6/16/2010


VOTE TO HELP !

PLEASE vote and help the 
BENGAL CAT RESCUE GROUP
Get a grant to help them enlarge 
the wonderful work they do
on behalf of unfortunate pets 
who have been abandoned
And cannot help themselves.

Bengal Cats have baby Asian Leopards
some generations back
are very tame from F4 (4th generation) on
and fun, faithful, loving and SMART.

Some have spots, some have rosettes on their backs.


Click VOTE below which will take you
to MARILYN JACOBS' profile
and click on the hand to vote!

You can vote once a day. 
This is a departure from the topic
and I hope my readership does not mind
and does follow through.
We appreciate you!

- Marilyn

VOTE

6/15/2010

123 YEAR OLD CARRIAGE HOUSE GETS NEW LIFE IN LOS ANGELES



Maintaining the existing exterior of this designated historic home was essential, so owners intending to make the carriage house a building to serve as a pool house and guest quarters, stripped and restored it to its original Douglas fir finish.  Decks were added utilizing materials similar to those used in the carriage house, and an interior courtyard was created with concrete slabs interspersed with grass and a new lap pool and spa were included.  Interiors are quite contemporary.  

Updated with today’s materials of plastic, stainless steel, the architects introduced more natural light into this 1886 building, e.g. by integrating light under the cabinets for task lighting and above to illuminate the ceiling.  The kitchenette can be closed off with translucent panels.  

The custom cabinets are plastic laminate.

  The original redwood floors and siding were refinished in the sitting area off the pool deck.

The back of the headboard in the upstairs bedroom was topped by an illuminating light trace.  Light from one of the few windows passes through a horizontal slat wall, lighting an adjoining bedroom.  

 Translucent glass and wood slats let light into the bedroom from the bathroom, which has a contemporary custom stainless-steel door and countertop.



 

6/13/2010

This COULD BE historic news....

THINK YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH SPACE?

Enjoy the wonders of  this creation.
 
Amazing Tiny Apartment...very interesting... 
A Hong-Kong architect designed a 344 sq. ft. apartment that can change into
24 different rooms, all by just sliding panels and walls. This is worth watching.

 

6/05/2010

KENNY ROGERS ATLANTA HOME IS ON THE MARKET



A man on the move, Rogers has put his latest home up for sale for $5.9MM, unfurnished, formerly priced at $7.95MM furnished.  It is a 6 bedroom, 6 ½ bath home with 9000 sq ft at 10 Valley Road, in the Buckhead area, on 1.5 acres, and Rogers said that he and his wife have “gone over every wall, every ceiling, every floor… every inch of the house.” 
Landscaping is spectacular.  Interiors are well laid out, have splendid finishes and beautiful materials throughout.  Opulence and high drama appear both on the exterior and interior.  Chinese influence can be seen.  The home includes an African-themed guest room with zebra-skin rug and Rogers photographs that he took in Africa.  An elevator is included.  Pool is symmetric free form.
Master bedroom is platinum color with multi-level tray ceiling and fireplace.  Carved four-poster bed has shiny linens and many decorative pillows.   
The large eat-in kitchen has black marble tile flooring, bull-nose black granite countertops, a built-in dining banquette with huge windows, top-of-the-line appliances, and a pot rack laced with ivy hanging the entire length of the work island and breakfast bar.
Some ceilings are richly coffered.  There is a 3-car garage and the requisite mansion theatre.  Showcased are items from his world travels with rich earth tone backgrounds.  A gym is included.  The Rogers raised the roof.  Annual property taxes are about $50,000.
He purchased the home in 2006 for $2.8MM and spent $3MM on renovations.  Architecture is a mix of 2nd Empire and Renaissance Revival architecture.  The house sits on a landscape knoll.  This is the 10th property that he has fixed up and resold. 
He and the family are moving to a fenced 150 acre area in Athens, Georgia, which includes a 7-acre lake stocked with fish and 5 miles of groomed trails for walking or biking.  He describes it as “a kind of Disneyland with animals.”  The house is 3,000 sq ft with two guest bungalows and a bar. 
We can begin to see that today’s uber-luxury houses have details in common such as wood paneled rooms, marble floors, limestone fireplaces that reach to the ceiling, coffered ceilings, and many architectural details such as arched doorways, elaborate moldings, and are oversized in every way.  We can incorporate some of these details into our own homes, especially for those who are handy and love doing this work themselves, like Kenny Rogers does.

Many who have made their fortunes in a variety of careers and industries turn to building or buying real estate, improving and renovating, and then reselling.

