We've been looking at a lot of traditional homes lately so let's mix it up with a big slice of modern. Today's home was designed by architect Rafael Vinoly in 1994. It sits on a five acre hilltop setting with long views in Ridgefield, Connecticut. The home has both indoor/outdoor pools and a glass bridge to the private tower which houses the master bedroom, penthouse office and an observation deck. The interior features lots of heavy concrete, wood ceilings and so much stainless steel, the owner probably has to employ a designated polisher. It's stunning but I wonder how easy it is to live in. It's listed at $10 million.
I mentioned this one back in 2006 but it deserves another look with some new pictures. There's a reason it's been on the market for a long time, it appeals to a very particular style. This eight-bedroom home in Chandler, Arizona has a manor style that seems rather out of place in the Southwest. The home was built in the 1980s by someone with a taste for the baroque. It is on over 11 acres and the home itself has over 13,600 square feet of space. Most of the furniture is remaining with the house because it was purchased for the home. The home also has an English bar with a pool table, a large theater room, game room, wine cellar and two workout rooms. The estate also includes a guest house, gardeners house and a garage that can hold 15 cars. Murals, stained glass and an amazing barrel vaulted library room all contribute to the overall sense of English style gone theme park. A Sotheby's listing shows the home at an even $10 million but the property website has it at $8.8 million. It was listed at $11.5 million back in 2006.
Just when I was despairing of finding a fun celebrity home to dish about this Sunday, the Real Estalker Mama delivered with the news that infamous porn goddess Jenna Jameson has put her Los Angeles home on the market. Jameson's three-bedroom home is a sweet little piece of Los Angeles history, a Spanish style charmer that was a former Valentino family home.
The multi-story Mediterranean is a quirky mix of California casual with some of the more bold choices you might expect from a woman with a reputation to uphold such as a bordello-red bathroom and a media room with black striped walls, a zebra striped ottoman and sliding glass doors leading out to the courtyard spa. There's much to love here including the tiled staircases, gleaming hardwood floors and beamed ceilings. It also must be noted that she has one impressive shoe collection in her large dressing room. But the house does seem to be one of those hillside homes that gives you stairs at ever turn, stairs to the entrance and the home has a piecey multilevel vibe. Not great as a family home.
The Wyck Estate in Manchester-by-the Sea, Massachusetts is another old beauty that has been on the market for a while. It had been on the market for at least a year when I first wrote about it in 2005. This is one of the most beautiful homes on Masschusetts's North Shore. Built in 1912, the main residence is a replica of a French chateau created using bricks imported from France. The 7.85 acre compound also includes tennis courts, a private beach, boat house, children's playhouse and a filtered saltwater pool. The home has been owned by the same person since 1944 so it maintains its original charm including marble fireplaces, plenty of carved wood and ornate stonework. This grand summer estate was on the market for $23.5 million three years ago. Now it looks like the carriage house is being sold in a separate parcel of 2.1 acres and the main home is for sale for $13.25 million.
If you want to sell a this house attractive, why not also make a little money using it in film shoots? Today's home in Upper Brookville,NY was recently used in two episodes of the trendy television show "Gossip Girl" but has a scandalous past all its own. It will be showcased in the upcoming season which will include scenes from a "white party." The home has also been used in a Kohl's commercial and Ludacris filmed an AT &T commercial in June. The home is certainly party ready with a foyer with dual wraparound staircases perfect for dramatic descents, a 65-foot ballroom, a gym and a saltwater swimming pool that sits in a greenhouse-like glass enclosure. The five-bedroom home is on five acres which back up to an arboretum.
This estate may also be familiar to long-time readers of this column, in fact it was an estate of the day in 2007. That's when the home was seized as part of "Operation VIN City," an 18-month investigation that busted up the largest stolen car ring on the East Coast. It was the home of ringleader Michael Pescatore and was sold at auction by the Treasury Department on March 22. Real estate agent Kim Greenberg and her fiancé, real estate developer, Fred Rudd picked up the home for $8.3 million which is pretty close to what two sharp commenters guessed it would go for in my 2007 post.. Now it's all prettied up and on the market for $12.9 million.
