Duplexes

Charming, cute, quirky, lovely: these are all words commonly used to describe well-designed Brooklyn apartments. And we're going to use those words to talk about this one too, at 173 Hicks Street in Brooklyn Heights. 173 Hicks is a five-story brick townhouse built in 1827, and this duplex co-op apartment occupies the garden and the first floors. (There's also a super-special, super-huge backyard included, which we'll get to in a bit.) The current owner has decorated well, and the apartment has more of a modern, fun vibe than a historic, stuffy one.
Take a look

Distinctive Homes

October 19, 2015

Candy Entrepreneur Lists Glassy, Modern UES Condo for a Sweet $6M

When most people think Upper East Side real estate, they think of historic and grand co-op apartments and townhouses. This condo, located in a very modern and very glassy building at 147 East 84th Street, is an exception. The three-bedroom duplex pad is outfitted with floor-to-ceiling windows, fancy fixtures, some bold wallpaper and a screening room to boot. Simply put, it's anything but a historic old residence. It has been on and off the market for a few years now, with a price tag right around $5 million, and now it's asking $6.495 million. The seller is candy entrepreneur Mark Tarnofsky, who listed just in time for Halloween.
Check it out

Distinctive Homes

October 13, 2015

This $5.5M West Village Pad Has a Glass Catwalk and Will Make Your Frienemies Very Jealous

Whether or not it’s your actual dream apartment, this three-bedroom co-op at 377 West 11th Street in the lovely and leafy West Village has New York City dream apartment written all over it. It’s that one you’d want if you were going to throw a casual cocktail soiree and invite your ex, your ex-boss, those mean girls from the eighth grade or pretty much anyone you wanted to impress to the point of torment with your perfect life, starting with your perfect $5.5 million apartment. The one with a glass-encased floating catwalk. Says the listing, "At 3,200 square feet, this sprawling home has everything you could want in a New York apartment.” Everything, except your extremely envious ex.
Let’s give the party guests a tour

Distinctive Homes

October 5, 2015

$20M Tribeca Penthouse Has a 25-Foot Skylight, a Heavenly Terrace and an Industrial Past

Designed in 1887 for a wrapping paper manufacturer by architect Albert Wagner, who also designed the iconic Puck Building, 140 Franklin Street was converted to a 12-unit boutique residential condominium at the turn of the 21st century. Considered one of the city's most handsome Romanesque Revival-style buildings, it's a study in enviable contrasts; apartments have original cast iron columns, for example, and the building boasts a state-of-the-art water filtration system. Notable neighbors: J. Crew CEO Mickey Drexler has an apartment on the fifth floor that he put on the market earlier this year for $35 million. To help put this super-fancy loft–and its fancy price of $19.95 million–in context: Penthouse A was designed for the building conversion's developer; it's on the market for the first time since the building was converted. There are 5,000 square feet of interior space on two floors, plus a spectacular 2,200 square-foot roof terrace. The unit is listed as having only seven rooms, but many of them are the kind of oversized loft space to which the term "room" almost doesn't apply.
More penthouse this way

Distinctive Homes

October 2, 2015

Unleash Your Inner Iron Chef at Bobby Flay’s $8M Chelsea Duplex

After a very public divorce from "Law & Order: SVU" star Stephanie March, famed chef and television personality Bobby Flay is unloading his duplex at the Chelsea Mercantile, which very appropriately has a Whole Foods in the building (you might remember Katie Holmes getting her own private entrance to the store when she lived here). As Curbed notes, the $7.95 million sprawling duplex's listing touts its "spectacular open kitchen designed with and for a PROFESSIONAL CHEF." Flay reportedly got the apartment, as well as the former couple's Amangansett home, as part of the divorce settlement, but now it's time for another chef to sharpen their knives in the pad.
Look around the place here

September 23, 2015

Rent Jessica Chastain’s Sparkling Greenwich Village Duplex for $11,500 a Month

While the home doesn't quite compare to her spectacular new spread at the Osborne, Jessica Chastain's former digs at 250 Mercer Street are certainly nothing to sneeze at. According to TODAY, the Oscar-nominated actress has put the duplex she left for Leonard Bernstein's old home on the rental market, asking a cool $11,500 a month. Described by its listing as "Exceptional in every way," the two-bedroom has been fully renovated and offers tons of luxurious finishes, and above all, a pretty sweet location in the heart of the Village.
Take a look inside

September 22, 2015

Jude Law’s Former Greenwich Village Penthouse in Gorgeous Church Conversion Asks $12.5M

By Dana Schulz

Remember all that hoopla over Jude Law flinging fruit from his Greenwich Village penthouse onto ogling NYU students? Well, here's where it happened, ironically, in a former house of worship. Built in 1860 as a Methodist church, 135 West 4th Street underwent an incredible condo conversion by FLAnk Architecture in 2006, where they beautifully preserved original church features such as stained glass windows and exposed beams, but added all the modern luxuries an A-list celeb would want. The aforementioned penthouse first sold for $6 million to entrepreneur Mark Kress and was then listed for resale for $8.5 million in 2009. It ended up selling the following year for a much-reduced $6.3 million, and then found a renter in Jude Law. Now, the duplex is back on the market asking $12,495,000, and it can be all yours (assuming you keep your orange lobbing at bay).
Check out the entire pad

