Outdoor Space

While the $899,000 ask on this two-bedroom, floor-through apartment at 30 West 126th Street in Harlem may not be a total steal, an apartment of this size with well-designed custom renovations, central heat and air, closet space, and a cozy balcony would likely be much more costly in many other Manhattan neighborhoods. And certainly a pretty brownstone block steps from shopping (a Whole Foods is on the way) and subways would up the price even more. Yet this brick-lined, light-filled home has every bit as much townhouse appeal as its West Village counterparts.
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Distinctive Homes

September 15, 2016

‘Humans of New York’ creator picks up $2.45M Chelsea duplex

You may not know Brandon Stanton by name, but you certainly know his photo-journalism project "Humans of New York." Launched six years ago, the social media sensation features interviews with thousands of people on the streets of New York, with special series focusing on groups like Syrian refugees and veterans, and it's now spread internationally. Stanton has encountered wild success, even authoring a book that spent 29 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and he's now scored a lovely Chelsea co-op, reports the Observer. He and fiancée Erin O’Sullivan dropped $2.45 million on the lovely duplex at 440 West 23rd Street, which features a two-level backyard garden.
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September 15, 2016

For $1.6M this sweet Red Hook townhouse with a studio, garage and garden is a great condo alternative

While this compact and cute townhouse at 98 Pioneer Street on one of Red Hook's most Red Hook-y blocks may not be a grand mansion, at 2,148 square feet, it's bigger than most condos in its ($1.6 million) price range, and there's plenty of value packed in. First, a separate studio apartment with a garage and workshop, renovated and suitably adorable with garden access, is ready to be rented for extra income or used as a workspace or guest suite. There's a lovely landscaped garden, two additional balconies and plenty of thoughtful, modern renovations that you might find in newly-minted apartments with far less charm.
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Distinctive Homes

September 13, 2016

Lofty details abound at this bright and bold $1.4M Greenpoint condo

This Greenpoint building at 59 Green Street was originally a 19th century flower warehouse, but today it holds apartments with lots of lofty goodness. This two bedroom, which has just hit the market for $1.395 million, boasts exposed brick, wood-beamed, 10-foot ceilings and an open floorplan. Located on the top floor, it also gets lots of light from eight big windows, not to mention views toward the water and Manhattan skyline.
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Distinctive Homes

September 13, 2016

$1.25M UWS co-op is part loft, part townhouse and part palazzo

Maybe you’ve noticed some of those unusual historic townhouses nestled between much larger buildings that are scattered about New York City, and the geometric gem of a limestone townhouse at 35 Riverside Drive on the Upper West Side is one of those. Within, an equally out-of-the-ordinary co-op is now on the market for $1.25 million. With a barrel-and-zigzag facade punctuated in places by cylindrical columns that might look right at home on a Roman palazzo, a triangular sleeping loft and a lovely shaded wood-clad deck off the bedroom, there’s plenty to behold in this one-bedroom, third-floor aerie. Views of Riverside Park (right across the street) and the Hudson River add up to a home that's definitely “not your cookie cutter apartment,” as the listing says.
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Distinctive Homes

September 7, 2016

Manhattan meets Montmarte in a designer’s $2.45M Nomad penthouse

House Beautiful calls designer Leslie Klotz's rooftop loft "a wonderful mashup of Manhattan and Montmartre," and the homeowner says visitors are reminded of a Parisian artist's garret, though this designed-to-the-nines Nomad penthouse at 66 Madison Avenue is definitely more soigné than starving artist. A gut renovation of the space–it was once the building's boiler room–by the designer and former Banana Republic PR executive resulted in a light-filled aerie topped with a web of massive skylights and blessed with enough terrace space to accomodate her love of indoor/outdoor living and entertaining. Now on the market for $2.450 million, the apartment atop the full-service Madison Parq co-op is located in of one of the city's hottest downtown neighborhoods
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Distinctive Homes

September 6, 2016

$495K Park Slope brownstone co-op has a roof deck and a kitchen that hides when you’re not using it

Tucked into one of the gorgeous century-old townhouses on a center Slope block just a stone's throw from Prospect Park, this fourth-floor co-op at 53 Montgomery Place is a cozy cabin of a penthouse walk-up, complete with a private roof deck offering killer city views. While this one-bedroom apartment is indeed cozy, custom renovations have made the space a versatile and charming home.
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Distinctive Homes

September 2, 2016

For $2.38M, an Upper East Side maisonette with a generous side of landscaped garden

This two-bedroom co-op at 11 East 92nd Street tops the menu for prime location and well-designed space: In Carnegie Hill half a block from Central Park, with spacious bedrooms on opposite sides, the elegant first-floor home offers a wood-burning fireplace and pretty pre-war details like a step-down living room. But the best surprise is the generous private landscaped side and rear garden paradise with its own brick fireplace.
What else comes with that?