Today's home, the famous Nuits in Irvington, New York was built as a summer home by textile importer Francis Cottenet in 1853. The home is made of brick faced with Caen stone, a light yellow limestone from northwestern France near the city of Caen and brought to America in Cottenet's ships. The home was built in two stages with the north extension including a Lord and Burnham conservatory added on in 1860. The home was designed by architect Detlef Lienau, and in 1980 was placed under the protection of the National Trust for Historic Preservation as a place of significant historical importance. Nuits is 14,000 sq. ft. on 4.78 acres that include a carriage house with two-car garage, swimming pool and utility shed. The main house includes 10 bedrooms, 12 fireplaces, 16 sets of French doors, living room, dining room ad the original ballroom which is now the gourmet kitchen, dining area and family room, billiard room, gym, butlers pantry room and of course, the light-filled conservatory. Nuits is listed at $14.25 million.
Today's home previously belonged to film director Barry Levinson but it's not located in Southern California it's up north in Ross, California in Marin County. The director renovated and expanded this home which was originally built circa 1902. It is now a family compound of over 10,000 square feet. The master suite alone is, at 2,500 square feet, the size of a house and occupies the entire top floor, with large bedroom, retreat, study, his-and-hers baths & dressing areas, and two fireplaces. The children's wing features a child's study with built-in computer & network wiring, & two bedrooms, each with full bath. There is a large kitchen with a chef's sink and walk-in butler's pantries. A private guest room has a fireplace and full bath and there is also a separate, approx. 800 sq. ft. studio with full bath and a two-story guest house with full bath, kitchen and fireplace. This two-acre property is listed at $18.8 million.
It's hard not to envy Mariah Carey's Hamptons adventures. Last summer she made herself cozy in Tommy Hilfiger's tribute to the tasteful use of orange and this summer Braden Keil of the NY Post reports that Mariah is renting Stone Meadow Farm in East Hampton for on week for $125,000 (less than half of the reported $350,000 she spent on Hilfiger's pad but that was for a month).
Like Hilfiger's place was, this one is also up for sale. Stone Meadow Farm is on eight acres and has a 18,000 square foot house with 10 bedrooms and 12.5 bathrooms done up in white and dark brown with white walls and furnishings and dark wood floors and wood tables. The shingled expanse includes a 3500 sq ft finished lower level with a spa and media room.
The grounds include two separate cottages to house guests or staff as well as stone courtyards, large patios, a heated Gunite pool and a tennis court. The barn can stable five horses and there are ample riding fields. This home is listed for $19.95 million.
You probably are most familiar with Dylan McDermott for his role as Bobby Donnell, the lawyer with the righteous anger and beautiful blue bedroom eyes on "The Practice." For years McDermott and his beautiful wife Shiva Rose had one of Hollywood's more durable marriages. Now the couple has split and as Big Time Listings reveals their home is on the market. The couple purchased back in 1999 from Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas for $3.94 million and they had bought it in 1997 from Michelle Pfeiffer and David E. Kelly (the creator of "The Practice" and other shows). I'm guessing another Hollywood couple will fall for this one, it appeals to those with creative hearts.
The 1920 Spanish style hacienda in Brentwood has four bedrooms, a two-story vaulted living room with a carved balcony, a den, and the "magical 2n story muse room" which looks to be a cool place for hanging out and communing with the gods on inspiration. The home's details are what inspire envy, plenty of carved wood, original fireplaces, stenciled details and a rather romantic vintage style. The .68 acre lot has a pool/spa area that overlooks the Riviera hills, a courtyard and fountain, and a beautiful 250-year-old oak tree, The listing says it was one of the first homes built in the area and it is a classic. It is listed at $11 million.
Laura Mann of Newsday reported last month that Jets quarterback Chad Pennington had put his house on Long Island on the market but I think recent news makes today a fine chance to discuss this one. The quarterback, who just lost his job to the man who can't retire, Brett Favre, has a home in Muttontown, New York that he is eager to sell.
