NY Blog » Real Estate

On the Market: The Opulent, Luxe Mansions of Down-on-its-Luck Detroit

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:00:00 +0000

Click here to view the full photogallery. With the national economic downturn added to an auto industry already in decline, Detroit, Mich. has certainly seen better days, but there is perhaps no better place to scoop up an opulent Gilded Age mansion for less. After all, the long-gone industrial titans built some lavish abodes here, like this utterly amazing 5,300-square-foot manse on Van Dyke Place in the city’s West Village. Built in 1901, the place boasts six bedrooms and untouched—if somewhat worn—historic details. Though the house is said to have once served as a restaurant, the existing kitchen looks more than a little bare bones, with just a couple of porcelain sinks and cracked tile flooring. Normally, that is to say in a city not quite so hard done by, this place would be asking several million, even with the condition issues. Thanks to a foreclosure proceeding, this stunning bit of history is listed for just $145K, down from $375K a year ago. Click here to view the full photogallery. Photos: Susan Tusa/ Detroit Free Press . ↑ The grand homes in the suburbs have fared better than most, in both price and condition, like this extravagant Tudor in Grosse Pointe Shores. Listed for $1.295M, the seven-bedroom spread was built in the 1920s by the department store-funded Webber family. That price is quite a steal when you consider the family spent the equivalent of $6M building the luxuriant pile. Highlights include exceptional hand-carved woodwork and a barrel vaulted ceiling in the living room. Click here to view the full photogallery. Photo: Susan Tusa/ Detroit Free Press ↑ Built in 1922 for industrialist Charles Van Dusen, this brick manse is one of the most expensive in Detroit proper, but here you’ll get a lot for your $750K. The house encloses 10,400 square feet, with seven bedrooms, nine bathrooms, extensive woodwork, some potentially original tiling, and grand entertaining rooms, including a bordello-like billiards hall. That price means a big profit potential for the flippers, who purchased in 2008 for just $242K. Click here to view the full photogallery. ↑ The leafy Indian Village neighborhood is home to this grand columned mansion, built in 1904. Here, the history has been messed with a bit, both in color and style (see the kitchen), but the price, at $429K, is downright amazing for 11,000 square feet of luxury. The eight-bed, six-bath manse sits on more than an acre of gated greenery, with nanny’s quarters and formal gardens. Click here to view the full photogallery. ↑ Also in Indian Village, and asking substantially less, is this brick Colonial, with seven bedrooms and 5.5 baths on 0.36 acres. Aside from the tile in the kitchen, the house is exceptionally well turned out, but not well enough to overcome the housing slide in these parts. The price is $275K, a $75K discount on what the owners paid back in 2002. · 649 Van Dyke Street [Realtor.com] · Van Dyke Place Mansion: (Decaying) Interior Decadence [Curbed Detroit] · Amazeballs Bank-Owned Mansion For Jaw-Dropping Price [Curbed Detroit] · Opulent 1920s Home for Nephew of Department Store Founder [Curbed Detroit] · 1830 Balmoral Drive [Zillow] · 1771 Seminole Street [Zillow] · 2450 Burns Streets [Zillow]

More here:

On the Market: The Opulent, Luxe Mansions of Down-on-its-Luck Detroit

Riotous Rugs: A study by the psych journal…

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:00:00 +0000

A study by the psych journal Perception suggests that certain carpets induce nausea. “The carpet image was not moving; the people were not moving, but they reported feelings of self-motion and motion sickness,” said one psych professor about participants who looked at a black-and-white patterned rug for five minutes. The same was found in folks who stared at crushed-velvet rugs for five minutes. [MSNBC via AOL Real Estate; previously ]

Riotous Rugs: A study by the psych journal…

On the Market: The generally disappointing tenure of Braves’…

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:30:00 +0000

The generally disappointing tenure of Braves’ pitcher Derek Lowe has come to an end with his trade to the Cleveland Indians. Which means there’s a new multi-million dollar home listing on the Atlanta real estate market. Naturally, it’s got jock features such as a cigar room. [Curbed Atlanta]

Read the original here:

