historic houses

Kate Moss Moves Into Her New $12 Million Mansion

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

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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

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

Petitfils-Boos House, Hancock Park, 1921

Tags: architecture, Beverly Hills, books, California, Cecil B. DeMille, celebrity real estate, coffee table books, Doheny Mansion, estates, Frank Lloyd Wright, gardens, historic houses, Huntington Library, Los Angeles, movies, Pasadena, real estate, Rizzoli, Southern California, The Classicist

The Classicist: A Piece of Architectural History in Watch Hill, Yours for $19.5 Million

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, The Classicist, Wealth

Last week The Classicist told you about a historic Hudson River estate being restored to its former glory. That posh property is being thoroughly enjoyed by its new owners, but there's another architectural gem of equally impressive provenance now available with the added bonus of oceanfront acreage – The Timbers in Watch Hill, Rhode Island. Set high above the ocean on a picturesque stretch of beach, the majestic eight-acre compound comprises one of the grandest historic oceanfront estates in New England that's still in private hands. The mansion was built in 1917 and designed by celebrated architect John Russell Pope, who created the Jefferson Memorial and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The estate recently underwent a meticulous and historically accurate $10 million restoration, reflecting Pope's original vision. It's now been listed for sale by Christie's Great Estates affiliate Seaboard Properties for $19.5 million.

The opulent 10,500-sq.-ft. main residence was styled after a grand English Tudor manor and features baronial touches such as 15 elegant fireplaces, a magnificent grand staircase and a bell tower. In addition to panoramic ocean views it boasts wide-plank oak floors, wrought-iron chandeliers, archways, and light-filled, generously scaled rooms. The spectacular living room features 35-foot-high cathedral ceilings, exposed English oak beams, and a beautifully crafted wraparound balcony with a carved wooden balustrade. Large French doors on the east side of the living room open to a large covered veranda which features glorious views of the beach and the sounds of the surf as it rolls ashore. At the far end of the veranda, an octagonal dining area features an outdoor woodburning fireplace, wrought-iron chandelier, vaulted ceilings, and archways overlooking the ocean.

Gallery: The Timbers, Watch Hill

Tags: architect, architecture, beach, Christies, Christies Great Estates, historic houses, Jefferson Memorial, John Russell Pope, mansion, ocean, oceanfront, real estate, Rhode Island, Tudor, Washington, Watch Hill

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The Classicist: Historic Hudson River Astor Estate Restored to Its Former Glory

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, The Classicist

Marienruh, a historic fieldstone colonial revival country estate built for heiress Alice Astor, the daughter of John Jacob Astor IV and sister of Vincent Astor, and her Russian aristocrat husband Prince Serge Obolensky in 1926 is being restored to its former glory by its new owners. The gracious mansion, situated on 100 scenic acres given to Alice by her brother overlooking the Hudson River in Rhinebeck, New York, was constructed for the glamorous couple by renowned architect Mott B. Schmidt. It had been on the market for $8.5 million up until last summer when unnamed buyers purchased the property, which had been in institutional use for some time, and set about renovating it – a pleasing reversal in an age where many fine old mansions are being put to less dignified uses, often destroying their souls in the process.

After Alice Astor's death the mansion was used over the years as a Christian youth camp, a home for unwed mothers, a drug rehab center and an events space. Over the decades the house was stripped of nearly all its original details, including fireplace mantels, lighting fixtures, hardware and even the copper gutters. The restoration work is being done extremely carefully, overseen by New York architect-designer Robert Couturier. A few upgrades are of course necessary, and new greenhouses are being installed. One of the wings will now house an elegant two-story tall library. As architectural historian Mark Alan Hewitt notes in The Architecture of Mott B. Schmidt (Rizzoli, 1991), Marienruh's block-with-dependencies design was inspired by two influential 18th century American mansions: Montpelier (1751) in Laurel, Maryland, and the the Hammond-Harwood House (1773-4) in Annapolis, MD.

Marienruh is next to photographer Annie Leibovitz's 220-acre spread which had been listed for sale at $11 million as part of her debt restructuring imbroglio. David Bowie and his wife Iman have reportedly considered buying it; other celebrities with property in the area include Liam Neeson, Gwyneth Paltrow, financier George Soros, hotelier Andre Balazs, and Rolling Stone magazine founder Jann Wenner. Leibovitz's property including some stone barns was once part of Alice's father John Jacob Astor IV's 3,500-acre estate Ferncliff; another remnant of that once glorious demesne is the beautiful Astor Courts, designed by Stanford White as a playhouse for Ferncliff with an indoor pool and tennis court, which was was an Estate of the Day last fall with an asking price of $12 million.

