berkshires

Cole Porter's Berkshire Retreat, Estate of the Day

Filed under: Estates

Today's property, a beautiful 40-acre expanse in Massachusetts' tranquil Berkshire Mountains area, was once the home of songwriter Cole Porter. In June 1940 Linda Porter, Cole Porter's wife, chose the estate as the couple's summer residence. The couple also frequently entertained here, offering members of the royal, theatrical, and jet-set society a weekend in the countryside. Cole Porter continued to visit the home until his death in 1964 and completed many of his important numbers in the home.

The land includes formal gardens, woodlands, stone walls, hedgerows, terrace and fountains and two miles of nature trails while still offering easy access to picturesque Williamstown. The main residence has lovely floor-to-ceiling windows, large living and dining rooms, a wood paneled library, eat-in kitchen and four fireplaces. There are five bedrooms including the first floor master suite. The grounds are also home to a pool with a 1940s pool house with changing rooms, a prep kitchen, tennis court, greenhouse and potting shed. There is also a guest cottage with two large suites, a livestock barn that offers an additional 700 square feet of living space, and a carriage barn with a three-bedroom apartment above. This home is listed at $4.495 million with Alton & Westfall.

Gallery: Cole Porter's Berkshire Retreat

[Thanks, Spec.]

Tags: berkshires, cole porter, estate of the day, massachusetts real estate, williamstown

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Anonymous $300,000 Gift Helps Edith Wharton's Historic Home

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Charity, Big Givers

We've been watching The Mount, the historic Massachusetts home of author Edith Wharton, for the last couple years as it has struggled to stay open amid deep debt. The historic home even faced foreclosure a few years back but it seems that each time the home ends up in trouble, donors and foundations step in to help out, a testament to the enduring fondness for both the writer and this beautiful home. The Mount recently received a $300,000 gift from an anonymous local donor recently after an article in the Berkshire Eagle mentioned that the Mount is facing a $1 million debt repayment deadline in May 2011. A blog post on The Mount website states that the donor regards The Mount as a national treasure and hopes others will also step up to help. The Mount's year-end appeal raised over $350,000.

The Mount is located in the Berkshires area of Massachusetts which relies on summer tourism for its local museums and estates. The Mount is part of the "American Icons" admission program which lets visitors purchase special package deal tickets to four cultural institutions: Chesterwood and the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, The Mount and Hancock Shaker Village in Hancock. Chesterwood was the summer home of sculptor Daniel Chester French. The Berkshires area is also the home of Tanglewood, the summer venue for the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Gallery: Edith Wharton's The Mount

Tags: berkshires, edith wharton, historic homes, the mount

The Classicist: Celebrating the Season in Style with Range Rover at Wheatleigh

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Luxury Travel & Hotels, Spirits, Timepieces / Watches, Luxury Cars & Autos, Wine, Books, Men's Style, The Classicist

Click above for high-res image gallery. Photos exclusive to Luxist.

Winter can be a long, cold interlude verging on a test of endurance in the Northeast, and it's all too easy to get bogged down by the doldrums. Plenty of people either hibernate by their hearths or hit the beach until the mercury makes its ascent, but there are myriad ways to keep warm with style, verve and panache. We recently gathered some of our favorite accessories of the season at Wheatleigh, the majestic mansion-turned-luxury hotel in the heart of the Berkshires' winter wonderland. Getting us there in style and comfort through anything the weather cared to concoct was the 2011 Range Rover Sport, a luxurious way to see the landscape safe in the knowledge that the elements have met their match. The pedigreed SUV's smooth, refined, performance and rugged good looks mark it as a thoroughbred in all respects, a suitably stylish conveyance for arriving at a desirable destination like Wheatleigh. And we had the great new Olympus PEN E-PL1 compact, versatile digital camera on hand to record it all for your vicarious enjoyment.

Wheatleigh, located in Lenox, Mass. next door to Edith Wharton's famed country manor The Mount, is a grand estate based on a 16th century Florentine palazzo built in 1893 by New York financier Henry H. Cook for his daughter who married a Spanish count. Many of the materials and over 150 artisans were brought from Italy to produce intricate carvings and design flourishes for the grand interiors and facades. Frederick Law Olmsted, the landscape architect who designed Central Park in New York, was responsible for creating "Wheatleigh Park" on the land surrounding the palazzo. Following a four year multimillion dollar renovation it was transformed into one of the most unique luxurious small hotels in the world. The nineteen suites, guest rooms and baths artfully combine antiques and custom furnishings with original museum quality contemporary art. The baths are finished with English limestone, marble and hand-blown glass fixtures, and most rooms feature fireplaces and Bang & Olufsen TVs. Check out the gallery to see the perfect accoutrements for a stylish seasonal sojourn – from books to watches, champagne to cashmere sweaters, and boots to bags – no matter where your journey takes you.