On the Market: The generally disappointing tenure of Braves’…

The Printed Page: Inside Diane von Furstenberg’s Phenomenally Cool Penthouse

Cole Perkins — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:00:00 +0000

Photo by François Halard/ Architectural Digest Oh boy, Architectural Digest has just dropped its March issue, the magazine’s gut-busting ( influential ) tribute to celebrity homes. In it: a 10-pager on Diane von Furstenberg’s glassy aerie next to the High Line in Manhattan. Despite the fact her friends thought she was nuts for moving to the Meatpacking District—”Everybody told me when I came to this neighborhood that I was crazy—that it was full of drag queens, that it smelled awful because of all the butchers”—the reigning queen of the wrap dress and, more recently, home-goods designer bought two redbrick Victorians in 2006 and had WORKac—two guys that formerly worked for Rem Koolhaas—conjoin them with an 80-foot concrete staircase made sparkly by 8,000 Swarovski crystals. Her personal penthouse sits atop her design studio and flagship, and it’s filled with “just odds and ends, all the things that have happened throughout my life,” says von Furstenberg, who believes she is more “bohème” than “bourgeoise” despite the fact that she once used to live in a “baronial Park Avenue apartment.” “When I was young, I lived like an old woman, and when I got old, I had to live like a young person.” Arch Digest has only released a few images to the Web—see the bedroom shot below. Photo by François Halard/ Architectural Digest · All Architectural Digest coverage [Curbed National] · Architectural Digest [official site]

The Printed Page: Inside Diane von Furstenberg’s Phenomenally Cool Penthouse

On the Market: Five Listed Alternatives to Winter’s Favorite TV Show Houses

Cole Perkins — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:15:00 +0000

Click here to view the full photogallery. With most primetime TV shows awakened from the midseason slumber, now seems an apt time to explore their real estate—or at least properties that resemble their real estate. After all, except for the spooky old house from American Horror Story most actual sets are not actually on the market. Take the sprawling shingle-style estate of Madeleine Stowe’s Victoria Grayson in the ABC hit Revenge. It may be located in Wilmington, N.C., quite a ways away from East Hampton, N.Y., where the show takes place, but it’s also decidedly not for sale. Yet lovers of the show who happen to have a cool $30M lying around can invest in their own version of Grayson Manor with the Southampton place above, which has trappings befitting of any evil-eyed socialite: gambrels galore, 10 fireplaces, imported French fireplace mantels, hand-painted walls, a staff apartment, a custom wine cellar with a vaulted ceiling, and a tennis court, all over 13,400 square feet of regal interiors. Click here to view the full photogallery. ↑ The NBC comedy New Girl chronicles the escapades of Zooey Deschanel’s Jess, who finds solace from a breakup in a Los Angeles loft occupied by a bunch of guys. The space has what you’d expect, from the exposed brick to the commercial-style bathroom to the basketball hoop. Channeling a similar vibe on a much swankier scale is a new-to-market quadruplex penthouse loft in the Los Angeles Arts District. The two-bedroom, 4,300-square-foot unit, which boasts its own elevator, was once leased by Nicolas Cage and now belongs to fellow actor Vincent Gallo, who’s asking $2.599. Click here to view the full photogallery. ↑ Musically inclined Glee primarily takes place within the hallways of the fictional William McKinley High School, supposedly located in Lima, Ohio. Yet thanks to the celebrity-stalking ways of the location-scout blogger I Am Not a Stalker, the world now knows that the home of Kristen Chenowith’s high school dropout April Rhodes is actually located in Encino, Calif. Something that appears very similar: this 1953 Encino Mediterranean with four bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms over 4,600 square feet. It’s been listed for some four months and asks $1.775M. Click here to view the full photogallery. ↑ While the exact location of Christina Applegate’s Reagan and Will Arnett’s Chris in the new NBC comedy Up All Night isn’t apparent, the show hints at the San Francisco Bay Area with references to both Oakland and Catalina. From the looks of things, the young parents reside in a ranch with strong midcentury influences: large expanses of floor-to-ceiling glass, a large, tiled fireplace, stone walls, and beamed ceilings. This three-bedroom house, built in 1963 in San Francisco’s Diamond Heights neighborhood, sports the same kind of feel, with original cabinetry in the kitchens and baths, nostalgic light fixtures, and board-and-batten siding. The property has most recently been listed for $1M but seems to have just gone into contract. Click here to view the full photogallery. ↑ Perched on a prime Central Park block of Manhattan’s Upper East Side, this duplex befits any true fan of the PBS hit Downton Abbey. It may be far from North Yorkshire, but it does have a staff apartment, complete with its own living room and kitchenette, not to mention five staff bedrooms on the second floor. The cost of living this butlered lifestyle: $27.5M. Head to Curbed NY for four additional Downton-worthy apartments. · New Hamptons TV Show Won’t Actually Be Filmed in the Hamptons [Curbed Hamptons] · The Hamptons Beach Houses on the TV Show “Revenge” [Hooked on Houses] · A Jaw-Dropping Estate With an Equally Mind-Blowing Ask [Curbed National] · Vincent Gallo Selling Former Biscuit Lofts Penthouse [Curbed LA] · 4520 Libbit Ave., Encino, Calif. [Redfin] · April’s House From “Glee” [I Am Not a Stalker] · DECORATING INSPIRATION FROM REAGAN AND CHRIS’S MIDCENTURY MODERN HOME ON NBC’S UP ALL NIGHT [Casa Sugar] · Diamond Heights: Realtor Looking For Million-Dollar Embrace On Turquoise Way [Curbed SF] · 40 Turquoise Way, San Francisco [Redfin] · Five Manhattan Dwellings For the Downton Abbey Fan [Curbed NY]

