Pools

September 24, 2015

$3M Mansion Has a 130-Foot-Long Bomb-Proof Underground Tunnel

At first glance, this Voorhees, NJ home known as the Alton Estate seems like your average, over-the-top, suburban mega-mansion, with its ridiculous amenities like a Grecian-inspired pool, two-story pool house that connects to the main house via an above-ground ramp, 12-person Jacuzzi, DJ booth, full gym with cedar-lined sauna, soundproof movie theater, and 42-seat bar. But then it gets really interesting. First noted by Curbed, the listing touts a 130-foot-long, solid concrete, underground bomb-proof tunnel. It's not clear why the owners installed this insane panic room, but for those who live in fear of the Apocalypse, and have $2.9 to spare, here's your dream home.
See the rest of this eccentric mansion

September 14, 2015

Russian Castle on Long Island With 35 Bathrooms Asks a Whopping $100M

By Dana Schulz

Imagine stepping into an overly opulent palace in St. Petersburg where you find an indoor lazy river, myriad fountains, a two-story built-in dollhouse, a private shooting range, 13 bedrooms and 35 bathrooms. You'd probably guess you had stumbled upon the estate of a former czar. But then imagine you weren't actually in Russia, but on Long Island, New York, and the property's owner had no royal lineage, but rather made his fortune in the NYC real estate market. This is the Estate at Kings Point, an over-the-top estate designed to resemble the Peterhof Grand Palace in St. Petersburg, built in 1928 by the late Soviet Union billionaire Tamir Sapir as a display of his wealth (and possibly his ego). An unknown buyer (shielded by an LLC) bought the palace from Sapir in 2013 for $15.85 million, and they're now looking to make an unfathomable profit, re-listing the home for $100 million, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Check out the unbelievable estate

August 31, 2015

Own Julianne Moore’s Pond-Front Montauk Compound for $3.5M

By Annie Doge

According to Curbed Hamptons, Oscar-winning actress Julianne Moore has listed her charming, pond-front Montauk home for $3,495,000. The lovely and surprisingly understated compound comes complete with a 1,000-square-foot cottage, gunite pool and pool cabana, and .69 acres of landscaped property overlooking Fort Pond.
Check out the A-list home here

August 12, 2015

Bay Ridge Home with ‘Architectural Drama’ Asks an Absurd $4.58M

By Michelle Cohen

The quiet old-school neighborhood of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn is filled with grand and storied homes, from the elegant to the eclectic and, more than occasionally, the awkward. Overlooking the Brooklyn shore of the New York Harbor's Upper Bay, Shore Road is an architectural mashup of eras and styles, with everything from Deco-esque apartment buildings both plain and fancy to more than its fair share of large and luxurious dwellings that trade for equally luxurious sums. A $4,580,000 ask breathes some rarified air even in this crazy market, but the house itself fits well within a certain mid- to late-Bay Ridge-style, perhaps best described as an early '90s interpretation of a Catskills resort contained within a suburban home. This wouldn't be the first of its kind on Shore Road to command upwards of $4 million; while it's not the All Marble Everything house, which sold for the tidy sum of $4.4M in April, the house at 7529 Shore Road has charms of its own. The listing promises, "all the architectural drama you can imagine, yet warm and intimate feeling." And there's a wall-length aquarium.
Architectural drama, this way

August 11, 2015

DHD Interiors Bring the Beach Back to This Hamptons Beach House

By Shiloh Frederick

When a Manhattan couple first bought this 8,000-square-foot Hamptons home, it seemed like more of a hunting house than a beach house. Wall-mounted deer heads and paisley wallpaper outfitted the space, while dark mahogany floors sucked the light out of the rooms. But the new homeowners didn't let this turn them away. “It was a big house with unbelievable water views and we thought it would be a fantastic place to host family and friends,” the wife told luxe. “But we knew it needed some work.” The couple called in Steven Wakenshaw and Steffani Aarons of DHD Interiors, as well as landscape architect Steven Tupu, to bring out the best in their now house, but what had started out as small-scale remodeling and redecorating snowballed into an architectural intervention. Given the placement of the house on the eroding shoreline, DHD was prevented from changing the shape of house without obtaining local ordinances, which could take years to get. The homeowners wanted the house ready in time for Memorial Day, giving the team only five months to complete the task. With those restrictions, the firm decided to work with what they had to create a stylish, family-friendly beach house.
See how DHD Interiors turned the house around

