I've Died & Gone To Heaven...In Savanah

One of the preeminent historic residences in Savannah located directly across from renowned Forsyth Park on Gaston Street, this home was originally built in 1857 for William F.Brantley and designed by renowned architect John Norris. The historic residence had a beautiful renovation in 2007 and won an ASID award, a 2009 award from the Georgia Trust and a Preservation Award in 2008 from the Historic Savannah Foundation.

From the listing:

"The three story main house features a full garden level finished with a guest suite, craft room, butler’s pantry and game/exercise room. An elevator connects all stories. A formal living room, dining room, spacious family room, private office and kitchen are located on the parlor level. The living room, dining room and family room are adorned with custom plaster sculptured crown molding and ceiling medallions. The kitchen is complete with the an AGA range, large center island, custom Alder cabinetry and a breakfast area flooded with natural light from the cupola skylight. A luxurious master suite occupies the first floor with his and her baths and a grand dressing room. Two bedrooms each with ensuite baths are on the third level.

Gracious side porches nestled amongst century old live oak trees overlook the beautifully landscaped courtyard. The three car garage carriage house adjoins the main house with a sitting room, guest room, full bath and powder room."

So here's my question...Does anyone out there have $5.5 million they'd like to bestow upon me to cover the purchase price? If you did, I'd let you move in too. I'm generous that way.

click images to enlarge

(source: Luxist)

The Apthorp

How's this for some exquisite real estate porn?

When built in 1908 it was the largest residential building in the world. Today it is being modernized (don't fret they're restoring the historic details but adding state-of-the-art appliances and central air conditioning) into 163 luxurious homes, ranging in size from one to four bedrooms and 1,500 to 6,000 square feet; the first 22 homes are currently on sale with prices starting at $2 million.

The elegance of New York’s Gilded Age is reflected in the baseboards, chair rails, picture moldings, cornices, fireplace mantels, built-in cabinetry and niches. In drawing rooms, libraries, dining rooms and bedrooms stone and plaster moldings.


You can view a PDF of the original Apthorp Brochure from 1908 here. One hundred years later this is the new brochure.

One of my best friends live around the corner of this iconic neo-renaissance building and every time I walk by I get a little weak in the knees. Every now and again you'll see the grandiose iron gates part to allow a chauffeured car with blackened windowed in to circle around the driveway of the 12,000 sq ft. courtyard. You're left standing on the sidewalk with the rest of the commoners wishing it were you in that car and could get a chance to view the landmark beauty that is guarded by those giant gates.

Now's our chance, let's take a look inside with LXTV's Open House NYC:

RHNJ: House Tours with Danielle and Caroline

The New York Times ran this article in the Home and Garden section about The Real Housewives of New Jersey's Danielle Staub and Caroline Manzo's homes. Here are some choice snippets...

First they visit Caroline (who is fast becoming my favorite RH of all time):

“We’re definitely the poor people out here,” she said of her leafy Franklin Lakes neighborhood, an assertion that belied the message of her ornate gilded and faux-painted interiors. “We had no landscaping for seven years. The pool isn’t gunite. I’m not spending that kind of money. Is there a liner, can you swim? So who’s stupid, you or me? I don’t look to impress.” Al added, “People can take us or leave us.”

We moved on to a red-wallpapered bathroom with a fully gilded door, many gold knickknacks and a painting of a monkey in an Old Master setting and a gilded frame. “That monkey looks just like my grandmother,” Caroline said. “It always cracks me up.”

Speaking of fighting, it was time to see the next housewife, Danielle, who lives five minutes away in Wayne.

“Good luck with that one,” Caroline said darkly. “Have fun!”

She opened the door, festively clad in a tropical green tunic and form-fitting designer jeans (she has 401 pairs, she said), and attended by a duet of small dogs barking hysterically.
“Fendi, Fendi, shut up,” she yelled at the worst offender. (There were two tiny Chihuahuas in pink T-shirts: palm-size Fendi and Birkin-bag-size Paradise.) “Did she make poopie? That dog is more work.”

The reporter complained that she’d had to explain phone sex to her 12-year-old daughter after watching the show’s first episode (in which Danielle endeavors to meet in person a man with whom she has been telephoning for six months).

