estates

Neo-Classical Estate Featured in Tod's New Ad Campaign for Sale at $33 Million

Filed under: Estates

Italian Palazzo in Tod's New Ad Campaign

[via JustLuxe]

Villa Volpi, a neo-classical palazzo overlooking the Mediterranean that's featured in Italian luxury label Tod's new ad campaign, has been listed for sale at $33 million.

The amazing property, luxe lifestyle setting of attractive people and classic Ferraris in the alluring ads, sits on 26 acres including a private beach. The estate is the creation of Countess Nathalie Volpi di Misurata, an aristocrat with a reputation for impeccable taste and refined elegance who enlisted celebrated Milanese architect Tomaso Buzzi to build the palazzo in 1960.

Villa Volpi's seven lavish bedrooms and entertaining spaces have played host to many notable guests over the years, from celebrities to royalty, society and international dignitaries. Additional buildings on the estate include a three-bedroom guest house, a two-bedroom cottage and stables.

"This home fosters an incredibly peaceful and glamorous way of life," notes Clarice Pecori Giraldi of Christie's International Real Estate, "bringing together a unique location in Italy - where waterfront properties of this scale are extremely rare - with the incredible sophistication of classical architecture."

Gallery: Villa Volpi

Tags: ad campaigns, architecture, estates, Ferrari, Italy, mansion, Mediterranean, palazzo, Rome, Tods, Villa Volpi

CNBC Profiles The Country's Wildest Homes

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Off the grid or off the wall, there's a lot of wacky real estate out there. CNBC and TopTenRealEstateDeals.com have come up with a list called The Top 10 Weird but Wonderful Homes. Their slide show reveals both grand castles and more rustic earthships and dome homes. Some are pricey, some are humble, some are off the grid but all are designed to garner a "wow." Check out the slideshow here.

Tags: estates, real estate

Kate Moss Moves Into Her New $12 Million Mansion

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

Who buys the eye-popping properties that make the grade as our Estate of the Day? Kate Moss just snapped one up for a cool $12 million – London's historic The Grove, which we featured back in April – and is spending millions more on renovations. The luxe brick and timber property in Highgate, built way back in 1688 with additions in 1930, has a literary pedigree; author Samuel Taylor Coleridge lived there for a number of years. These days the likes of Sting, Jude Law and Sienna Miller live next door. The nine-bedroom, four-story residence has 6,700-sq.-ft. of living space, wood paneling, seven fireplaces, a wine cellar and a large landscaped garden. [cont'd]

Gallery: The Grove

Tags: celebrity, celebrity real estate, estates, historic houses, Kate Moss, London, mansion, supermodels, UK

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The Classicist: Inside the Embassies & Historic Mansions of Paris

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Estates, Books, The Classicist, Wealth, Architecture & Design

Very rarely do any of Paris' remaining private palaces come on the market; when they do the properties invariably rank among the world's most expensive, such as the 1912 mansion built for the Duchesse de Montmorency recently listed at $140 million that we told you about back in November. The reason there is so little movement among these magnificent monuments to wealth lining the famed city's storied avenues is that most are occupied as embassies and ambassadorial residences. An equally magnificent new book, Historic Houses of Paris: Residences of the Ambassadors from Flammarion by Alain Stella with photography by Francis Hammond offers a guided tour of 22 of these amazing edifices, some seen for the first time, most originally built for members of the aristocracy and now the setting for lavish diplomatic entertainments and intrigues.

Gilded halls, formal sitting rooms, stately dining rooms, paneled libraries, perfectly landscaped gardens, chambers filled with rare antiques, luxurious wallcoverings and private living quarters are all examined in delectable detail, in mansions ranging from a 17th-century hôtel particulier to a Belle Epoque palace and even a couple more contemporary examples, now occupied by the ambassadors of the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, China, India and more. The cover (above) depicts the Sicilian theater of the incredible Italian Ambassador 's residence, aka the Hotel de la Rochefoucauld-Doudeauville, built in 1732. Some, like the Indian Ambassador's residence, aka the Hotel de Marlborough built in 1910 by architect René Sergent, who also designed Claridge's in London and Rome's Grand Hotel, are named for famous former owners; in this case the Duchess of Marlborough, aka Consuelo Vanderbilt, one of the world's richest and most beautiful women at the time.

