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Monday, 30 November 2020

Designed by Michael Graves, Is Life Magazine’s 1996 Dream House Still Dreamy?

A home featured on the cover of Life magazine as an affordable dream home in the 1990s is on the market in Austin, TX, for $1.3 million.

The architect and designer Michael Graves created the home on Shoal Creek Boulevard in 1996, as part of the magazine’s desire to showcase affordable designs for modern home buyers.

“Michael Graves was one of the main architects for the postmodernist movement,” explains the listing agent, Salena Gutierrez. “It’s just a classic, refined design—and that’s what people in Austin like.”

Graves passed away in 2015, and was well-known not only for designing buildings but also for designing products for companies like Alessi and Target. His 9093 teakettle for Alessi, with its bird-shaped whistle, is an iconic piece of product design.

This coverworthy home he dreamed up has four bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, and measures 3,151 square feet.

Life magazine commissioned a series in the 1990s asking architects to design dream homes for the average price of a new home at the time—about $200,000. This home graced the May 1996 cover of the now-defunct magazine.

“I have multiple copies, so we have them laid out in the house, and I think that’s really cool,” Gutierrez says.

“Personally, as a buyer, I would love that, and it’s a little bit of bragging rights for the buyer to tell friends and family when they come over.”

The list price does include a copy of the magazine.

In interviews, Graves was quoted as saying that he liked homes with character, symmetry, organization, and formality, where guests enter and know which way to turn.

That’s certainly the case in this home.

“When you enter the home, you’re greeted by a water feature that is so awesome,” Gutierrez says. “It’s just different, and I think that’s what is missing today. I think people will appreciate it.”

Gutierrez says that while many tract homes today look similar, this property is unique.

“Graves has this beautiful rotunda that is upstairs,” she notes.

This has a little niche area with a skylight above. The rotunda below, on the second floor, also has a skylight, with a design that goes down to the first floor, letting in a lot of light.

The home is open in the living and dining areas, but offers other well-defined spaces—a plus for buyers during the pandemic.

“This was ahead of its time. It does have a built-in, two-person office with filing cabinets, right there off the kitchen,” Gutierrez explains.

The kitchen has high-end Viking appliances and is a large space with plenty of cabinets, granite countertops, an eat-in area, and an island.

The master bedroom is on the main floor, another feature that was nearly unheard of two decades ago.

“I think this design was ahead of its time, with the owners’ retreat downstairs,” Gutierrez says.

She adds that the downstairs master is a key feature for a buyer in search of a home with options for multigenerational living.

The bathrooms could use a bit of an update to match a new owner’s personal style, but everything is in good working order.

“All that is easily changed. At this price point, someone is going to make it their own anyway,” Gutierrez explains.

The garage is already plumbed for a garage apartment, so a new owner could add even more space if desired.

The outdoor areas are low maintenance, with plenty of parking on the side, a rarity for the neighborhood.

“The yard is mainly in the front. It’s easy maintenance in the back and is really private and secluded,” Gutierrez says.

There is also an RV hookup on the side. Gutierrez says this house will appeal to a buyer on the hunt for something different. It’ll also take a buyer who’s willing to take on minor makeover changes, without straying too far from Graves’ original dreamy design.

“It’s not cookie-cutter. I think the right buyer will be looking for this, and will make it their own a little bit.”

The post Designed by Michael Graves, Is Life Magazine’s 1996 Dream House Still Dreamy? appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

source https://www.realtor.com/news/unique-homes/michael-graves-life-magazine-1996-dream-house-for-sale/

Mind the Gap and Cross Over Into Colorado’s Beautiful Bridge House

A house amid the aspen trees near Telluride, CO, was built with only four main materials: wood, steel, glass, and stone.

Rustic and ready for a buyer who appreciates its beauty, the home on Palmyra Drive in Mountain Village is on the market for $7,750,000.

“The unique part of Mountain Village in Telluride is it’s a location where you don’t see paints used in any way. There aren’t colors,” explains listing agent John Burchmore. This does not mean area homes don’t have character, especially this one.

“There are a lot of rustic components that blend naturally into the environment. It’s not like you’re driving down the street and you’re going to see the red house, a blue house, a yellow house, a green house; it’s all natural. This home was designed in such a way with the bridges and with patinaed metals that it’s uniquely different,” says Burchmore.

Bridges connect different parts of the house, both inside and outside, which is why it’s appropriately called the Bridge House.

“You cross a bridge to get to the main home from the garage,” Burchmore says. “Once you’re inside the home, there’s a bridge that [connects] the guest suites on either end of the home. It crosses the great room and spans the distance of the living, dining, and kitchen areas.”

Architect Tommy Hein designed the house in 2010 to make the most of the long and narrow parcel. Bridges serve as a functional element and add plenty of visual interest.

The 7,000-square-foot home has six bedrooms and 6.5 bathrooms. The common rooms feature high ceilings and large windows to take full advantage of the mountain views.

The windows on the south side of the home are frosted glass, which creates a unique effect both inside and out. What could have been a mundane view of the road to the home has been transformed into an intriguing light-filled space.

“That’s where the road is, the drive into the home,” Burchmore explains. “The home sits low on the lot, so if you were looking out from the living room to the south, you would get a view of the embankment and road. So all the windows are frosted, but they capture all that natural light.”

The interior stairway by the wall with frosted-glass windows is a showstopper.

“It has sort of a warm, industrial feel to it, so it’s really very cool,” Burchmore explains.

“There’s a hanging, three-story Bocci light fixture that runs the height of the building,” he adds.

The kitchen features high-end appliances and silver quartzite countertops. The stove hood goes all the way to the ceiling, and the walls are all stone.