Gallery: Range Rover at Wheatleigh Dec. 2010

Graf & Lantz wool felt Boat Bag, personalized Tumi Alpha wheeled case.

Tumi Alpha case; Dom Perignon Tribute to Andy Warhol edition; Private Stock jeans; Graf & Lantz Quiver wine carrier w/ Robert Mo

Tags: Bang Olufsen, Berkshires, Brooks Brothers, Central Park, champagne, Dom Perignon, Edith Wharton, estates, Frederick Law Olmsted, gardens, Holiday 2010, L.L. Bean, Lenox, luggage, luxury hote, mansion, Massachusetts, mens style, New England, Olympus, Olympus PEN E-PL1, palazzo, Persol, Ralph Lauren, Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, spirits, stolichnaya, sunglasses, SUV, teNeues, The Mount, Tumi, vodka, Wheatleigh, winter

The Mount Receives $750,000 Gift, Restructures Debt

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Luxury Travel & Hotels

The Mount, the historic Massachusetts home of author Edith Wharton, is slowly struggling out from under a mountain of debt with the help of a new restructuring plan. The home received a $750,000 gift from The Alice M. Kaplan Memorial Reserve,. A new plan will cut the Mount's funded debt almost in half to $4.7 million. The estate is planning a summer festival as well as an expanded program of workshops and lectures.

The Mount is located in the Berkshires area of Massachusetts which relies on summer tourism for its local museums and estates. The Mount is part of the "American Icons" admission program which lets visitors purchase special package deal tickets to four cultural institutions: Chesterwood and the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, The Mount and Hancock Shaker Village in Hancock. Chesterwood was the summer home of sculptor Daniel Chester French. The Berkshires area is also the home of Tanglewood, the summer venue for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The season starts July 3.

Gallery: Edith Wharton's The Mount

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Tags: berkshires, edith wharton, EdithWharton, the mount, TheMount

Berkshire Resort Set To Close

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

The economy has doomed another classic resort. The Berkshire Eagle reports that the Eastover Resort in Lenox, Massachusetts will close at the start of November. Eastover has been open since 1947 and has been owned by the same family the entire time. The home, which is the former Fahnestock Estate will likely be put up for sale.

The Eagle article interviews Dorothy H. "Ticki" Winsor whose father started the resort. She has lived their for 62 years of her live and her children and grandchildren were born there. Many of the employees have been working at Eastover for decades. Increased operating costs and local and state regulations made it hard for the family to afford the upkeep of the 500-acre resort.

The resort accommodated guests in a variety of rooms from dorms to luxury suites in the mansion. It operated differently than most resorts offering weeks aimed at singles, families and other specific groups. It also did not have a liquor license so guests had to BYOB.

Eastover has been the site of many weddings and other events and served as the site of the Massachusetts Special Olympic Winter Games for more than 20 years. The cannon at Eastover is the one that the Boston Symphony Orchestra uses during its performance of Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" at Tanglewood every summer.

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Tags: berkshires, eastover, resort

Otis, Massachusetts, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

I confess, I am a little confused about today's home. The listing says it was built in 2000 but it looks much, much older. The home is located in Otis, Massachusetts tucked into the Berkshires region of the western part of the state. The nearly nine acre property features a six-bedroom home with a southern exposure and a mahogany decked wrap-around porch for lake and mountain views. The home's other details include beamed ceilings, custom cabinetry and hardwood floors.The kitchen which is designed to look quaint does feature a Viking stove. The dining room is home to a cast-iron bookstore and brick fireplace and adjoins a parlor with a fieldstone fireplace built from stone harvested from the property. The master suite has a walk-in closet and a bath with a claw-foot tub.The second floor is home to five bedrooms, bathrooms and two sitting rooms. Also on the property is a two-bedroom "getaway cottage and the one-bedroom bunkhouse. The land also includes a barn, boathouse, docks and other outbuildings including one with a sauna. It is listed at $3.3 million. After the jump, the classic Berkshires summer home.

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Tags: berkshires, estate of the day, massachusetts, new england, otis, real estate

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The New American Castle

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

We'd all like to live in a castle but race car driver Kim Baker and his wife Patricia have made their dream reality. They have used their project, the New American Castle, as a luxury show home. Their home, located in the Berkshire mountains of Massachusetts is an 11,000 square-foot mansion that Patricia, who owns her marketing firm, has turned into a showcase for home products. Her savvy use of PR drastically reduced the cost of building their dream home. Details of the castle include a labyrinth, wine cellar, gym, stone griffins and gargoyles and plenty of stonework and stained glass. The project is ongoing (this picture is from last summer) and the castle website has all sorts of progress photos that detail every step of this ambitious project.

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Tags: american castle, berkshires, castle, luxury show home, new american castle