Gallery: Marienruh

Tags: Annie Leibovitz, architect, architecture, Astor, Astor family, Astors, country house, David Bowie, estate, Gwyneth Paltrow, historic houses, Hudson River, library, mansion, Maryland, Mott B. Schmidt, New York, restoration, Rhinebeck, Stanford White

The Classicist: The South's Very Greatest Estates

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Books, Wealth

The greatest, most architecturally and historically significant estates in the Southern United States are depicted in all their glory in Laurie Ossman's new book Great Houses of the South (Rizzoli, $55). Beyond mere regional curiosity, Ossman declares that "The great house of the South stands at the center of the architectural iconography of America." 39 distinctive estates, reflecting the times, values and tastes of their builders, from the Colonial Era up to World War II and running the full gamut of Southern Style, are lavishly photographed and evocatively described.

The book is divided into four chronological sections: Part 1: 1700–1800, Part 2: 1800–1820, Part 3: 1820–1861, and Part 4: 1865–1940, providing a "sweeping narrative of tradition and change as seen through a rich array of grand residences", ranging from Shirley, a James River Plantation firmly tied to its English roots, to the Gilded Age splendor of Biltmore in Asheville, North Carolina, and the eclectic traditionalism of 20th century masterworks such as Longue Vue in New Orleans and Miami's famed Vizcaya, built by agricultural industrialist James Deering in 1916. All of the featured homes are open to the public for viewing.

Ossman decided the houses featured should be open to the public to emphasize "the issue of historic preservation as a social phenomenon as well as a matter of individual choice," she notes. That doesn't mean they're all museums; several featured houses are privately owned and operated by descendants of the builder or other historically significant occupants, and are thus "celebrating their own heritage as well as that of the community." Ossman writes that "whenever a group of people choose to restore or recreate an historic house for the public, they are reifying values that they believe in."

Gallery: Great Houses of the South

Ossman also clarifies what she means by the term "Great House." For the purposes of the book, a Great House is "one in which the owner had the economic and intellectual means to construct his home as a vehicle of self-representation," she writes. "The featured houses were selected to represent ideas and concepts that can be applied to an understanding of other houses of the period, especially - but not exclusively - in the South." Not every magnificent mansion is included, of course, and several deserving of the appellation were passed over for more important examples. Of course, wealth played an important part. "The goal of building and decorating a 'great house' (an option available to the wealthiest 5 percent of the population, at most) was almost always to create an architectural expression of personal refinement," Ossman notes. See the gallery for images.

Tags: architecture, Biltmore, books, coffee table books, historic houses, historic preservation, Laurie Ossman, mansion, New Orleans, plantation, The South, Vizcaya

Richard Branson's Luxe New Retreat Near NYC

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Luxury Travel & Hotels

Sir Richard Branson's plans for a luxe new retreat in New Jersey, which we first wrote about back in 2005, are finally coming to fruition. When completed the complex will consist of a culinary center, resort, spa and private club called Natirar 45 minutes from New York City. Situated on a beautiful 500-acre estate that was once the King of Morocco's summer home, and centered on a historic 40-room 1912 mansion (above), the first phase of the property is the just-opened Ninety Acres at Natirar Culinary Center, housing a restaurant, bar / lounge, cooking school, wine school and working farm. The resort will open this summer with guest cottages, a media room, a 4,000-square foot swimming pool, tennis courts, fitness facility, croquet pitch and greenhouses. Horseback riding and fly-fishing will be among the activities on offer. The invitation-only Club at Natirar will give members unfettered access to all the property's delights. The plan is for Natirar to eventually be the first U.S. outpost of Branson's Virgin Limited Edition Collection of luxury retreats.

[via JustLuxe]

Tags: club, historic houses, HistoricHouses, Morocco, Natirar, New Jersey, New York, NewJersey, NewYork, Richard Branson, RichardBranson, Virgin

The Classicist: Mrs. Astor's Beechwood

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, The Classicist

Beechwood, the Mrs. Astor's 39-room Italianate mansion in Newport, Rhode Island and one of the last great relics of the Gilded Age, is now being offered for sale for $14.9 million. The 19,000-sq.-ft., 15-bedroom house on Newport's famous Bellevue Avenue, was listed at $16 million last year (as my colleague Deidre Woollard reported) and has since served as a "living history museum" showing what life was like for the Gilded Age idle rich before they were forced to sell off their mansions.

The museum is a bit cheesy, with events like "An Evening With the Astors", but Beechwood does have a very rich history. In fact, with the $1.1 million discount it might even be something of a bargain. Cole Porter was said to have written Night and Day, one of his most famous songs, while visiting Beechwood, and the house also made an appearance in the 1956 Bing Crosby / Frank Sinatra / Grace Kelly movie High Society. Originally constructed in 1851 by Calvert Vaux - co-designer of Central Park - and Andrew Jackson Downing for drygoods magnate Daniel Parish, it was on the market when well-bred debutante Caroline Schermerhorn married billionaire merchant William Backhouse Astor Jr., giving the Astors some much needed social cachet.