Read the original post:

On the Market: Five Listed Alternatives to Winter’s Favorite TV Show Houses

Firehouse For Rent: Here’s a listing sure to suit…

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:45:00 +0000

Here’s a listing sure to suit those who love a) fireplaces and b) sultry newsmen: a converted firehouse in NYC’s East Village that’s asking $23,500 a month. Although it’s unremarkable on the inside, the new owner would be in cahoots with Anderson Cooper, who owns his own firehouse across town. [Curbed NY]

View original post here:

Firehouse For Rent: Here’s a listing sure to suit…

Please, No! Somebody Wants To Rename Kips Bay NoEVil

Cole Perkins — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:39:26 +0000

The history of New York City is littered with neighborhood names that have stuck—South of Houston, SoHo; Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass, DUMBO—and those that have not stuck nearly as well— Pro-Cro , Crown Heights; North of Madison Park, NoMad—so hopefully the latest one being proposed will be disposed of quickly. In the Times Real Estate section this weekend an enterprising Kips Bay resident wrote in to suggest that the small neighborhood next to Murray Hell Hill be renamed NoEVil. As in North of the East Village. Gag us with a spoon. [ more › ]

View post:
Please, No! Somebody Wants To Rename Kips Bay NoEVil

That’s Rather Hideous: Fine Med-Style Bones Marred By Monster-Size Mess Inside

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:47:00 +0000

Click here to view the full photogallery. Photos via Estate Storys From the outside, this 13,000-square-foot Mediterranean-style mansion in Thousand Oaks, Calif., looks like a lovely place to live. After all, it perches on 22 acres of the valley with a pool, lots of patio space, and views of greenery galore. Step inside the Ron Firestone-designed palace, though, and the scenery takes a drastic turn for the tacky, what with upholstery fabrics in every shade of beige and rose, over-the-top passementerie, and sconces dripping with crystals and tassels. The seven-badroom, 7.5-bathroom mansion, which was built in 2004, is asking $13.995M. Let’s hope the guys who buy it have some spare cash left over to give those good-lookin’ bones a well-deserved makeover. · 2700 White Stallion Road, Thousand Oaks, Calif. [Estate Storys via Homes of the Rich ]

View original here:

That’s Rather Hideous: Fine Med-Style Bones Marred By Monster-Size Mess Inside

Rent, Don’t Buy: Arguably the Hamptons’ tackiest abode, a…

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:05:00 +0000

A rguably the Hamptons’ tackiest abode, a 31,000-square-foot behemoth owned by mega builder Joe Farrell, has upped its game for summer 2012. The Bridgehampton “Sandcastle,” as it’s known, was once home to one woman’s desperate (and widely publicized ) husband hunt and is now asking a staggering $550K for a two-week stay. [Curbed Hamptons; previously ]

See the original post here:

Rent, Don’t Buy: Arguably the Hamptons’ tackiest abode, a…

Globe Trotting: A Tour Through Australia’s Most Utterly Ridiculous Closet

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:45:00 +0000

Click here to view the full photogallery. Finally, a worthy contender to that $5M Chanel-inspired closet in Dallas; although far more modern, this Queensland, Australia number shows no shortage of extravagance. The five-bedroom, three-bedroom contemporary was built in 2010 and has amenities galore, from the home theater to the second butlers kitchen to the built-in barbecue outside to the seemingly endless plane of travertine marble to the private balcony off the master wing to the obvious: floor-to-ceiling windows throughout. That all takes a backseat to the walk-in closet/master bath combo platter, a space so large it takes three separate photos (the first three in the gallery above) to view in full. The place is asking just under $3.5M; do have a look. · 12 Vine Street, Queensland, AU [Luxury Portfolio International via CNBC ] · Come Take a Tour Through a $5M Closet Inspired By Chanel [Curbed National]

Original post:

Globe Trotting: A Tour Through Australia’s Most Utterly Ridiculous Closet