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On the Market: No Right Angles: Otherworldly Dome Homes Here On Earth

Cole Perkins — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:15:00 +0000

Click here to view the full photogallery. While most listings of this world feature walls that lie perfectly perpendicular to floors, certain architectural marvels take the UFO-like shape of a perfect half-sphere. Often these “dome homes” come with promises of energy efficiency, and nearly all are modestly sized yet manage to make the most of their 360-degree circular views. For example, somewhere between Vegas and L.A. in Newberry Springs, Calif., is this, a home designed by prolific and versatile Southern California architect Harold Bissner, Jr. and completed in 1968. Inspired by the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station nuclear plant in northwestern San Diego county, the property now belongs to local semi-celebrity Huell Howser, who’s hosted a TV travel show for the past two decades. The two-bedroom, two-bathroom main house features a dome formed from concrete and bent-fir beams and grounded by glass walls; inside, a conversation pit keeps things centered around a fireplace. There’s also a one-bedroom guest house, a lake, 60 acres of untarnished land, a three-car carport, a rooftop observation deck on top of that dome. The property has been lingering on the market at its initial $750K ask. Click here to view the full photogallery. ↑ Sited on a hillside on the U.S. Virgin Island of St. Croix, this five-bedroom, four-bathroom, 4,600-square-foot dome home enjoys breathtakingly uninterrupted water views. A nice deviation from the Mediterranean mega-casa, the place is asking $1.7M. Click here to view the full photogallery. ↑ Here now, a 2,400-square-foot, three-bedroom residence in the central-Arizona town of Dewey. Built in 2004, the home is asking $185K (with discounts for cash buyers), and, according to the listing, it’s not only “unusual” but energy efficient, as well. Click here to view the full photogallery. ↑ Nestled in the dense woods of New Paltz in upstate New York, this house, dubbed “Domespace,” is a 2,300-square-foot, three-bedroom escape and the only French kit home of its kind to be constructed in the country. The entire structure, set on a 28-acre lot, rotates at the push of a button and boasts 40-foot ceilings at the peak, a spiral staircase, and eco-friendly bamboo flooring. It’s listed for $1.2M. ↑ Finally, a much smaller sight to behold: a 320-square-foot stucco dome house in dusty Taos, N.M. Constructed from a kit akin to a Tinkertoy set, it’s entirely solar powered and boasts sweeping views of the mountains. Even the brokerbabble manages to emphasize the positives: “Full length double-paned glass doors. Finish interior plaster and exterior stucco to your tastes.” It has, until relatively recently, been asking a meager $74K but it seems to have been delisted. · A Dome Home That Wasn’t Inspired By a Nuclear Plant [Curbed National] · Buy a House at the Very Top of a Volcano For Less Than $1M [Curbed National] · Here, Buy a Dome Home Smack in the Middle of the Desert [Curbed National] · Upstate New York’s Out-of-This-World Spinning Saucer House [Curbed National] · Minuscule Desert Dome Home With a Justly Minuscule Price [Curbed National]

House of the Day: The Quintessential Summer "Cottage" in Preppy R.I. Enclave

Cole Perkins — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:00:00 +0000

Have a nomination for a jaw-dropping listing that would make a mighty fine House of the Day? Get thee to the tipline and send us your suggestions. We’d love to see what you’ve got. Click here to view the full photogallery. Location: Watch Hill, R.I. Price: $8,200,000 The Skinny: When “preppy” and “Rhode Island” are used in the same sentence, it is usually to describe that age-old summer retreat of the wealthy, Newport, but there are other, more low key options that still ascribe to a certain social standard, and a certain price point. Watch Hill, on the coast near the western border with Connecticut is one such enclave, a grassy seaside knoll dotted with classic New England architecture. This 1906 shingle-style estate occupies a half-acre on aptly-named Bluff Avenue, with eight bedrooms and nine baths all tucked under a distinctive gambrel roof. The classic style and ocean views certainly come at a premium though, as, despite the small lot, this summer getaway is priced at $8.2M. · 12 Bluff Ave [Zillow]

House of the Day: The Quintessential Summer "Cottage" in Preppy R.I. Enclave

On the Market: Hark, Mariners! Here are Five Lighthouses For Sale in the U.S.

Cole Perkins — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:00:00 +0000

Click here to view the full photogallery. People generally love living by the water, and pay for the privilege, but for the truly aquatically obsessed, there’s no better trophy than owning that most livable of navigational aids, the lighthouse. Whether its on the ocean or a lake, a lighthouse requires that its owner really commit to the whole nautical theme. This one, on a 69-acre private island six miles north of Beaver Island, Mich., comes fully equipped with separate sailor’s quarters, in addition to the octagonal lighthouse tower and accompanying brick house. The interiors have certainly seen better days, though at least the interiors haven’t been trashed by a misguided renovation. That means the original doors, floors, and wood paneling remain from the 1892 construction. Priced at $3.2M, the lighthouse is going to need millions more for the restoration. Click here to view the full photogallery. ↑ On the Virginia coast lies another dilapidated brick lighthouse, but this one has a slightly smaller lawn. Known as the Wolf Trap Lighthouse, the “caisson style” structure juts out of the water on a pillar foundation that’s weathered storms since 1894. Like the Michigan version, this place is worn out and in need of a complete revamp. The trouble is, with all that water around, getting construction materials and contractors out to the house might be a problem. An expensive problem. At least it’s on the market for just $288K, including a waterfront lot on the mainland, and enjoys tax exempt status. Click here to view the full photogallery. ↑ Built in the style of Maryland’s classic Chesapeake lighthouses, this two-story house in Fishing Creek doesn’t serve much of a navigational function, but it certainly comes through with the water views. Constructed in 2007, the $375K faux lighthouse sits on a third of an acre and has three beds and two baths, but that spiral staircase isn’t doing the place any favors. Neither is the eye-searing red paint, but that’s nothing a few buckets of paint couldn’t fix. Click here to view the full photogallery. ↑ This classic New England lighthouse is, in fact, the oldest wooden lighthouse in the United States, dating to 1831. Since then, plenty of more modern additions have been added to the original structure, forming a four-bedroom main house with over 4,500 square feet. The 1.66-acre peninsula also includes a three-bed guest house and a pool, and a deep-water dock, all overlooking Wickford Harbor in North Kingston, R.I. Listed for $6.45M, this is an expensive way to get into the lighthouse business. Click here to view the full photogallery. ↑ Set on a promontory in the middle of Texas, this lighthouse-style manse presides over a small lake. The design is a rarity in these parts, but for a nautically inclined individual sentenced to live in central Texas, this $1M boondoggle could be the solution. That seems like a rare situation, and this towered home sticks out like a sore thumb. Plus, despite looking sizable, the house only has two bedrooms and three baths. · Squaw Island [Zillow] · 56 Shore Drive [Zillow] · Fishing Creek [Zillow] · 1 Poplar Ave [Zillow] · 17528 Lighthouse Ln [Zillow]