September 22, 2015

A Gigantic Duplex Loft Is Priced at $14.95 Million in SoHo

When it comes to this condo listing at 158 Mercer Street in SoHo, it is go big or go home. The apartment is actually a combination of two units, making for a duplex with an impressive 7,000 (!) square feet. Throw in five bedrooms, six bathrooms, and direct elevator access, and you've got one very fancy, very huge loft apartment. As you may guess, something like this doesn't come cheap. It's now on the market for $14.95 million.
Take a look

Distinctive Homes

September 11, 2015

Behold the City Skyline From a Room of Curved Glass Atop This $12.5M Chelsea Penthouse

We're fairly certain that if you look in the dictionary under "cool modern Chelsea penthouse," there's a picture of this apartment–because this duplex co-op at 143 West 20th Street pretty much nails the concept. Though there are certainly pricier pads, at over $12M, this four-bedroom stunner would certainly be someone's idea of a trophy–and it lives up to the job. Beginning on the 12th floor of an historic 1910 loft building at the classic Manhattan neighborhood's heart, the apartment's design treads the line between high-end generic contemporary and an attempt at hat-tipping the modernism of earlier decades via sleek minimal luxe. The listing says, "...one needs to walk through the space to experience it fully." But the pictures definitely get our attention with what looks a lot like a modern art museum that would be fun to live in.
Take the tour

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Traditional Japanese Design Defines This $2.7M West Side Maisonette With Two Tea Rooms

In the world of modern interiors, traditional Japanese design concepts have led to some very innovative interpretations that also meet residents' needs such as providing a peaceful retreat, keeping the flow of life organized, or, as in this case, offering flexibility of space and rooms that serve multiple functions. This duplex maisonette, however, would be counted among the more traditional end of the spectrum in its execution. Though having a nine-room apartment certainly helps when it comes to versatility, this particular space achieves its goals and more. The home's $2.7 million ask seems reasonable for this large duplex loft at 419 West 55th Street in increasingly popular West Midtown; though monthly maintenance fees seem a bit high for a condo at $4,333 (with no mention of taxes) when compared to the price, those generally reflect unit size, and–though no square footage is listed–there's no denying that attribute. So, pros and cons aside, let's take a look at this carefully-crafted testament to the owners’ vision of creating a loft space with a Japanese aesthetic.
Take the tour this way, shoes off, please

August 31, 2015

Garden Floor Charm at this Boerum Hill Townhouse Rental, Asking $5,500 a Month

If you're in the market for a duplex rental apartment, you can't get any better than the parlor and the ground floor of a Brooklyn townhouse. For starters, you're getting lots of that historic interior charm, not to mention the big front windows and the high ceilings of the parlor floor. And with access to the garden floor comes with it access to the garden! This duplex rental, at 379 State Street in Boerum Hill, covers those very floors and yes, it has access to a private garden. It's now up for rent asking $5,500 a month.
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Distinctive Homes

August 7, 2015

Gucci Granddaughters List Mod Midtown Penthouse for $45M

Often known simply as "the Gucci sisters," Alessandra and Allegra Gucci are the great-granddaughters of Guccio Gucci, who founded the world-famous fashion label. Their father, the late Maurizio Gucci, then led the brand until his ex-wife arranged for a hit man to gun him down in 1995. In the '70s, Maurizio bought a duplex penthouse at the Olympic Tower in Midtown East, which now belongs to his daughters. According to the Wall Street Journal, the family listed the 9,450-square-foot, eight-bedroom pad in 2010 as a $60,000/month rental, but they're now trying to unload it completely to the tune of $45 million.
More on this impressive penthouse

August 4, 2015

The New Design Project’s Chelsea Duplex Reno Was Inspired by a Blissful Color Palette

Steps to a successful renovation? Pick an awesome color palette and then work with what you've got. That was the plan behind The New Design Project's renovation for this Chelsea duplex. "With a blissful color palette and a seamless mix of statement pieces, graphic artwork and ethnic accessories, this Chelsea duplex apartment oozes sophistication and elegance," the firm explains. These guys are no strangers to NYC spaces–they perfected a modern aesthetic in this West Village townhouse and this 400-square-foot Uptown apartment. Here, they worked with good apartment bones–high ceilings and natural light–to create a calm, simplified, modern space.
See more of the finished product

July 31, 2015

$5,100/Month Prospect Heights Townhouse Duplex Is So Brooklyn

There's a certain type of interior style you see a lot in Brooklyn these days. It's historic, with original wood floors and fireplaces and crown moldings. But there's also something very modern to it, maybe in the lighting or the kitchen design or the furniture. This apartment, a duplex at 598 Bergen Street in Prospect Heights, covers all those bases. It's got the perfect Brooklyn vibe throughout both floors of the townhouse rental–even the listing calls it the "classic Brooklyn townhouse." It's asking $5,100 a month.
See the rest of it

