance to ski slopes and town. The home is zoned duplex so the main house and guest house could be sold off separately, there is also the chance to add approximately 4,000 square feet to the home in case 4,360 square feet is too small for you. This home is listed at $10.95 million.
Another tremendously expensive property has gone on the market in the Hamptons. Braden Keil's Gimme Shelter column in the NY Post reported on today's estate, a 12-bedroom home that is nearly 18,000 square feet. The property is owned by Juergen Friedrich, who ran the European division of Esprit sportswear and has spent a great deal of money updating the home, which was built in 1902 and designed by Grosvenor Atterbury. The country home sits on 9.11 acres that include old trees, flowering shrubs, evergreen perimeters, rose gardens. indoor pool, outdoor pool with pavilion, tennis court, paddle court, gymnasium, carriage house and a four-car garage. At nearly 3,000 square feet, the master bedroom suite is larger than many homes. What may hurt it on the real estate market is that it is not on the water. But if you can live without that, it's a pretty impressive property. It is listed at $67.5 million.
Today's home in the Shadyside area of Houston, Texas is the type of place I would love to be invited to for a cocktail party. Not only is it a beautiful classic home, a vintage Harrie Lindeberg and John Staub design built in the early 1920s (and on the National Register of Historic Places), but the current owners have created an inviting abode full of a variety of art to ogle and shelves of books to browse through. This eight-bedroom home is on 1.7 beautifully landscaped acres with formal gardens and a greenhouse. The home includes a dramatic entrance hall with a floating staircase,large living room, library, garden/media room, dining room, gourmet kitchen w/morning room and wine cellar. A new pool and pool house were constructed in 2002. There is also a carriage house with staff quarters. This home is listed at $11.3 million. The AOL home value tool estimates it at just $2,307,393.
This unique contemporary is located in the town of Cologny near Geneva in Switzerland. The four-bedroom home, built in 1989 by Blum & Blum in Zürich, has views of Lake Geneva and the Jura mountains. The home's unique style is formed by two t-shaped concrete rectangles and a crescent-shaped building with a stone facade. The home has three levels and the building's unique shape lends itself to two semi-circular lounge areas including one on the ground floor with a marble fireplace. The master bedroom and bathroom suite are on their own floor which also includes a solarium and the bottom floor includes a gym and laundry area. The home gets lots of light and is surrounded by gardens with flower beds and trees. It is listed as price on request.
The New York Times periodically picks a price and then does a "What You Get for ... $xxx,xxx" piece in its Real Estate section, comparing homes in three cities. I've never seen a "What You Get for ... $35,000,000," article so here it is, at least in one city: This estate in Montauk (no direct link, so go here, and enter Web ID H34007) is set on 35.5 acres between the Atlantic Ocean, a freshwater pond and fields and meadows, with 400 feet of ocean frontage. The house is 7,000 square feet and has a tiled roof, plus there's 50% more living space than the house itself, thanks to the 3,500 square feet of mahogany decking. Built in 1994, there are three levels, comprising five bedrooms, five baths, living and dining rooms with 16-foot ceilings and walls of glass that overlook the ocean and grounds. For cooking (or, more likely, where your staff will be doing the cooking), there's a chef's kitchen. Also: a breakfast room, an office, a screening room with a state-of-the-art JBL system, and a garage. A path leads through private gates to the beach.
Today's home is a unique opportunity, the chance to own your own castle. Amsterdam Castle was built in 1875 by Issac Perry for the state of New York National Guard in Amsterdam, New York. It's now a 36,000 square foot private residence listed on the National Register of Historic Places. There are 50 rooms, including a 10,000 sq ft ballroom, a rifle range, and a fallout shelter and billiard room. There are four turrets and three living wings and the castle also has a 10-car garage and onsite parking for 40. The castle has recently been used for movies and rented out for overnight stays as well as weddings (the ballroom rents for $990 for four hours). It is listed at $1.195 million.
Paul Michael Glaser is best known for playing Detective Starsky in the 1970s cop show Starsky and Hutch and has gone on to have a career as a television director. Glaser has separated from his second wife, Tracy Barone. His first wife Elizabeth, who died from AIDS and contracted HIV through a blood transfusion during childbirth, founded the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. The home that Glaser and Tracy Barone Glaser shared in the town of Agoura is five bedrooms and includes a gourmet kitchen, walnut wide-plank floors and tasteful and casual decor designed for a family. The grounds include a dressage arena with lights and corrals, a pool and spa, gazebo, and a study/loft with views over the grounds. This home is listed at $2.424 million.
Today's home is in the small town of Garrison, New York in upstate New York. The four-bedroom home won me over with the living room that has a 30-foot ceiling and a fireplace with a tall wood surround. There are plenty of fireplaces in this home including one in the formal dining room, one in the mahogany-paneled library and one in the master suite. The home has four bedrooms total and the herringbone wood floors give this home a cozy feel. It sits on over two acres with gardens and landscaping, an in-ground pool and a stream with a tiny bridge. It is listed at $2.25 million.
