This week Kwiat brought some more sparkle to Madison Avenue with the opening of their 1,000-square-foot boutique at 725 Madison near other high-end diamond jewelry brands including Graff and Leviev. The flagship store celebrated their grand opening with a party hosted by Jennifer Hudson who tried on Kwiat designs for the press. Actress Eva Amurri and editors from various consumer fashion magazines were also in attendance. The company is dipping their toes into the retail business and is looking at shopping spots known for big spenders such as Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Russia.
The Times of London has come up with a new list of the world's 10 richest streets based on property prices. The most expensive street on the globe, unsurprisingly, is in ultra-rich Monaco - Avenue Princess Grace, to be exact, where average prices run about $17,000 per sq. ft. It's a pretty safe bet that anyone with an address there is a millionaire at the very least. In second place is Severn Road in Hong Kong's Victoria Peak district (above), where the average price is about $11,000 per sq. ft. Here are the rest of the runners-up: No. 3 - Fifth Avenue, New York No. 4 - Kensington Palace Gardens, London No. 5 - Avenue Montaigne, Paris No. 6 - Ostozhenka, Moscow No. 7 - Via Suvretta, St, Mortiz, Switzerland No. 8 - Carolwood Drive, Beverly Hills No. 9 - Wolseley Road, Sydney, Australia No. 10 - Altamount Road, Mumbai, India
Supermodel Christie Brinkely has had this home, Tower Hill in the Hamptons on the market off and on since 2002 (although I first became aware of it in 2005). Now with a messy divorce behind her, she's trying her hand at selling it again. The impressive property in Bridgehampton was originally built in 1898 by Dr. John Gardiner and named Dulce Domum. The home is on a 20-acre parcel 200 ft. above sea level. The key piece of the estate is the 50 ft. observation tower which offers sweeping views of the ocean. The 12-bedroom compound includes a main house with multi-level stone terraces, a guest house with a greenhouse conservatory overlooking a botanical nursery, a gunite pool, a barn artist studio with gym and living quarters with a 4-car heated garage. The property includes lawns, walking paths, gardens, tennis courts, basketball court and playground. This estate is now listed at $30 million. It's lovely but perhaps a bit pricey for a home that isn't closer to the beach. Experience more lush living in luxury homes and mansions or see the stars living large with celebrity homes galleries at AOL Real Estate.
A nice one-bedroom apartment in NYC rents for about $2,500/month. And for that same price you can get a shot -- yes, just a taste -- of Louis XIII Black Pearl Magnum cognac, a limited edition, natch, kept in a glass case and then offered exclusively at NYC's Rose Club at the Plaza hotel. The spirit, produced by Remy Martin, cannot be sampled anywhere else in the State of New York. The bottle, designed by Baccarat and hand-blown from black crystal, has not yet been uncorked since it was introduced in June. A recent Rose Club patron asked if he could buy the entire bottle, one of only 358 in the world. Rose Club manager Anthony Evangelista turned him down, and the man left without even tasting it. There are about 32 pours in the 1.75 liter bottle, meaning that the decanter contains $80,000 worth of cognac.
When most people think of American wines they name California, Oregon and Washington but amazingly wine making is something every state has in common. With all the political hubbub happening currently it seems timely that someone would pin the red and blue states against each other in a more delicious contest. Sure the Blue's come in heavy with the three states mentioned above but the Red-leaning states have Arizona's Caduceus and Virginia's Barboursville to tout. Among the Blue states there is the lesser known Finger Lake region of New York highlighting Heron Hill's Reisling and Illinois' hybrid varietals.
Personally, I'm interested in trying Hawaii's Pineapple Wine -- that has to be perfect for dessert or sipping on a hot day -- which I didn't know existed until today! I'll take a hammock on the beach with a glass of wine any day and leave the politicking to the experts.