Distinctive Homes

August 3, 2015

Katie Lee, Food Network Star and Billy Joel’s Ex, Lists Hamptons Estate for $6.5M

By Annie Doge

Katie Lee's newly released cookbook "Endless Summer" is all about the quintessential Hamptons lifestyle, and after one look at her stunning Water Mill estate–complete with a wine cellar and outdoor entertaining area of chefs' dreams–it's easy to see why she was inspired. The Wall Street Journal reports that the star of the Food Network's "The Kitchen," and ex-wife of Billy Joel, has listed the 6,325-square-foot, impeccably decorated (courtesy of designer Nate Berkus) home for $6.5 million. She purchased the two-acre estate for $3.5 million after splitting with Joel in 2011, so she's looking to make quite the profit.
Take a look around the Hamptons property

July 22, 2015

POLL: Are Private Pools the Next Must-Have Amenity?

By Dana Schulz

This morning we revealed renderings of Six Sigma’s upcoming condo at 435 West 19th Street, which offers private pools as one of its amenities (along with a sky garage). We first saw this perk pop up at SCDA’s Soori High Line a few blocks north on 29th Street, where 16 of its 27 units will feature heating […]

July 22, 2015

New Renderings of 435 West 19th Street, Condo with Private Pools and a Sky Garage

By Ondel Hylton

Work has begun on on Six Sigma's upcoming condo at 435 West 19th Street, and the head-to-toe renovation/addition of the 1924 building seems intent on housing all the most outrageous frills of recent West Chelsea builds under a single roof. Boutique design-and-build firm Six Sigma acquired the 20,000-square-foot office building, once home to the photography studios and sound-stages of CityStage, for $21 million in August 2014. According to the developer's website, Pei Partnership, a firm founded by the sons of renowned Chinese architect I.M. Pei, is crafting the design. Pei Partnership, not to be confused with Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, was also the designers of The Centurion, the Midtown condo lavishly clad in a cascade of Burgundy limestone.
Find out more about this project

July 2, 2015

Upstate Dutch Colonial Has a Pool and Almost Two Acres, All for $675k

By Aisha Carter

We're going to venture out to the countryside today to visit a classic Dutch Colonial home in historic Quaker Hill, a hamlet in Pawling, NY. If you're looking for the kind of privacy that can only come from being on a 1.81-acre lot, along with easy access to the city, it doesn't get much better than this. The four-bedroom home offers original details like hardwood floors and exposed beams, along with sprawling countryside views and a pool house. And, are you sitting down? It's only $675,000. Boy, things sure are different outside the city.
Have a look around

Distinctive Homes

May 26, 2015

Own a Mansion with Celebrity History on a Private Island Overlooking NYC for $11M

By Dana Schulz

Considering the fact that New York City townhouses go for tens of millions of dollars and luxury condos are climbing into the hundred million range, $11 million for an entire private island and mansion seems like quite the bargain. Tavern Island is a 3.5-acre piece of land located in the Long Island Sound near Rowayton, Connecticut, overlooking NYC. According to the Daily Mail, in the 1950s and '60s, theater impresario and lyricist Billy Rose owned the island and hosted lavish parties for the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Maureen O'Sullivan, and Barbara Streisand. In addition to these epic bragging rights, the new owner of the island will gain a six-bedroom English Colonial mansion dating to 1900, private beach, swimming pool, and a docking area and boat for access the mainland.
Tour this unique island