Gallery: Mrs. Astor's Beechwood

Mr. Astor owned the Ambassadress, the largest private yacht in the world at the time, and a beautiful Hudson River mansion called Ferncliff. "The Mrs. Astor" as she soon insisted upon being referred to, intended to entertain in grand style with her husband's money and needed a Newport mansion in which to do it during the summer season, which lasted for eight precious weeks. The Astors bought the place in 1881 and spent $2 million on improvements, including the addition of a mirrored waterfront ballroom by architect Richard Morris Hunt (who designed the Fifth Avenue facade of Manhattan's Metropolitan Museum of Art) complete with bas reliefs depicting Poseidon and Aphrodite.

Mrs. Astor soon became the reigning queen of New York society, and her Summer Ball at Beechwood was the highlight of the season. She and social arbiter Ward McAllister then founded the famous "Four Hundred", referring to the strictly limited number of socially acceptable families (i.e. not nouveau riche) in New York - which some people are still trying to get into. Her son, John Jacob Astor IV, who inherited Beechwood, later went down on the Titanic, the ship's wealthiest passenger.

Tags: Astor family, AstorFamily, Beechwood, Calvert Vaux, CalvertVaux, Gilded Age, GildedAge, Historic houses, HistoricHouses, Mrs. Astor, Mrs.Astor, New York society, Newport, NewYorkSociety, Rhode Island, RhodeIsland, Richard Morris Hunt, RichardMorrisHunt, William Backhouse Astor Jr., WilliamBackhouseAstorJr.

The Great Houses of Texas

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Estates, Books

Photo by Grant Mudford

The Lone Star State, which was part of Mexico until 1836, is not particularly known for its architectural treasures. There are some amazing estates scattered among its vast tracts, however, as author Lisa Germany and photographer Grant Mudford reveal in their excellent new book, Great Houses Of Texas (Abrams, $50). The Texan landscape -- "combined with the larger-than-life personalities who were drawn to the brutal hardships of the frontier and the architects who designed these extraordinary homes" -- is the unifying theme of the 25 houses, ranging from the intimate to the ornate, collected in the book. Among them is the beautiful Crespi Mansion in Dallas, designed by Swiss architect Maurice Fatio in 1939, pictured above; and the Nowlin House in Austin designed by Paul Lamb in 2002, which was partially based on Mayan ruins. See the gallery for more.

Gallery: Great Houses of Texas

The cover showing King Ranch, Kingsville, 1915 (Adams & Adams)

Parrot-Orlowsky House, Dallas, 1940 (Charles Dilbeck).

Breakfast room, Crespi Mansion, Dallas, 1939 (Maurice Fatio).

Tags: Architecture, Austin, Dallas, Great estates, GreatEstates, Historic houses, HistoricHouses, Paul Lamb, PaulLamb, Texas

Great Houses of Greenwich Village

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Books

Beware of acute real estate envy setting in with a new book called The Houses of Greenwich Village (Abrams, $45), by Kevin D. Murphy and Paul Rocheleau. We happen to think it's the nicest neighborhood in New York, and having resided there on occasion look forward to retuning some day - preferably to one of the palatial places pictured in this amazing anthology.

From the incredible Walter W. Price house, built in 1866 (the elaborate parlor of which is pictured above), to the quaint row houses that still command prices in the millions, Greenwich Village is a throwback to a simpler and more gracious time in the city's rich history. And thanks to the unswerving efforts of preservationists, it's likely to remain that way. Check out the gallery for a tour through this exclusive and desirable district.

Gallery: Houses of Greenwich Village

Front parlor of the Jeremiah Terbell House, 1846-47.

Source

Tags: Abrams Books, AbramsBooks, Greenwich Village, GreenwichVillage, Historic houses, HistoricHouses, New York City, NewYorkCity

New England's Great Estates

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Estates, Books

Three centuries worth of New England's magnificent houses and mansions are collected in an equally grand new book from Rizzoli: Great Houses of New England, by Roderic H. Blackburn (text) and Geoffrey Gross (photography). Spanning a wide range of styles, these stately houses are the originals from which many of today's McMansions have been copied. They're more than just artifacts, however; as Blackburn writes, "Through the architecture and decorative arts we see the development of a people and their region."

Among the more splendid examples in the book is the Jeremiah Lee Mansion in Marblehead, Mass., dating from 1767 (pictured here), the impressiveness of which is "conveyed by its subdued monumentality," Blackburn notes. Lee, a shipping merchant, built it to emulate aristocratic estates in England, so you might say not all that much has changed. Also of note are the beautiful brick Georgian Macpheadris-Warner House in Portsmouth, N.H., dating from 1716; Rosecliff, a palatial McKim, Mead & White mansion which was the setting for the movie version of The Great Gasby; and Brookside, a gracious Greek Revival in Orwell, VT. See the gallery for more.

Gallery: Great Houses of New England