“Did you tell her it was the only safe sex there is?” Danielle responded.

The best part...

The give us two slide shows with audio commentary! One is of Danielle Staub's home. The other is of Caroline Manzo's home.


Nice huh? Well, I've got another juicy post about Danielle coming a little later today. It was hard for me to decide which to post first but I figured I'd start off the "nice one".

Bueller, Bueller?

If you've seen the movie Ferris Bueller's Day off you're sure to recognize this house as Cameron Frye's Father's home.

In the real world the Highland Park, Illinois home is known as the Ben Rose home and was designed by architects A. James Speyer and David Haid. It's been owned by Rose since it was built in 1953 and is also known as the Ben Rose Auto Museum. Rose died in 2004. His wife Francis lived there with a caregiver until her death earlier this year. The home has four bedrooms and is 5,300 square feet. The garage is also an art showcase for modern pieces as well as vintage cars. There is a separate two-car garage for cars that are driven on a more regular basis. The property is listed as being sold as is with no disclosures and likely needs some renovations. It has an asking price of $2.3 million.

The listing is with Sotheby's.

RHATL- Big Poppa's House on Teen Cribs

Siblings Jamen (15) and Katelin (18) Najjar showed off their massive palace like mansion in a 30 minute segment on Teen Cribs. Their father, Lee Najjar, is a real estate tycoon and was reported to be Kim's "Big Poppa" on The Real Housewives of Atlanta. Located at 490 W Paces Ferry Road NW in Atlanta, GA. the home has a massive foyer with grand sweeping staircase, a huge ballroom, a gourmet kitchen with adjoining breakfast room, numerous bedrooms suites, a recording studio (Dallas Austin says what?), an amazing home theater with a wrought iron door, a swimming pool, a tanning bed room, a game room with ping pong table, a gentleman's pub, a beauty and nail salon (wonder if there's a wig vault), a massage room, a moroccan room, a massive pool house, a basketball court, and an outdoor hibachi grill.

To watch the video click here (I tried to embed it but the code wasn't working).

Voyeurism

Better enjoy this installment because it's the last one until fall! Bummer.

"BROWNSTONE VOYEUR is a joint project of casaCARA and Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn. The series, which has been a regular Thursday feature on both sites, is going on hiatus for the summer. This is the last installment of the season; look for it to return in the fall."

Today's feature: Brownstone Voyeur- Collecting Local Art In Clinton Hill.

"A 20-FOOT-WIDE BROWNSTONE in Clinton Hill, replete with 1870s detail — wide moldings, a flat arch opening between the front and rear parlors, a bay window at the rear — is the perhaps unlikely showcase for a locally acquired gallery of very modern paintings, and look how well it works."

Click on the link here or above to have a look.

The Schinasi Mansion

Built during the American Renaissance and designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill (of Carnegie Hall fame) The Schinasi Mansion is the only private freestanding homes left in Manhattan. Lucky for us it's on the market so we get to step inside and indulge in some exquisite real estate porn.

Enjoy...


You like?

Want to see the floor plan? Here is the link to the Brown Harris Stevens listing.

In Townhouse News...

According to the NY Post it looks like Ester a.k.a. Madonna is scooping up another property in NYC. Nope, not in some luxury condo building. It's a gorgeous 4 story Georgian Townhouse replete with a private garage. Seems Madonna can't shake London and is looking to live in something with that "across the pond" vibe. My favorite part of the article...

"When Mayor Bloomberg was asked today whether he'd send Madonna a thank you note for buying a new place - a boost to the city's sagging revenues - he said, "No. But we do plan to send her a bill."

Update- Here's the complete listing with interior photos and detailed floorplans from Sotheby's. The listing states...

"Reminiscent of a London townhouse, this 26-room classic Georgian residence is notable for its extraordinary 57-foot width, making it one of the widest houses on the Upper East side..."

They had her at London.




























(source: top photo NY Post all others Sotheby's)

RHNY: Rent a House(wife) in the Hamptons.

Breaking news straight from The Real Estalker.

Ramoaner is renting out her Hampton's home next season. Wanna make out with a has-been Playmate by the swimming pool? 300K gets you in from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Click here for all the details.

I'm assuming it's because the Singer's will be summering in St. Barth with the McCord-van Kempens.