$13M Tudor Revival Mansion on Lake George Has Historic Connection to Brooklyn

By Dana Schulz

Lake George, New York is about a four-and-a-half-hour drive from Brooklyn, but this stunning upstate mansion has an interesting connection to the borough. Known as Wikiosco, which means "home on beautiful waters" in Algonquin, the Tudor Revival-style residence was built in 1895 for Royal C. Peabody, founder of Brooklyn Con Edison. It was designed by Brooklyn-based architecture firm Ludlow and Peabody; architect Charles S. Peabody was Royal's son. Our friends at Find Everything Historic noticed that Wikiosco is on the market, asking $12.9 million. And considering that a 25-foot-wide Brooklyn brownstone often goes for far more than that, we think this seven-bedroom, 20,000-square-foot mansion is the perfect getaway home for one lucky New Yorker. Not only is it one of the last intact 20th century mansions along Lake George's western shore (which is known as Millionaire's Row), but it boasts a 4,000 bottle wine cellar, 12-car garage, two covered boathouses, and a heated outdoor pool.
Find out more about this storied home

March 5, 2015

Gluck+’s Adirondacks Lake House Is Partially Buried Under a Luscious Rooftop Garden

By Ana Lisa Alperovich

Simply called the Lake House, this unique, hidden getaway by NYC-based Gluck+ is completely immersed in the surrounding Adirondack Mountains. Designed for leaving the stress of urban life behind, it consists of a collection of buildings, each with its own purpose and style. Right at the top of the hill there is the Gatehouse Garage with its wooden skin, there are two smaller prefab Guesthouses within the woods, a big modern Family House and a wooden Boathouse on the lake's shore. But the most striking building of all is quite difficult to spot; the Recreation Building is concealed under its grassy green roof, sheltering an indoor swimming pool and art gallery.
Learn more about this green-roofed collection of guesthouses

January 28, 2015

18th Century Colonial Farmhouse in Claverack Sits on Ten Acres with Its Own Pond

By Aisha Carter

Today we’re going to venture to the idyllic town of Claverack, New York, where a four-bedroom side-hall Colonial farmhouse awaits, asking $695,000. The 2,900-square-foot home sits on an expansive 10-acre lot with rolling hills and beautiful trees, but the prime selling point is having your own one-acre, spring fed, aerated pond.
There’s even more after the jump

Distinctive Homes

January 26, 2015

This Awesome $10.8M Soho Pad Will Make Your Head Swim

By Aisha Carter

There’s an impressive new listing at 45 Greene Street in Soho’s Cast Iron District, asking $10.8 million. For that sum, you can get a two-bedroom duplex penthouse loft with 5,400 square feet of space, two terraces, and one of New York’s rarest and most treasured gems: a swimming pool. Do we have your attention now?
More pics here

Distinctive Homes

November 26, 2014

Channel Your Inner Olympian in the Marble House Lap Pool for $18.95M

By Aisha Carter

This sumptuous maisonette mansion in the American Express Carriage House appears to have had quite a time of it on the market over the past few years. It was listed earlier this year, merely a year and a half after selling in 2013, and now it’s back with the exact same $18.95 million price tag. That’s nothing if not persistent. The overlooked parcel in question is a 9,300-square-foot triplex with a 44-foot lap pool and a sauna, among other things. The unit was designed by its former owner Stuart Parr, who christened it the Marble House, presumably for its abundance of, well, marble. Whether prospective buyers will find the pad worthy of $2,038-per-square-foot has yet to be determined, but until then let’s take a moment to gawk at the sheer enormity and extravagance of the space.
Take a tour inside

Distinctive Homes

October 30, 2014

Daily Link Fix: Floating Pool Could Happen Soon; Toxic Gowanus Canal Is Quite Photogenic

By Dana Schulz

Slate sits down with Jake Dell, the 27-year-old heir to Katz’s Delicatessen, to talk about how the world-famous establishment has stayed in business against the odds. The floating +Pool proposed for the East River is closer to realty than you think. More on Dwell. Should we call it pollution photography? Business Insider showcases strikingly beautiful […]