6/04/2010

HADID BEL-AIR MANSION UNDER CONTRACT TO INDONESIAN FOR $50MM


At a cost of $59MM according to the seller, Hadid, the Nimes Road mansion has10 bedrooms, 14 bathrooms, 48,000 sq ft mansion on 2.2 acres and includes a ballroom that seats more than 200, 20-car motor court, music room, pond for swans, seven fountains, Turkish hammam (steam bath) and columned movie theatre with a mural on the ceiling. 
Seller, Los Angeles, Aspen and DC developer Mohamed Hadid, built Ritz-Carlton hotels in the 1980’s and currently builds massive homes in Los Angeles, Mexico and elsewhere.  He is said to control $400MM worth of Washington, DC real estate.
The Nimes Road property includes painstaking details tooled by master craftsmen and opulent decorating by gifted artisans.  The pictures herewith tell a beautiful story.
Originally the property was listed for $85MM, and the priced dropped to $72MM.  When it closes this will be the highest priced residential real-estate sale in the US so far for 2010. 
According to the Hadid Development website, Mohamed (“Michael”) Anwar Hadid, was born in Nazareth in 1948, and had 7 brothers and sisters. He considers himself a Palestinian exile at birth.  He was schooled at Washington & Lee High School in DC, and excelled at math. He became a Washington developer in 1981.  His finances have gone up and down.  He “out-Trumped Trump” on an Aspen property, and according to the Hadid Development website, has come close to foreclosure on many deals.  He has a fleet of Rolls-Royces, flamboyant style, and “seemingly magical source of quick cash.”  Rumors abound about the source of his money, but it is reported to be a nonprofit foundation that funds development projects in Islamic countries and the United States, and is now located in the US.  For a fascinating story about Hadid, that details his Aspen property, go to Hadid Development site.
Your editor wonders if this buyer was the Indonesian buyer said to be purchasing Bren Simon’s estate which is described in another post below.

6/03/2010

STUART, FLORIDA HOME NAMED # 8 OF TOP TEN COOLEST BEACH HOMES FOR SALE


This stunning post-modern waterfront mansion is a sportsman’s paradise.  It is located in the sailfish capital of the world, Stuart, Florida on the St. Lucie River.
As you enter, you see a sky-domed reception rotunda.   Sweeping curved walls are beside dual staircases, and beyond is the waterfront great room with tropical views of the one-mile wide river, no bridges to the Atlantic Ocean.
This gated compound, built in 1991, is on 1.26 acres, has 11,477 living sq ft, an 8-car garage, 5 bedrooms, 7 ½ baths and a 2 bedroom guesthouse, office and club room.  In addition there are a gym, sauna, fireplace, tennis court, a/c basement, 8-zone a/c system, skylights, private balconies with each bedroom.   


The house is built on a pristine shoreline with private beach.  A state-of-the art dock has a self-propelled tram that will move guest and equipment to deepwater; dockage for up to 150’ motor yacht. 

6/02/2010

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS HISTORIC HOME WHERE TRUMAN CAPOTE LIVED MAY SET SALES RECORD



Built in 1839, the 5-story Greek Revival 9,000 sq ft pale yellow townhouse at 70 Willow Street includes a columned porch in the back where there is an enchanting 2500 sq ft garden, crystal chandeliers, a notable elliptical mahogany staircase with rosette oculus window of amber-gold glass at the top, a double parlor with high ceilings, hardwood flooring, exercise area, interior period detail by Minard Lafever, 2000 sq ft finished basement with wine cellar/grotto, 11 bedrooms, 7 ½ baths, 11 fireplaces and a private gated driveway with parking for 4 cars. 

A mural within is copied from the Kennedy White House.  It is described as a four-square country villa plan.  38 windows have east, south and west exposures.  Ceilings are 12’ high.

There are two chef’s eat-in-kitchens, and a master suite with bath, boudoir and walk-in closet.  There is an artist’s studio and library.  New York Daily News reports this property is for sale for $18MM.  It is described as “lavish”, “a country estate in the middle of New York City,” and a “quiet refuge just minutes from Manhattan.” 

This property is on the market for the first time in 70 years, previously owned in the 1950’s by Broadway art director Oliver Smith, and he rented the house’s ground floor garden apartment to Capote from 1955 to 1965.  Capote would throw wild, glamorous cocktail parties, hobnobbing with the social elite, while Smith was away and say that he owned the entire property.

It is likely to break sales records in Brooklyn Heights and become its most expensive townhouse.  While living here, Capote wrote “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” and “In Cold Blood.”  His essay, “ A House on the Heights,” was based on his neighborhood experiences.