Today's home is a real piece of Washington history. Halcyon House is now a 30,500 square foot property and the oldest part of the house was built in the late 1780s by Benjamin Stoddert. the first secretary of the Navy. The home has undergone a 17-year restoration. HGTV has a piece on the restoration of the home which was also once owned by Albert Clemens, the nephew of Samuel Clemens, a.k.a. Mark Twain. Clemens added two wings of apartments in 1880 and Halcyon House was used as rental apartments and housing for students at Georgetown University during most of the 20th century. HGTV reports that John Dreyfuss moved into the home in the 1970s and details the extensive work he did to restore the home. A piece from the NY Times back in 1995 goes into even greater explanation, including the detail that Dreyfuss began the huge project when he was just 28.
The mansion has five bedrooms and the property also has five rental apartments and a separate townhouse. It has been the site of many weddings and grand events. It's also got one of the highest prices I've ever seen in the area, it is listed at $30 million. Experience more lush living in luxury homes and mansions or see the stars living large with celebrity homes galleries at AOL Real Estate.
When it comes to gifts usually it's what's on the inside that counts, but that's not necessarily the case for the gifts Edwina Rogers gives -- she wraps her presents in money. Uncut sheets of real, government-issued, dollar bills.
The wife of Washington lobbyist Ed Rogers gets the money sheets from the United States Bureau of Engraving (you can order them for yourself here) and then slices and dices as you would any wrapping paper to best fit the gift and get the best pattern on the front of the package (in this case it's lining up Washington's face just right). No matter that she regularly cuts several bills in half in the process, to be frugal she sticks to the dollar paper and only uses it to wrap "small" gifts.
A sheet of money paper consisting of 32 $1 bills sells for $55.
I know I just brought you a Seattle sports figure's home on Saturday but I have to show you the other Washington find from the latest Wall Street Journal Private Properties column. The B2B ranch in Fall City, Washington belongs former Seattle Mariners outfielder Jay Buhner. Its 80 acres are adjacent to a private golf club and this is where Buhner retired after 14 years with the Mariners. It's a custom home with a very Western feel that you'd be more likely to find in a Montana or Wyoming mansion. The main house is 7500 square feet and has timber framing and a copper roof. A 35 foot floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace dominates the great room. There are four bedrooms, a bbonus room plus media and recreation rooms. The main home's three car garage includes a finished weight room, half bath, sauna and the "poker room". The grounds are made up of four 20 acre tax parcels, The property includes fenced pastoral areas as well as manicured gardens and water features including four spring fed stocked ponds and water falls. The entertaining pavilion is a post and beam structure with skylights and a copper roof. It has a built-in wet bar, Viking barbecue and lantern light fixtures. There is also a two-bedroom guest house and a four-car garage. This property is listed at $12 million.
One of the pitfalls of being a sports star is having to sell your old real estate once you get traded. It's not always easy, we've seen Shaquille O'Neal struggle to unload his Miami home for years, Dwayne Wade has had his on the market for a while and the list goes on to include today's estate the home of Boston Celtics player Ray Allen. Allen used to play on the Seattle SuperSonics and owns this Craftsman-style estate in Carnation, Washington. The five-bedroom home is on nearly 4.5 acres. It's a rather nice home with vaulted entryways, box beam celings and a casual style. It is a former Street of Dreams Award winning home and includes a master suite with a custom spa, a gourmet kitchen, home theater, office and exercise room. The home has a lot of exterior features too such as a putting green, pool, exterior cabana and a sports court connected with well-landscaped pathways. Allen first listed the home about six months ago at $6 million and recently sliced the price down to $5.2 million. Experience more lush living in luxury homes and mansions or see the stars living large with celebrity homes galleries at AOL Real Estate.
I first mentioned this estate in Washington state way back in 2005. Three years later and it's for sale for the same price. The property is located on the beautifully scenic Orcas Island, the largest of the San Juan Islands in Washington. This estate spans 161 acres and includes six separate tax parcels with six houses, six drilled wells, three cabins, a cookhouse, shops, garages, barns and other outbuildings. The land has a total of e approximately 3,200' of shoreline and comes with a deepwater, drive-on pier, a float and two boathouses with a workshop. The island can be reached by private boat, ferry or plane. $20 million will get you your own island retreat.
The world of luxury eco-friendly housing was shattered this week by the news of the arson fires at the Street of Dreams homes in Snohomish County, Washington. The five homes were part of what's called a "rural cluster development" and were built "five star BuiltGreen" standards. The homes were all unoccupied and listed for sale at prices from approximately $1.6 to $.19 million. The Seattle Times reports that federal investigators are trying to determine whether a group of radical environmentalists known as the Earth Liberation Front, are responsible for the fires. A spraypainted message from the ELF was left at the scene. It said: Built Green? Nope black! McMansions in RCDs r not green. ELF." Law-enforcement officials wonder if the fires were timed to coincide with jury deliberations in the trial of an alleged ELF member accused of a previous fire.
Monday's fires did $7 million total in damages. The homes had a variety of "green" features such as energy-efficient appliances, native-plant landscaping, high-efficiency insulation and the use of recycled materials. The homes had video-surveillance systems and alarms but they were turned off because they weren't consider to be needed and the homes were for sale and real estate agents were concerned about setting off the alarms.