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On the Market: Hark, Mariners! Here are Five Lighthouses For Sale in the U.S.

Inspiring LI Teen Goes To State Of Union, But Doesn’t Make Intel Finals

Cole Perkins — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:44:35 +0000

Samantha Garvey, the Long Island teen whose academic success in the face of her family’s financial difficulty inspired the country , attended President Obama’s State of the Union address last night, at the invitation of Rep. Steve Israel. Israel shared photos of Garvey’s trip on his Facebook and Twitter accounts, noting things like, “Samantha Garvey just arrived in DC for State of Union. A bite of pizza @ hotel before mtg with WH Science Advisor.” [ more › ]

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Inspiring LI Teen Goes To State Of Union, But Doesn’t Make Intel Finals

Ding Dong Ditch Annoys LI Woman To Fire Gun, Aim It At Teen

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:32:44 +0000

Playing “ding dong ditch” is a time-old tradition among suburban teens, but, kids, you should know that some of your targets may be armed. On Long Island, a 47-year-old woman was so fed up with someone ringing her doorbell and running away on Sunday night that on the third time, she took out her 9mm and fired a round outside her Rockville Centre home. And when she spotted a teen walking down the street outside her home a little while later, she stopped him and pointed her gun at him. [ more › ]

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Ding Dong Ditch Annoys LI Woman To Fire Gun, Aim It At Teen

Video: Bon Iver + Bon Jovi = Bon Joviver

Cole Perkins — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:13:59 +0000

Enjoy poignant, cuddle-rock sung by a sensitive dude who sounds like the Bee Gees on novocaine? Wish you could combine the tenderness of spending a week in a sleeping bag with a tear-stained diary and the feeling you and your pals get when you’re six Jäger shots deep and ready to rawk the karaoke bar? Thankfully, there’s Bon Joviver. [ more › ]

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Video: Bon Iver + Bon Jovi = Bon Joviver

Celebrity Real Estate: Prince William and Kate’s Ultra-Luxe Caribbean Hideaway

Cole Perkins — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:15:00 +0000

Click here to view the full photogallery. The March 2007 article in Architectural Digest that featured this sprawling Caribbean villa opened with a memorable, and most appropriate, line: “What sort of wedding present do you give a princess?” That query referred to Colin Tenant’s gift of property on the exclusive island of Mustique to Princess Margaret, but the question arose again now that the Duchess of Cambridge—the former Kate Middleton —and her husband Prince William are shacking up in the very same villa for a winter holiday. Dubbed the “Aurora Villa,” the five-bedroom colonial spread typically rents for $23,000 per week, but seeing as it’s owned by a family friend, British hedge funder Mark Cecil, it might not be costing the royal couple a pence. The same can’t be said for the island’s other guests, who have been prohibited from using Mustique’s iconic modified golf carts, for fear that they might try to sneak a peek at the royals. · Aurora [Grenadine Villas] · Casual Idyll on Mustique [Architectural Digest] · Lockdown in paradise as Kate jets in for Middleton family holiday [Daily Mail]

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Celebrity Real Estate: Prince William and Kate’s Ultra-Luxe Caribbean Hideaway

Watch Inspiring Teen Scholar Meet Ellen, Get $50K Scholarship

Cole Perkins — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:47:09 +0000

Long Island high school student Samantha Garvey continues to capture people’s hearts with her story of academic success amid her family’s hardships. In a show that airs today Ellen DeGeneres presents Garvey with a $50,000 scholarship for the college of her choice. Watch this video—and, uh, you may get something in your eye: [ more › ]

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Watch Inspiring Teen Scholar Meet Ellen, Get $50K Scholarship

Extra, Extra: Long Island Pharmacists Are Packing Heat

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 23:40:35 +0000

Follow Gothamist on Twitter and like us on Facebook . You can also get the top stories mailed to you— sign up here . [ more › ]

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Extra, Extra: Long Island Pharmacists Are Packing Heat

Pronunciation Practice: This glassy seaside house in Sweden…

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:15:00 +0000

This glassy seaside house in Sweden goes by the name Villa Flåttarna and was built by Wingårdh Arkitektontor. It’s the first in a planned development of nine similarly styled modern houses on a rocky outcrop near Smögen Island. [Dezeen]

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Pronunciation Practice: This glassy seaside house in Sweden…