I would not have guessed that this six bedroom brick Colonial belonged to a celebrity and certainly not a sports celeb until I saw the huge fitness area. Pennington's pad is a 7,000 square foot home on over two acres that include a Gunite pool and a four-car garage. It's a rather bland but certainly expensive family home with details like a billiards room, master suite with a fireplace and what looks to be a coffee bar. Overall it looks freshly outfitted from a high end furniture store right down to the window treatments. Pennington bought the house in 2005 for $3.595 million. It first hit the market for $4.095 million a month ago but is now down to $3.995 million as Pennington clearly wants to get out of town.
We here at Luxist owe a debt to Molly Sims. The picture of her in a diamond bikini remains a perennial top hit for our site. The lovely Sports Illustrated model and television star has put her charming three bedroom home in the Hollywood Hills on the market. This 1930s Spanish style home with views of the Los Angeles skyline has some fantastic details such as the bright white kitchen with Carrera marble countertops and the massive wine refrigerator. As the Real Estalker mentioned, the ebonized Saltillo tile floors are particularly gleaming and charming. The 3,043-square-foot home also has plenty of French doors opening out onto the patio and looks like it stays cool even when it's hot outside.
There are some off notes here. The puce shag and retro wallpaper in the den seem in need of a redo and the pool is a wee bit close to the house for maximum comfort and lounging potential. Plus, and this is probably just a personal quirk, I'm not a fan of the trough-like stone sink in the guest bath. Molly Sims paid $1.425 million for the home back in 2004 and is asking $2.999 million now.
Cher recently put her Malibu estate on the market for $45 million and we have covered her former Miami home before, now let's check out another of Cher's fabulous cast-offs. Today's estate is in Key Biscayne, Florida. The six-bedroom home is located on the water and has a man-made private beach and 100 feet of water frontage. Still can't get enough water? The home also has an infinity cascade pool and a separate spa. The home is designed to take advantage of the weather with multiple terraces and many windows. White walls, light wood floors and dark wood and white furnishings along with some interesting contemporary art gives the home a modern look. Cher's former home is listed at $12.9 million.
The beautiful Chinquapin Plantation in Thomasville, Georgia is a distinctive piece of real estate offering both formal garden spaces and plenty of unspoiled land. The plantation was owned by Alexandra Kauka and her late husband, German cartoonist, Rolf Kauka. A Worth article from 2006 details Kauka's decision to donate some of the land next to the estate. The home itself is located a bluff overlooking the Ochlocknee River. The Mediterranean-influenced main-house offers nearly 18,000 square feet of wide verandas, porches, public rooms for entertaining and numerous private wings and suites. The home was completely remodeled by its present owner in 1981 and then restored and expanded in 2000. The property includes a separate three-bedroom guest cottage located across the motor court from the main-house, six tenant houses, a pool house with solar-heated saline pool, four-car detached garage, barns, stables, kennels and a skeet range. The listing doesn't give a price.
I've got a ton of pictures on this one but it's worth it. The Bader House is billed as the ultimate bachelor house and indeed, I think just about anyone would swoon if invited inside. This home is the ultimate in modern design and Hollywood glam. Located in the hills in West Hollywood and perched above the Sunset Strip, this one has all sorts of features designed to tempt. The floor-to-ceiling walls of glass show off sparkling nighttime views. Super sexy architectural details includes a parking spot in the living room, a mechanical dining room table, and a sensuous fire elevating from an open pit. The home has just two bedrooms but it does have a home theater and a gourmet kitchen. At $5.995 million, it could make some Hollywood lothario and his Porsche very happy.
I've been talking about this estate since way back in 2005. That's when basketball star Shaquille O'Neal first started trying to unload his house on Miami's prestigious Star Island. O'Neal bought the home in 2004 for $19 million soon after joining the Miami Heat. The WSJ's Private Properties column reports that the home was built in 1992 by Heat center Rony Seikaly. The home does have a certain gargantuan scale but that's not unusual in some multimillion dollar South Florida homes. It has eight bedrooms, an indoor basketball court, gym, steam room and sauna. The 2.5 acre grounds include a tennis court, six-car garage, dock, two-bedroom guest house and Shaq's pool complete with Superman logo. The home is lavish but not particularly distinctive, money used to its blandest potential. The price is now $29 million. If I were to take a bet on a final selling price, I'd guess that Shaq's going to have to cut a few more millions off this one. My guess is $23-$25 million.