The declining real estate market has been particularly tough on the condo market with many people afraid to buy a condo for fear that six months or a year later someone else will buy the same size condo in their building for a lot less money. At the Olive 8 hotel condo/hotel project in Seattle, the developer is seeking to allay that fear by offering prospective buyers the type of guarantee that we usually see electronics and furniture stores offer. The developer has said that If someone buys an Olive 8 condo now and later someone else buys a unit in the building with the same floor plan for less, the developer will reduce the first buyer's price down to the lower amount at closing.
Olive 8 is currently under construction at Eighth Avenue and Olive Way and will have 230 luxury condos on 22 floors above a 17-story Hyatt hotel. The hotel is slated to open in December and condo owners will move in after that. The sales are a testimony to the dramatic shift the real estate market has taken. About a year ago the developer had sold 175 of the 230 units but since then they've sold less than 10 more. Remaining condos in the building start at $750,000.
This striking home in the Queen Anne neighborhood in Seattle is perched on a hill so you get fantastic views of the Seattle skyline including the Space Needle. And it has a roof terrace to enjoy those views. Although it is 4500 square feet there are only two bedrooms making it more of a home for empty nesters than families. The kitchen has beautiful countertops and the home had an open floor plan that puts the emphasis on the big windows facing the view. There is also a home theater and a 100 1000-bottle wine cellar. This home is listed at $2.488 million.
I've been lucky to find homes with great woodwork lately. This one in Bellevue, Washington is one of the most amazing I have seen. It is a four-bedroom home designed to invoke a zen-like serenity. The home was designed by architect Curtis Gelotte, who calls it Wood, Stone and Water on his site. Rough stone fireplaces and large windows as well as an indoor waterfall help complete the feeling of rustic calm. The staircases here are just amazing but the most stunning piece of design in the home is the custom designed tea-house canopy over master bed. What a place to sleep. It is listed at $3.5 million.
A winery in Seattle has found themselves a pretty big foe. Olympic Cellars Winery is currently involved in a fracas with the U.S. Olympic Committee over their name. The winery is located on the Olympic Peninsula with a view of the Olympic Mountains but as the Seattle Times reports, the U.S. Olympic Committee has told the winery that its name infringes on the committee. The winery received permission from a Olympic committee trademark attorney in 1999 to use the name for their website. The committee has said that they are fine with the winery selling the wine locally in western Washington, but they have asked the winery not sell to those who live elsewhere or have not visited the winery. While Federal law allows companies to use the word "Olympic" for business done in Western Washington. Olympic Cellars is also the founder of Working Girl Wines, which sells wines are in 20 states and supports woman and family-based charities. They sell a wide variety of wines ranging from $13 to $25.
Continuing our coverage of sustainable wineries, let's check out Waters Winery in Walla Walla, Washington. Wines & Vines reports that the winery's new $2 million, 5,000-square-foot winemaking facility and tasting room is set to open on November 2. Waters produces Cabernet Sauvignons, Syrahs, and a silky Bordeaux-style blend called Interlude which range in price from $20 to $40. Their new facility is made of masonry and rusted steel panels. The production building has a large skylight that brings light into the room for a naturally-lit workspace. The barrel aging rooms are surrounded by 17-inch-thick, insulated concrete masonry to reduce temperature swings. The building has concrete floors and a steel structure that is as much as 80% percent recycled content. The wood-framed walls are made from rapidly renewable trees. Future plans include adding a subterranean barrel room.
On the list of architectural periods the 1970s doesn't usually light my fire but this home in Clyde Hill, Washington is proof that 70s architecture can be simple and classic and that dated isn't always dreadful. The five-bedroom home was built in 1970, a fact which can be seen in the style of the fireplaces, but it has a bright contemporary style with large glass windows. The site has beautiful views out over the trees which can be appreciated from the large deck The lower level has a separate entrance and a unique library, kitchenette and media room area. This home is listed at $2.5 million. Pictures after the jump or bigger pictures in the gallery.
I've covered liquidation sales at the Plaza in New York and the Stardust in Las Vegas but now the famous, or more accurately, infamous Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C. is holding a liquidation sale. The hotel which is getting a posh makeover and plans to re-open in 2009 is selling off beds, silverware, artwork and other items. There are deals to be had on columns, televisions but few items bear the word Watergate and there is nothing there that is connected to the Nixon-era when the Watergate hotel became synonymous with scandal. The sale is this weekend and costs $10 to get in.
An exclusive Louis Vuitton Tribute Patchwork handbag, one of only 24 in the world and 5 in North America (we know Beyonce has one), is on its way to Washington by the end of the season for a very special, unnamed, client. We here at Luxist first covered the Tribute Patchwork back in March, and since then it's been making quite the name for itself. As one of the most expensive handbags in the world, the Tribute Patchwork has become this summer's ultimate status bag. Priced at $52,500 and made from best parts of 14 other LV bags, it easily overshadows the competition in originality, style, and class.
The name is the Almost Idaho Ranch for obvious reasons, it is right near the Washington/Idaho border (although it is in Washington). The home offers your own private 49-acre lake which is surrounded by mountains. There are 497 acres total which border the Kaniksu National Forest. The ranch has three homes including the 6634 sq. ft. main home. There is also a log guest home, an outdoor entertainment porch, a miner's cabin, barns, corrals, sheds and more. It is listed at $10.8 million. After the jump,your own private lake, it makes you feel tranquil just looking at it.