Distinctive Homes

September 1, 2016

Knicks’ new star player Joakim Noah buys a $6M Chelsea penthouse with huge terrace

Joakim Noah--NBA All Star, philanthropist, social activist, and noted free-spirit--signed with the Knicks in June for $18 million a year after spending nine years with the Chicago Bulls. Ahead of his debut season in New York, Noah has scooped up a $5.8 million Chelsea penthouse with an appropriately tricked-out entertaining terrace, reports the Post. The three-bedroom spread at 555 West 23rd Street not only has 2,300 square feet of impeccable indoor space, but the 2,000 square feet of outdoor space boasts a built-in hot tub, gas grill and wet bar, pergola, self-watering planters, and surround sound.
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$4M 19th century brick townhouse in Williamsburg masquerades as a loft

Williamsburg is best known for its stock of new condo buildings and converted warehouses, but the neighborhood boasts its share of historic gems in the form of 19th century townhouses. They don't come on the market very often, so that's why this one at 130 North 1st Street is asking nearly $4 million. Inside, it looks more like a loft than a townhouse--this is still Williamsburg, after all.
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Distinctive Homes

August 29, 2016

$1.4M Chelsea duplex has lots of charm and a magical garden, but a few flaws

If you're looking for an apartment that's, as the saying goes, "perfect for one person or a couple," this charming Chelsea co-op at 335 West 21st Street looks to be every bit the "jewel box oasis" the listing claims. On a prime and pretty block near the High Line, asking $1.395 million, this one-bedroom-plus-den duplex has been optimized for livability–if you can live with a few flaws.
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Distinctive Homes

August 16, 2016

Flexible West Village Co-op Has Lots of Outdoor Space and a Bit of Mid-Century Charm

This furnished co-op at 256 West 10th Street offers flexible lease terms, but the attractive, understated West Village apartment is flexible in other ways–and even manages to throw a few curves. On the rental market for $12,500 a month, the unusual home's three bedrooms–one in an enclosed loft–are joined by a small office/study, and adventurous architectural details add more space for living between rooms. The 1,600-square-foot Hudson Mews apartment's steep rent is undoubtedly based on its location behind a gated courtyard on a block where the streets toss off their rigid grid and boast some of the city's finest restaurants, shops and historic buildings. The enviable landscaped private courtyard and lushly planted roof deck won't send anyone running, either.
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Distinctive Homes

July 26, 2016

$3M Art Deco Co-op Boasts Wrap-Around Terraces With Views of Central Park

It's one thing to have views of Central Park from your apartment. It's quite another when those views come from two wrap-around terraces that surround your penthouse. That's what happening at 336 Central Park West, where this 17th floor, one-bedroom pad is now on the market for $2.995 million. There's more square footage outside than there is inside--with 1,100 interior square feet and 1,720 exterior square feet. And the interior boasts twelve large windows, with the original steel-cased frames, that look out onto both incredible terrace spaces.
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Distinctive Homes

July 19, 2016

This $4,750/Month Park Slope Townhouse Duplex Feels Like a Home

We're not sure what it is about this two-bedroom duplex occupying the top two floors of a lovely South Slope townhouse at 215 13th Street; like the neighborhood, it's laid-back rather than fancy, but the 1,200-square-foot rental looks like it has everything you'd need to move right in and make yourself at home. Asking $4,750 a month, the duplex includes a big, bright kitchen for gathering and cooking, a charming rear deck for outdoor chilling, a bath and a half for not having to climb stairs to use the baño, office space, big closets and a washer-dryer.
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Distinctive Homes

July 14, 2016

Sweet Hell’s Kitchen Duplex Has Pre-War Charm, a Smart Layout and Outdoor Space for $990K

It's almost as if this unique little duplex at 461 West 44th Street can't take a bad picture. There isn't a room unblessed by charm–including two good-sized bedrooms, a huge closet/dressing room and an amazing amount of (shared but directly accessible) well-tended outdoor space, all for a surprising-for-Manhattan $990,000. Situated near the corner of a tree-lined block in Hell's Kitchen, the co-op's 990 square feet seem more spacious than that number would suggest, as is often the case when two units are combined. The fixtures, finishes and overall design have been carefully curated with an eye for both beauty and function, and there are more than a few surprises, including a 1951 Chambers stove and a back door just off the kitchen that opens onto an almost-private planted patio.
Tour this one-of-a-kind west side home

Distinctive Homes

July 12, 2016

$1.4M Williamsburg Apartment is Surrounded by Greenery and Outdoor Space

This Williamsburg apartment at 16 Monitor Street is perfect for summer, as there's views of greenery pretty much everywhere you look. As the listing says, "Whichever window you look out of, you see lush foliage and flowers." The two-bedroom duplex spans about 1,500 square feet and is decked out with modern finishes and a very impressive walk-in closet. It's been renovated into a bona fide entertainment space, assisted in no small part by the 200 square feet of barbecue and lounge space outside.
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Distinctive Homes

July 10, 2016

Classic Flatiron Co-op Has Good Closets, Great Location and a Private Terrace for $825K