Gallery: Historic Houses of Paris

Hotel d'Avaray (Kingdom of the Netherlands)

Tags: antiques, architecture, aristocrats, Belle Epoque, books, coffee table books, decor, embassy, estates, France, historic houses, mansion, Paris, politics, real estate, wealth

Continue reading “The Classicist: Inside the Embassies & Historic Mansions of Paris”

The Sheffield Partners with Saks Fifth Avenue Offering Residents Shopping Privileges

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments, Luxury Shopping

The Sheffield, a re-launched luxury apartment building in Manhattan, is partnering with Saks Fifth Avenue to provide exclusive shopping privileges for its residents. The partnership will include shopping privileges, personal styling consultants, and private seasonal designer collection previews. Saks Fifth Avenue was a Luxist Awards' Readers Choice nominee for Best Department Store.

The partnership will allow recent Sheffield buyers as well as current residents to take advantage of customized services uniquely created to and for them by a Saks Fifth Avenue team of experts. To kick off this exclusive partnership, The Fifth Avenue Club at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York will host a "match-making" event where residents will be paired with their very own personal styling consultant.

Every season, residents at The Sheffield will enjoy special sneak previews of Saks Designer Collections. Through private in-store events held at the Saks Fifth Avenue Club, the personal styling consultant will hand-select the latest trends and ensembles for their resident.

"We hope to see Sheffield residents develop life-long relationships with their personal styling consultant as they are provided with this specialized service to enhance their sophisticated lifestyle and standards," says Sharon Cottelli, Director of Saks' Women's Fifth Avenue Club.

Gallery: The Sheffield in Manhattan

Tags: estates, Fifth Avenue Club, Saks Fifth Avenue, Saks Signature Shopping Experience, shopping, The Sheffield

Continue reading “The Sheffield Partners with Saks Fifth Avenue Offering Residents Shopping Privileges”

Go Hunting at Julian Assange's Country House Hideout

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Sports

When not serving as a hideout for much-maligned Wikileaks frontman Julian Assange, stately Ellingham Hall (above) in the UK's bucolic Norfolk is available for sportsmen to hunt gamebirds in a classic English country house setting. The 10-bedroom Georgian mansion sited on 650 acres has been a prime shooting ground for four generations of the aristocratic Smith family's ownership. The Ellingham estate offers shooting days in season of between 150 – 200 birds at about $40 per bird, or about $6,000 – $8,000 per day. "Whether you like snap shooting over tall trees, partridges bursting over hedges, or high pheasants flying back to woods, we have something to please all," the estate's listing on the Guns on Pegs site notes. "We work very hard to deliver a smoothly-run but relaxed and friendly shoot. The shoot makes a very good day for eight guns but nine can be accommodated for teams." Ellingham provides refreshments and lunch, and participants are encouraged to bring their own Purdeys and Range Rovers; shooting at Assange is strictly prohibited.

Gallery: Ellingham Hall, the Assange Hideout

Tags: country house, current events, English country house, estates, hunting, Julian Assange, mansion, Norfolk, shotgun, sports, UK, Wikileaks

Europe's Richest Man Building Scotland's Most Expensive Mansion

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Wealth

Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal is building the most expensive mansion ever erected in Scotland, next to the famed Gleneagles golf resort in Auchterarder, Perthshire. The London-based tycoon, Europe's richest man and the fifth richest man in the world with a fortune of $28.7 billion, is spending a record $23 million on the posh estate, including the $6 million mansion he tore down to make way for his new luxury fortress. His lavish private palace in London is reckoned to be the city's most expensive as well. Costs on the Perthshire project soared after Mittal decided some of the finished weren't up to standard, Scotland's Daily Record reports.

At one point he demanded a $125,000 bathroom be torn out and done over. "We are all very aware that Lakshmi Mittal has bought the property and he has been very particular about the specifications," one neighbor told the paper. "He has flown in several times and I have spoken to his wife, who seemed very down to earth. I get the impression she is more likely to use the facilities up here than her husband. I think their priority is getting it perfect." The six-bedroom main residence will have furnishings by Ralph Lauren, a state-of-the-art entertainment system, two kitchens and staff quarters among other amenities.

Tags: billionaire, estates, Europe, Gleneagles, India, Lakshmi Mittal, London, mansion, Perthshire, real estate, Scotland, UK, wealth, worlds most expensive

Brokers Stiffed on Sale of Duke-Semans Mansion to World's Richest Man

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Wealth

It seems there was something a bit dodgy about the record $44 million sale of the famed Duke-Semans mansion (above) in New York City to Carlos Slim, the world's richest man, which we wrote about back in July. According to a lawsuit filed by the real estate brokers who had the listing on the palatial residence, former owner Tamir Sapir stiffed them out of nearly $1 million in commission by reneging on a prior agreement to sell the place to a different buyer for $37 million. Since Sapir, a cab driver-turned-fertilizer king, did the deal with Slim directly he ended up paying no brokerage fee, the New York Times reports, noting that the parties have just reached a settlement in the dispute for an undisclosed amount. Sapir bought the historic seven-story Beaux Arts mansion located across from the Metropolitan Museum of Art from relatives of Doris Duke for $40 million in 2006. When Slim took possession the 20,000-square-foot mansion, built in 1901, it had a doctor's office in the basement, a five-story main residence, a penthouse duplex on top, 12 bedrooms, 14 bathrooms, and 11 wood-burning fireplaces.