Distinctive Homes

July 30, 2015

Former Nets Star Deron Williams Lists Trophy Tribeca Penthouse for $33.5M

Now that he's taking over as the starting point guard for the Dallas Mavericks, Deron Williams is parting ways with his massive Tribeca penthouse. The Post reports that the former Nets star has listed the 6,800-square-foot duplex at 35 North Moore Street for $33.5 million. The stunning, six-bedroom "trophy" apartment also boasts 3,000 square feet of private outdoor gardens, huge 17-foot ceilings with wrap-around skylights, a climate-controlled wine room, and a custom-made floating staircase.
Check it out here

July 24, 2015

It’s Storage Galore at This Noho Duplex Renovation by Raad Studio

A challenge that every New York apartment dweller will face eventually is one of storage. This is a city of cozy, compact spaces, and although many of us are lacking the luxury of basements, walk-in closets, garages, etc., we usually make up for it in unique ways. (Hello, lofted apartment!) Raad studio creatively took up the challenge at a duplex in Noho, where storage is so prevalent and seamlessly integrated into the design, it demands a standing ovation from storage-starved New Yorkers everywhere.
See the full reno

July 14, 2015

A Bright Beauty in Yoko Ono’s Former Village Co-op Wants $2M

This flexible one-bedroom duplex at 49 Downing Street has two claims to fame: the Greenwich Village stable house in which it resides is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and Yoko Ono once called the penthouse home. This unit's current owner has lived in the space since 2006, and now it's on the market for $1.975 million.
More pics inside

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July 10, 2015

Charming Brooklyn Heights Duplex with Versatile Backyard Asks $1.25M

Here's a nice two-bedroom garden duplex with oversized windows and prewar details, located on a serene block on Remsen Street in Brooklyn Heights. This $1.25 million, 1,000-square-foot pad offers a renovated kitchen and bathroom and a beautiful shared backyard with a private entrance onto Hunts Lane with its famed carriage houses.
More pics inside

Distinctive Homes

July 7, 2015

$4M Live/Work Tribeca Loft Offers Endless Options and an Artsy Outdoor Space

Here's a $3.995 million Tribeca loft with so much flexibility you can practically do whatever you want with it. The 2,833-square-foot duplex condo is a former art gallery that offers a perfect live/work opportunity. There's also a separate entrance for retail space on the ground floor (currently being used as a photography studio), as well as an artsy outdoor space with a charming European flair and funky glass floor. So when we say the options are endless, we actually mean it.
More pics inside

Distinctive Homes

July 2, 2015

Cute Cobble Hill Condo with Fun Pops of Pink Asks $800k

The listing calls this 800-square-foot condo a studio, but given its spacious duplex layout, we think it functions more like a one-bedroom. Located at 473 Hicks Street in Cobble Hill, the apartment puts a contemporary spin on its classic bones. The huge, geometric bookshelves, translucent kitchen stools, and funky bedroom wallpaper all elevate the home from a boring box to a designer-worthy pad. But what especially draws us in is the subtle use of pink, which doesn't read girly, but rather sophisticated and fun.
See the rest here

Distinctive Homes

June 29, 2015

Discover Your Inner Activist in This Brooklyn Heights Home of Women’s Rights

Here's an opportunity to own a piece of history in this beautiful $2.995 million parlor-floor duplex in the mansion that once housed the Brooklyn Women's Club and the Brooklyn Woman Suffrage Association. This very building at 114 Pierrepont Street was the gathering place of visionaries like Laura Curtis Bullard, Elizabeth Tilton and Ida Sherwood Coffin, who hosted lectures on world politics and peace advocacy as well as events like card games. And the apartment is as grand as its history.
More pics inside

June 24, 2015

$3M Brooklyn Heights Duplex Features Huge Outdoor Living Area Complete with a Fire Pit

Here's a $2.995 million garden duplex at 132 State Street in Brooklyn Heights with a gorgeous private backyard. The 25-foot-wide brownstone apartment features 2,275 square feet on the garden and parlor levels. And it's almost an insult to call the 1,000-square-foot rear garden "just" a backyard. It's actually more like an outdoor living room, but we'll get to that later.
More pics inside

Distinctive Homes

May 28, 2015

Quirky Cabin-Like Home with Tons of Outdoor Space Is Up for Rent in Williamsburg

This 2,000-square-foot three-bedroom Williamsburg duplex is a lot of things: It's cool, kooky, rustic and a little beachy, too. Some nice interior details have been paired with a fun, smart design. The listing calls this a "city meets country oasis," and with all the exposed wood, we'd have to agree. It all makes for a special pad with a killer outdoor patio and garden. If you fall in love with it, it's now on the market for $7,995 a month.
Go inside here

May 21, 2015

Actor Benjamin McKenzie Eyes a Glitzy High Line Duplex