This stylish junior one-bedroom co-op at 16 West 16th Street offers the kind of convenience city dwellers crave: Just off Fifth Avenue, it's within a few blocks of Union Square, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, the area's cornucopia of restaurants and hotels, Chelsea shopping and much more, yet on one of the area's classic residential blocks, with both similar elegant towers and pretty townhouses. The apartment itself has obvious covetable qualities on its own. A tasteful, modern renovation erases the cookie-cutter co-op feel found in some postwars. Perhaps best of all, there's a private terrace for enjoying the sunshine.
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Distinctive Homes

July 7, 2016

Flirt, Frolic and Shower Outside at This Indulgent $1.5M Village Co-op

When a listing is advertised as having a "Soho House meets The Standard Hotel design motif,” we already know who the target audience is. But just to be sure, an accompanying video features a pair of bed-headed hotties–one of whom is the listing broker–who would look right at home at either of those establishments as they frolic about the apartment in a steamy state. The smitten pair caress the home's custom fixtures and invite the viewer to imagine a puzzlingly effort-free existence in this chic $1.495 million sixth-floor co-op at 303 Mercer Street's Snug Harbor.
They're gonna need that central air...

Distinctive Homes

June 20, 2016

Chelsea Townhouse Has Lots of Wood, Brick and Sunshine and a Leafy Garden for $18K/Month

The term used in the listing to describe this renovated four-bedroom townhouse in the residential midst of bustling Chelsea is "intelligently modernized," and it fits. The 3,600-square-foot townhouse at 240 West 21st Street, built in 1840, has, like most of its kind, a long and storied history; constructed as a family home (in this case for the well-to-do Hanks family) it saw generations of residents through the best and worst of times. But unlike some, this particular residence has emerged once more as a spacious and comfortable single-family home with more perks than quirks and is now on the rental market for $18,000 a month. Summer is a fine time to enjoy its sun-dappled leafy back yard and private upper deck. A hip loft-style kitchen and lots of brick set the interiors apart from some of its historic counterparts, and a slightly unusual layout means the living room is in the back–where the sunshine is.
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Distinctive Homes

June 16, 2016

Marilyn Monroe’s Former Sutton Place Penthouse Is on the Market for $6.75M

The sprawling two-bedroom East Side penthouse that was once home to screen icon Marilyn Monroe and third husband Arthur Miller is for sale asking $6.75 million, the New York Post reports. This chic and elegant condo atop 444 East 57th Street, just off Sutton Place, was home to a star-studded list of 20th century residents, topped by the tempestuous Monroe and Miller when the latter was writing "The Misfits" (1961), the last play in which the troubled star would appear. The iconic pad definitely looks the part, with a recent total renovation within, postcard views of the 59th Street Bridge, East River and city skyline, and over 3,000 square feet of soiree-ready outdoor terrace space. Those same terraces have witnessed glittering parties that drew luminaries of the day from Cary Grant to the Duke and Duchess of Windsor; other celebrity residents included fashion designer Bill Blass, singer Bobby Short and Sweden's Princess Madeleine.
Elegant interiors and amazing views this way

March 17, 2016

Live in Rolling Stones Guitarist Keith Richards’ Washington Square Penthouse for $12M

Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards and his wife, model Patti Hansen, bought the penthouse at 1 Fifth Avenue for $10.5 million back in 2014. Putting meaning to "You Can't Always Get What You Want," the legendary musician has now listed his Greenwich Village digs just two years later for $12.23 million, reports Curbed.
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March 11, 2016

Barn Wood and Brick Abound at This $1.1M Cobble Hill Co-op

By Dana Schulz

It's not surprising that this ridiculously charming Cobble Hill co-op restoration was featured in Good Housekeeping Magazine. From it's cozy furniture to rustic architecture, the one-bedroom home at 29 Tompkins Place has a little something for every type of design lover. We can't quite pinpoint the style, but it seems to be a mashup of country cabin, bespoke Brooklyn, and midwestern flair. It's currently on the market for $1,115,000 (h/t Curbed), which will get you details like exposed brick, crown moldings, wide-plank hardwood floors, and two cozy faux fireplaces.
You don't want to miss this one

Distinctive Homes

February 11, 2016

Notorious Novogratz Townhouse Where Heidi Klum Summered Sells for $14.5M

It only took nine years and a $10 million price chop, but the notoriously-hard-to-sell townhouse at 400 West Street has finally found a buyer for $14.5 million, reports the Post. Husband-and-wife design team Bob and Cortney Novogratz bought the West Village townhouse for $4.3 million back in 2007, and then undertook a complete renovation, adding an indoor basketball court, eight-person elevator, and insane rooftop terrace complete with a pizza oven and hot tub. All these amenities, coupled with the colorful and funky decor, caught the eye of Heidi Klum, who rented the home several times over the years, most recently for $70,000/month this past summer.
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January 27, 2016

$33K/Month Penthouse With a Custom Koi Pond Is a Bit of Bay Ridge in Trendy Tribeca