Tags: Carlos Slim, Duke-Semans mansion, estates, mansion, New York City, real estate, Tamir Sapir, wealth

Inside Abramovich's New $230 Million London Mega-Mansion

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Wealth, Architecture & Design

Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich has purchased all nine luxury apartments in two adjoining buildings in London's posh Knightsbridge neighborhood and plans to transform them into a mega-mansion at a total cost of about $230 million. He aims to turn the 30,000-sq.-ft. eight-bedroom buildings, a historic property located next to famed department store Harrods and designed by renowned master builder Thomas Cubitt, who also designed parts of Buckingham Palace, into a high-tech luxury fortress with five above-ground stories and three underground levels, the London Daily Mail reports. The paper has obtained a schematic of the plans, above; most of the cost of the project will go towards the renovations.

"He wants a very plush interior in the style of high neoclassical Victorian to match the exterior," an insider tells the paper. "He's going to be very hands-on and there will be nothing minimalist about his taste. Inside will be all cornices, thick pile carpeting and heavy drapery." The plans call for six bedrooms two guest rooms all with en suite baths; a multicar garage with staff accommodation in a mews behind the main building; a cinema / entertainment room; an indoor swimming pool; a steam room and sauna; and a children's study and entertainment room. Abramovich has been patiently acquiring the flats in the buildings since the late '90s, the paper reveals, and just recently closed on the last one.

Source

Tags: abramovich, abramovich+london, abramovich+mansion, abramovichlondon, abramovichmansion, billionaire, estates, Harrods, Knightsbridge, London, mansion, Roman Abramovich, Russian billionaires, UK, wealth

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

Indoor Polo, Anyone? Incredible Brazilian Equestrian Estate Listed at $17.5 Million

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Sports

An incredible equestrian estate outside of Sao Paolo in Brazil featuring the only indoor sand polo field in Latin America has been listed for sale via global online luxury marketplace JamesList for about $17.5 million. The eye-popping property occupies 59 acres and includes 20 stables to house your precious thoroughbred horses, 18 paddocks and a professional grade outdoor polo field as well. The stunning 17,000-sq-.ft. Spanish Colonial main residence has six luxurious suites, refined living and dining areas, three grand fireplaces, an office, library, outdoor kitchen, terrace with panoramic view of the polo field, an inground pool with a swim-up bar also overlooking the polo grounds, and tennis / basketball courts. The lush grounds feature towering palms, tropical flowers and rolling lawns. Check out the gallery for a preview.

Gallery: Sao Paolo Equestrian Estate

Tags: Brazil, equestrian, estates, horses, JamesList, Latin America, luxury real estate, polo, real estate, South America

An Aristocrat's View of Ireland's Great Country Houses

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Estates, Books

The country houses of Ireland are not as well known and celebrated as those of England, yet no serious student of the form can afford to miss what are undoubtedly some of the most stunning examples on the Emerald Isle. Ten exquisite Irish country estates are given lavish treatment in The Irish Country House, a beautiful new book by Irish aristocrat the Knight of Glin – whose own castle is among the finest – and James Peill from the Vendome Press. All of the historical houses and castles featured in the book are still owned and lived in by the original families, an increasing rarity, and many have never been published before. Specially commissioned photographs by James Fennell show grand but inviting living rooms, hallways lined with hunting prints, well-trampled mudrooms and richly-furnished libraries. The decor of the houses has "evolved over generations, furnished with heirlooms and cherished hand-me-downs, exuding the mossy scent of peat fires", full of telling details capturing the distinctive personalities of the colorful inhabitants whose stories are recounted in the text.