NYC seems to be surviving the housing market's slow decline better than most cities. Case in point: This $80,000,000 condo at 15 Central Park West. Located on the 40th floor, the home, built in 2007, is 5,276 square feet and has unobstructed views over Central Park West and the Hudson River. Of the 9.5 rooms, there are 4 bedrooms and 5.5 baths, and the major rooms have 14-foot ceilings. There's a library and a fireplace (only one?). The ground floor suite is 1,222 square feet with private street access that would work for owner staff offices. There's also the usual building amenities: doorman, courtyard, health club, pool, and garage. As with most condos and with many homes in NYC, you pay way more than the purchase price. This home requires monthly maintenance/CC of $5,425 and monthly real estate tax of $2,081. Too bad the photos only show you the view -- I'd love to see the kitchen and bathrooms in a home like this!
Today's home, the famous Nuits in Irvington, New York was built as a summer home by textile importer Francis Cottenet in 1853. The home is made of brick faced with Caen stone, a light yellow limestone from northwestern France near the city of Caen and brought to America in Cottenet's ships. The home was built in two stages with the north extension including a Lord and Burnham conservatory added on in 1860. The home was designed by architect Detlef Lienau, and in 1980 was placed under the protection of the National Trust for Historic Preservation as a place of significant historical importance. Nuits is 14,000 sq. ft. on 4.78 acres that include a carriage house with two-car garage, swimming pool and utility shed. The main house includes 10 bedrooms, 12 fireplaces, 16 sets of French doors, living room, dining room ad the original ballroom which is now the gourmet kitchen, dining area and family room, billiard room, gym, butlers pantry room and of course, the light-filled conservatory. Nuits is listed at $14.25 million.
Laura Mann of Newsday reported last month that Jets quarterback Chad Pennington had put his house on Long Island on the market but I think recent news makes today a fine chance to discuss this one. The quarterback, who just lost his job to the man who can't retire, Brett Favre, has a home in Muttontown, New York that he is eager to sell.
I would not have guessed that this six bedroom brick Colonial belonged to a celebrity and certainly not a sports celeb until I saw the huge fitness area. Pennington's pad is a 7,000 square foot home on over two acres that include a Gunite pool and a four-car garage. It's a rather bland but certainly expensive family home with details like a billiards room, master suite with a fireplace and what looks to be a coffee bar. Overall it looks freshly outfitted from a high end furniture store right down to the window treatments. Pennington bought the house in 2005 for $3.595 million. It first hit the market for $4.095 million a month ago but is now down to $3.995 million as Pennington clearly wants to get out of town.
How's this for a price reduction? The Normandy-style estate in Oyster Bay, New York is finally under contract for $18 million. That sounds like a lot of money until you consider that the property was originally listed in 2006 for $43 million. The home was built by famed architect Charles P.H. Gilbert in 1906 and has ten bedrooms, staff quarters, a bowling alley, wine cellar and more. The grounds include a Tudor-style coach house, 12-stall stable, tennis house, both indoor and outdoor tennis courts and a pool. The property is listed as having approximately 26 acres surrounded by 114 preserve wooded acres. The listing back in 2006 described it as having sixty plus acres surrounded by 80 acres of conservation land and Newsday reports that last year, Nassau County purchased 33.5 acres of the estate for $11 million for preservation purposes. So it's more like a $32 million listing went for $18 million. Still, that's quite a price chop.
Northwood was once a 900-acre estate owned by banker Mortimer Schiff. Schiff built a massive 120-room Tudor house on the site but his son John replaced it with the comparatively modest home that is on the land today in 1948.
Versace has another high profile design job in New York City. The luxury brand which furnished apartments in the Plaza last year will also will design the interior renovation of New York's Clock Tower building on Madison Avenue. The New York landmark was bought by Lev Leviev's Africa Israel company for $200 million last year and has said they will spend two years and around $110 million renovating the complex. The end result will be 55 units including a large penthouse, a spa and an exclusive club. Previous Versace designs have been rendered in black and white with lavish gold details but their recent furniture show in April, shown in the gallery below, revealed a softer side.