Uncategorized

October 1, 2014

Enjoy Your Own Private Rooftop Pool in the Heart of the City for $40K a Month

By Aisha Carter

Apparently, even 1,500 square feet of mesmerizing outdoor space isn’t enough to get renters to pay the $40,000-per-month asking price for this Union Square penthouse at 17 East 17th Street. The unique home has had a pretty rocky history during its last few years on the rental market, and it appears to still be searching for a temporary dweller nearly a year after it last became available. As stunning as this 4,000-square-foot triplex is—and it’s a stunner—there's one interesting choice that might make apartment hunters take pause. You’ll see what we’re talking about after the break.
See what's inside, here

Distinctive Homes

September 19, 2014

William Noble’s Private Central Park West Residence Is on the Market…Again

By Aisha Carter

William Noble would roll over in his grave if he knew the fate of his beloved private residence. The prominent developer built a cluster of spec homes toward the end of the 19th century and chose 247 Central Park West for himself. This 10,745-square-foot home’s impressive history continues as it was once the home of Walt Disney’s grandniece and it remains one of the few single-family homes on Central Park. However, history turns a bit sour beginning in 2006 when Keith Monda, president of Coach, purchased the home and spent a year renovating it as a gallery for his art. He sold the remodeled home to Ukrainian businessman Igor Iankovsky in 2012. Iankovsky apparently never moved in, preferring his French residence instead, and he has been trying to sell the home ever since. We’re not sure if it’s the renovation’s mixed reviews or the sky-high prices, but for some reason this home toggles back and forth on the sales and rental markets. Well, now it’s back with another price drop, asking $27.75 million or $65,000 a month.
Let's take a look inside

September 8, 2014

This Art-Filled West Village Penthouse Also Features an Unbelievable Rooftop Terrace

By Aisha Carter

It looks like the penthouse at 221 West 13th Street had a bit of trouble selling back in 2011, which is good news for some lucky prospective renters because the beautifully decorated West Village duplex is now available, fully furnished, for $25,000 per month. We’re pretty sure there’s a saying for that: one man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity. Apparently, the space was originally designed as two separate residences, which may have had something to do with its trouble finding a new owner… well, that and the fact that price kept increasing. Whatever the case, this three-bedroom townhouse has quite a few surprises up its sleeve.
Take a look inside here

Distinctive Homes

September 2, 2014

Green Roofed Pool Pavilion by Gluck+ Heats up with Geothermal Energy

By Ana Lisa Alperovich

Just because summer is officially over doesn't mean we've stopped imagining weekend getaways and warm-weather retreats. And the Pool Pavilion in New York´s beautiful Adirondack Mountains along the shores of Lake George is the perfect place to satisfy our daydreams. Design by Gluck+, this elegant recreational structure works as a central gathering space, uniting the existing family and guest houses around a series of exterior and interior spaces. Naturally heated by a deep geothermal well and topped by a luscious green roof, this sustainable shelter blends in beautifully with its rolling environment.
Learn more about the green Pool Pavilion and peek inside

August 18, 2014

Trapezoidal Pool by Susan Wisniewski Landscape Completes the Greene County Residence

By Dana Schulz

In typical rural esthetic, the grounds of the Greene County Residence are rolling and untamed. To work with this natural terrain, as well as juxtapose it, Susan Wisniewski Landscape created an angular outdoor pool setting that is both traditional and modern. The flat, rustic pavers surrounding the watering hole fit with the conventional barn, but the pool's trapezoidal shape adds a geometric punch to the otherwise organic setting.
More about the outdoor design here

Architecture And Design

April 11, 2014

“Plus Pool” Will Let You Safely Swim in the East River

By Jason Carpenter

Last year, a Kickstarter crowd funding project for an ambitious public pool in the East River passed its $250,000 goal. This month, the project entered its first phase by dropping a miniature version of the pool called Float Lab into the river, testing the water quality and concept of the pool. If all goes according to plan, Gothamites will be splashing in this river pool in 2016!
See more renderings of this amazing design here

Architecture And Design

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