Gallery: The Irish Country House

Tags: aristocrat, books, castles, coffee table books, country house, English country house, estates, historic houses, Ireland, UK

Great Gardens of the Hudson River Valley

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Green, Books, Architecture & Design

Great Gardens of the Hudson River Valley

Winter may be fast approaching but verdant greenery abounds in Gardens of the Hudson Valley, a new photographic portrait of the region's lush private landscapes. The luxurious volume chronicles 25 gardens chosen to give "a sense of place and convey the romance of the landscape" abutting the majestic Hudson River in New York state. Photographers Steve Gross and Susan Daley selected gardens from Yonkers up the river to the town of Hudson, including famous formal estate gardens like Kykuit, Boscobel, the Vanderbilt Mansion, and Olana, along with smaller, more naturalistic plots that combine sweeping views and lush plantings. Each of the gardens tells a story about the people who made them, and collectively they evoke "the grace and grandeur of the Hudson River landscape" underscoring the central role the Hudson Valley played in the birth of an American garden tradition.

Tags: books, coffee table books, estates, garden, gardens, Hudson Valley, New York, photography, river, Vanderbilt Mansion

Eight Cornwall Terrace Mansions Offered for $625 Million in London

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Real Estate Developments, Wealth, Architecture & Design

Last month we broke the news that the first estates in one of London's most impressive landmark properties, Cornwall Terrace (above), were being offered for sale starting at $65 million via Christie's Great Estates. Now the London Daily Mail has followed up with a report that the total value of the eight double-fronted mansions contained in the newly-renovated Terrace is about $625 million, making it the world's most expensive row of houses. The largest of the residences at 14,000-sq.-ft. is expected to fetch around $100 million alone; however some enterprising Russian oligarch could step in and snap up the whole lot and transform it into the ultimate private palace. Sited within a peerless location overlooking Regent's Park, Cornwall Terrace is described as a "rare convergence of provenance, history, and grandeur."

The Grade I listed Regency terrace was designed in the early 19th Century by royal architect John Nash and was home to members of the nobility for nearly 150 years. Incredible architectural details such as paneling, moldings, marble floors and fireplaces are enhanced by state-of-the-art amenities such as a silent hydraulic lift, multiroom iPad-controllable audio-visual and lighting systems, and comprehensive security systems. Each of the eight estates is being offered completely furnished including unique works of art and bespoke furniture, each designed by a famous decorator. Each property also comes with its own staff accommodation, and residents will enjoy a range of recreational options including on-site spas and gymnasiums, Bentley-sized garages, and a personal sommelier service.

Gallery: Cornwall Terrace

Tags: architecture, Christies, Cornwall Terrace, estates, London, mansion, real estate, UK

The Classicist: Los Angeles' Finest Classic Estates

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Books, The Classicist, Architecture & Design

With asking prices running to the tens of millions on the rare occasions when such treasures hit the market, owning one of the classic estates of Los Angeles remains but a dream for many. Meanwhile Douglas Woods offers the next best thing in his new stunning new book Classic Homes of Los Angeles from Rizzoli, an exclusive look into some of the finest period revival residences and gardens to be found in and around the area's legendary neighborhoods. The volume's 240 full-color photographs by Melba Levick depict a panorama of richly detailed architectural styles popular in Southern California during its "Golden Age of Expansion" from 1899 to 1938, from Craftsman, Tudor, Georgian and Victorian to Spanish Colonial and Tuscan Revival. Famous landmarks are included as well as many never-before-seen gems.

The cover of the book (above) shows the Prindle House in Pasadena built by architect George Washington Smith in 1926, a pristine example of Spanish Colonial Revival style. Also included are the 1899 Doheny Mansion with its incredible glass-domed Pompeian Room, now part of Mount Saint Mary's College; the stately Huntington Mansion with its palatial great hall, now the Huntington Library museum; the estate of the great Hollywood producer and director Cecil B. DeMille which was recently listed for sale at $18 million; the elegant 1932 Fudger House in Beverly Hills where Danny Kaye lived and entertained for many years; and Frank Lloyd Wright's famed Millard House, aka La Miniatura, from 1923 in Pasadena which was our Estate of the Day in February 2009.

In his introduction to the book, author and architecture expert D.J. Waldie poses the question, "What makes a classic home of Los Angeles?" The answer, he writes, is one that "sympathetically embraces the fundamentals of life here: light, air, landscape and romance." To achieve these qualities, "architects and their clients in the first half of the twentieth century turned to various pasts that were not their own," he notes, "but without turning away from the future they thought Los Angeles represented." For the most part, Waldie writes, "they declined to engage in the culture wars of Modernism (although many great Modernist homes are part of the city's architectural heritage). Some Angeleños thought houses had other, more consoling work to do. A house that can dream for and with its owners, that can dream of both escape and shelter, makes it a classic of Los Angeles." Check out the gallery for a preview.

Gallery: Classic Homes of Los Angeles