If you are -- or long to be -- part of the NYC social and moneyed scene, Quest is a must-read. Distributed around NYC, seemingly for free (though it has a $5 cover price), this sometimes snooty publication tracks the party scene with pages of pages of photos of dressed-up socialites and tuxedoed men, snapped by editor David Patrick Columbia at fetes and charity events. The magazine occasionally has a feature of some depth but mainly has light articles. For Luxist readers who love our "Estate of the Day" feature, Quest's Web site is great -- it is in magazine format and includes ads. That means you can scan ads featuring home listings in NYC, Connecticut, the Hamptons and so on, plus see ads for high-end jewelry, handbags, clothing, shoes, art galleries, luxury home accessories and cultural events. Click once on the page you want to view to make it bigger. You also can subscribe (tab at top of home page) if you want the hard copy ($36/one year/12 issues or $47.97/two years/24 issues).
Hersha Hospitality, the company behind the recently opened Duane Street Hotel in Tribeca, New York City, is now taking on Brooklyn. The Nu Hotel is billed as Downtown Brooklyn's first boutique hotel. The 93-room, newly built hotel was designed by Datumzero Design Office and has guest rooms in three styles, the Nu Standard, the Nu Friends Suite, and the Nu Urban Suite. The Nu Friends Suites are equipped with bunk beds and modular furniture and Nu Urban Suites feature a cozy bed niche with leather surroundings, a sitting area and custom hammocks. Rooms have cork flooring, organic bedding materials and custom furnishings crafted from FSC- certified, sustainably harvested teak wood. Rooms also include 32" flat-screen televisions with "jack packs" to dock audio, video and computer electronics and complementary wifi access. The bathrooms have stone and glass showers, rain head showers, Aveda bath products and chalkboard walls where guests can jot notes for housekeeping, travel companions or themselves.
The hotel also includes Nu Bar, the hotel's cafe/lounge and the Nu Gym as well as bike storage and bicycle use service. The lobby, like many these days, is designed for lingering with a business center, custom concierge service and the "library nook" which offers a comfortable place to hang out. Rates begin at $200 per night.
Back in May word came out from various sources that socialite Cornelia Guest had put her family's estate in Old Westbury, New York on the market. The listing was available then but now we've got some interior pics of the 11 bedroom home. The two-story brick colonial manor home built in 1924 has 28 rooms in total and the grounds are home to a pool, tennis courts, barn, formal gardens, and a greenhouse.
But let's talk about the interior. Namely, the animal prints. I haven't seen quite so many animal prints used in one home since we checked out Suzanne Somers's place in Palm Springs. The interior of this home is an eclectic mix of vintage antique furnishings and art combined with newer pieces from around the world. Tying it together is a whole zoo of animal prints used in the upholstery and rugs. Templeton is listed at $20 million.
This past weekend I've been reading The Billionaire's Vinegar which touches on the wine collection of William Koch but it's his brother David who has been in the news most recently. David H. Koch who is said to be the wealthiest person in New York City has, according to the NY Times agreed to contribute $100 million toward the renovation of the New York State Theater. The gift will put Koch's name on the door and will also be the largest private capital donation in the Lincoln Center's history. Koch says that he has been going to the New York State Theater for 40 years (he's 68) and he was aware the theater needed modernization. As of this fall it will be known as the David H. Koch Theater making it the same big name change of a New York institution in four months for a $100 million gift. The New York Public Library will be naming its main building after the Wall Street financier Stephen A. Schwarzman in return for his donation.
Koch has an estimated net worth of $17 billion. He will donate the money over 10 years, paying the first $15 million payment this summer and then $10 million annual payment for eight years plus a final $5 million installment. The deal does specify that the theater could be renamed for a new donor after 50 years with the Koch family retaining the right of first refusal. Koch has said he believes that a naming opportunity should last for a specific amount of time so that an institution can later pursue another round of fundraising.
I decided to take another look at another huge home that I covered a couple of years ago. Two years ago I first saw Wikiosco (the name means House of Beautiful Waters), a 1895 historic Tudor revival. The home sits on Lake George in New York facing a wide expanse of lake shoreline. The 11,000 square-foot t stone exterior stucco framed home has a beautiful classic interior with a library, leaded glass windows, an elevator, a fitness center and the original fireplace mantels and woodwork. The home has been restored by the current owners but mostly looks as if it is ready to film a Victorian melodrama without much stage dressing. The property includes a two-bedroom guest cottage, an in-ground pool, tennis court and a parking garage with room for over 20 cars. The price hasn't changed in two years, it's still at $17.9 million.
