Posts Tagged ‘luxury’

Is Kim Kardashian about to buy a luxury home in New York?

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011

It was the reality TV wedding of the year. Voluptuous model Kim Kardashian and professional basketballer Kris Humphries tied the knot in a lavish multi-million pound wedding after an eight-month whirlwind romance.

Could this NYC pad be Kim Kardashian's new NYC home?

Could this NYC pad be Kim Kardashian's new NYC home?

The happy couple are now off on a quick European mini-moon before they settle back into their celebrity, reality TV life. 

But the big question is: after spending a rumoured £6 million on their wedding, where will the cashed up couple call home in the USA when they return?

Humphries is East Coast-based, currently in Hoboken New Jersey, which is just across the water from Manhattan, New York; while Kardashian, usually an LA dweller, is currently filming her sisterly fly-on-the-wall programme Kourtney and Kim Take New York – in New York City.

It’s no wonder then, that the rumour mill is going into over drive with speculation the newlyweds will be setting up married life together in the Big Apple.

Given the cost of their wedding and the rumoured £10.8 million they made from selling it to magazines and other media, money isn’t likely be an issue for these two. But in case they need any help, we’ve found some luxury New York pads that would be just perfect for this glitzy couple.

1) Kim and Kris will be neighbours with Robert Di Niro in the spectacular 1797-built  George Ireland House  in the heart of trendy TriBeCa. This four bedroom, four bathroom pad also has 20 ft ceilings – perfect for a 6′9 basketball player - as well as a gym, spa and wine vault across six floors. It’s on the market for £13.6m.

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2) The newlyweds will be in the heart of arty Manhattan in this Chelsea Condo on West 22nd St. The light and airy boutique two bedroom, two bathroom duplex penthouse is on the market for £9.2m.

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3) Kim and Kris can go all Sex and The City in this prewar Park Avenue coop with wraparound terraces, five bedrooms and five bathrooms, all on the market for £15.1m.

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Anjelica Huston’s private and plush Fortress up for sale

Friday, January 7th, 2011

When primelocation wants Hollywood bling that bucks the trend, we look no further than “The Fortress” – the name movie veteran Anjelica Huston has given her LA home now on sale.

At first sight the building, completed in 1994 by sculptor Robert Graham - Huston’s husband until his death in 2008 – looks like a warehouse. But it sits four-square in Venice Beach, one of the plushest parts of Los Angeles and close to the estates owned by other Hollywood glitterati like Kate Beckinsale, Alec Baldwin and Francis Ford Coppola

AnjelicaHuston_TheFortressHuston, perhaps best known for her role in The Addams Family franchise and The Witches in the 1990s – as well as being a long-time girlfriend of Jack Nicholson - says she and Robert Graham were inspired by the privacy of the Californian convent in which they spent their honeymoon in 1992.

So they created The Fortress, a functional Bauhaus design complete with girders and struts, steeply walled on its boundaries to keep out prying eyes. But step inside and you see a huge tropical garden, a swimming pool and a garden jacuzzi as part of almost 10,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor studio and gallery space.

AnjelicaHuston_The Fortress reception room

There are also almost 4,000 square feet of interior living quarters including a library, dramatic galleries looking over three-storey studio and dance-floor areas, three bedrooms and five bathrooms. There’s also a basement games room and gym for that compulsory LA daily workout.

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The property went on sale last year and was first advertised only in California but now, with even Hollywood stars hit by a declining US property market, it is being marketed in Europe by estate agency Engel & Volkers.

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The publicity in Europe concentrates on the Mediterranean and French design influences and the Venice Beach boho chic reputation of the house – magazine Vanity Fair says it is found most easily by heading for the tattoo parlours and marijuana shops across the street.

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But despite the continuing US downturn and change in global marketing strategy for the house, the asking price remains unchanged at a cool $18m. The owner is clearly not the only stellar characteristic of this particular LA home…

For sale: the polo world’s most famous address

Thursday, August 26th, 2010

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On paper it looks like just another 114-acre farm for sale in a New York rural backwater, but to anyone who follows polo it is where  the sport’s most famous annual events takes place.

The Mercedes Benz Polo Challenge, hosted by the Bridgehampton Polo Club at Two Trees Farm, is a must-attend event on New York’s social calendar with Ralph Lauren, Brooke Shields, Chloe Sevigny, Christine Brinkley and Steven Spielberg all regular attendees. This year the event took place on 24th July and both Amber Rose and Kourtney Kardashian boosted the celebrity count.

But all this is now up for sale and for a lot less than two years ago when the property was first reported for sale. Back in 2008 Two Trees Farm was put on the market by owner and Brooklyn-based developer David Walentas for $95 million but the property is today for sale at $75 million.

Although this sounds like a lot for a polo farm despite the price reduction, Two Trees Farm offers both an idyllic and sought-after location and a lot of property.

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It’s near Bridgehampton in the middle of Long Island’s most expensive patch of land, the seaside resort area of The Hamptons – a group of 24 villages and hamlets around the towns of Southampton and East Hampton. The area  is where America’s rich and famous like to own homes and current locals include Renée Zellweger and Nathan Lane.

Anyone considering buying Two Trees Farm, which was bought in 1993 by Mr Walentas for $2 million, has to be into horses. As well as two houses, an eight-unit apartment building (for grooms), pool and tennis court there are three barns, two indoor riding arenas and two polo fields.

The property is currently being sold via the New York office of Sotheby’s Realty International.

Moor appeal

Monday, October 13th, 2008

Properties with add-on factors that enhance your lifestyle are high on the priority list for many second home buyers, and one of the current trends that’s growing in popularity is to buy property in or near marinas.

Previously it’s been golfing or skiing properties that have topped the charts for many property buyers and, although still very popular, marinas have now sailed into the picture too.

For existing yacht owners, there’s an obvious attraction of being able to buy a property with a berth thrown in as part of the package. It can make enjoying sailing holidays all the more appealing when there’s somewhere to moor the boat at the beginning or end of a break, and offers the chance of going out on day trips while making the most of a holiday home.

But marina properties also appeal to lots of other buyers, and you needn’t necessarily even own a yacht. Many people merely love living by the waterside, and properties in or close to a marina often have fantastic views, plus lots of other facilities on hand too. Some buyers aren’t yet into sailing, but feel inspired to take it up and want to have the option of a berth, should they end up buying a yacht in the future. Plus, there’s the fact that owning some marina properties is hugely desirable and, as properties with berths are snapped up quickly, it’s a nice extra asset to own.

There are several categories of marina properties – those that are part of the marina development and have a berth included in the price, those where you get the option of a berth and discounted rates when buying your property, and properties that are located nearby and gain the benefit of looking out over the marina.

The good news is that there are a wide range of marina properties available on the market, from well-established marinas to newly built developments, and they’re located in many countries around the world. Prices vary, but if you’re buying a marina property in a well-known resort, expect to pay a premium price for a property with a berth included.

It’s often said that Port Grimaud, in the south of France, is where the idea and popularity of marina developments originated, back in the mid-1980s. Properties in the exclusive private marina, overlooking St Tropez, do come on the market from time to time, like this renovated waterfront property, and boast private boat moorings and other appealing features.

Elsewhere, at the Marina de Sotogrande in Spain, two-bedroom apartments such as this are built to make the most of uninterrupted views of the marina and Mediterranean Sea, plus come with the option of purchasing a 15m berth along with the property.

Whether you’re a yachting fan, or just want to get close to the action and hang out with the sailing crowd, then marina properties may be the option to go for.