“It all walks out directly to the outdoor patio, which can seat dozens of people,” Burchmore says. “It’s all steel, making snow removal easy. It’s an indoor-outdoor living space that’s expansive.”

The living room, dining space, kitchen, and master suite are all on the main level. The lower level features several bedrooms, a game room, and family space. Two guest suites are on the upper level. There is also a caretaker suite below the garage.

The 1.3-acre property is located near popular ski runs, but Burchmore says house feels like a true escape.

It’s “in a huge, mature aspen grove, so it feels like a treehouse because when you step out onto the balcony, you’re elevated. And the site drops off, so you’re walking out into the middle of towering aspen trees,” he says. “It’s in a neighborhood [where] the homes below you are well below you, and the homes on either side aren’t visible because of the trees and foliage. It’s got an exceptionally private feel even though you’re in a neighborhood.”

The post Mind the Gap and Cross Over Into Colorado’s Beautiful Bridge House appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

source https://www.realtor.com/news/unique-homes/bridge-house-colorado/

U.S. Pending Home Sales Fall 1.1% in October as Higher Prices Discourage Buyers

Home for sale in West LA — Chris Delmas/AFP via Getty Images

The numbers: A measure of pending home sales fell in October for the second month in a row, signaling the surprisingly strong surge in demand during the pandemic might be ebbing.

The index of pending home sales dropped 1.1% in October after a 2.2% decline in September, the National Association of Realtors said Monday.

While pending sales are still up 20% compared to a year earlier, rising home prices could be cutting into demand. Cooler weather and a record increase in U.S. coronavirus cases might also be hurting sales.

The index measures real-estate transactions in which a contract is signed, but the sale had not yet closed.

What happened: The South was the only major region to post an increase in pending sales, though just barely.

Pending sales posted the biggest decline in the Northeast.

The big picture: Record low mortgage rates and an increase in families leaving cities to escape the coronavirus have boosted home sales during the pandemic, leading to a flush in spending on furnishings and other related goods. The housing market has been a surprising bright spot for the economy.

Yet the spike in demand has reduced the inventory of homes for sale, which were already in short supply, to a historic low. That’s pushed up prices, discouraged would-be buyers — and could lead to softer sales in the future.

What they’re saying: “The housing market is still hot, but we may be starting to see rising home prices hurting affordability,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist

Market reaction: The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 both fell in Monday trades.

The post U.S. Pending Home Sales Fall 1.1% in October as Higher Prices Discourage Buyers appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

source https://www.realtor.com/news/real-estate-news/u-s-pending-home-sales-fall-1-1-in-october-as-higher-prices-discourage-buyers/

$11.5M Windmill House Blows Back Onto the Market in the Hamptons

For $11.5 million, you can frolic in the famous Hamptons windmill house where the legendary Marilyn Monroe and the playwright Arthur Miller evaded the press in the summer of 1957.

“They used to sneak away from the other property they were renting and sneak off to the windmill and use it as their love nest,” says the listing agent, Bobby Rosenbaum. “They would shake the paparazzi off, because the paparazzi couldn’t see the windmill from the road and didn’t know they were there.”

Built in 1830, the windmill on Deep Lane is on the market again, with its more than 5 acres of land near Amagansett, NY.

“It’s high on the hill, looking down at Quail Hill Farm. At night, you can hear the whispering sounds of the ocean when the air is still,” Rosenbaum explains.

The land is rolling meadows, with no fencing to inhibit wildlife.

“It’s kind of like a magical scene on the property, because you have wild turkeys, deer, rabbits, probably some raccoons. It’s just a sweet little spot.”

The property includes three buildings: a studio, a two-car garage, and the windmill itself.

Exterior of windmill near Amagansett, NY
Douglas Elliman Real Estate

Workings of the windmill on the third floor
Douglas Elliman Real Estate

“The windmill was really a working windmill at one time. It was converted in the 1950s by Samuel Rubin, the founder of Fabergé,” Rosenbaum explains, referring to the perfume company Rubin founded in the 1960s.

“He added on a kitchen, a bathroom, and a bedroom, and he converted the second floor of the windmill into a bedroom. The third floor remains the mechanics of the original working windmill.”

Living space
Douglas Elliman Real Estate

The octagonal structure has 1,300 square feet, with two bedrooms and one bathroom.

If that isn’t enough living space, local zoning rules will allow a new owner to build another residence of up to a 20,000 square feet.

“The building is magical. It’s like a storybook home. How many real working windmills have been converted into a home in America?” Rosenbaum asks. “I could see it being a guest cottage or a really cool pool house or an artist studio.”

The windmill was last on the market in 2016 for $8.5 million, and the owner took it off the market in 2018.

“We raised the price, and we feel that it has value,” Rosenbaum explains. “That’s what he’s looking to get. There are other properties in the area that don’t match the magic this property seems to have.”

Outdoor space
Douglas Elliman Real Estate

The living space is compact, but has everything, even laundry, an outdoor shower, and a dog run.

The kitchen is galley-style, with all the appliances a kitchen needs, including a dishwasher.

“The [kitchen] windows face the beautiful property, the driveway down, and the sloping hills that lead to the apple orchard. It’s just nice to be cooking and looking at that window,” Rosenbaum says.

The main level also includes a living space, one of the bedrooms, and the bathroom.

Given the property’s history and potential, Rosenbaum is optimistic that the perfect buyer is out there.

“This is a trophy asset. This is a property for somebody that has everything, but doesn’t have a windmill home,” he adds. “And you do have the ability to develop it, so it’s kind of like a hybrid of trophy, yet developable. You have a lot of options with this property.”

The post $11.5M Windmill House Blows Back Onto the Market in the Hamptons appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

source https://www.realtor.com/news/unique-homes/windmill-house-blows-back-onto-the-market-in-the-hamptons/