dbsir

High And Mighty: 4 Homes With Dramatic Ceilings

Majestic Mediterranean

Perched on 110 feet of water frontage, this four-bedroom villa is a bastion of modern Mediterranean grandeur. It begins with a dramatic foyer that gives way to a “grand room” with a fireplace, a wet bar, water views, and a magnificent coffered ceiling. Other highlights include a club room, a library, a gym, a chef’s kitchen, a wine tasting room, inviting terraces, an alfresco dining room, a covered patio with a grill and bar, a pool and infinity spa, and a private dock.

Indoor-Outdoor Enjoyment in Texas

Unique and captivating, this five-bedroom residence is well suited for stylish day-to-day living and festive entertaining, with game and media rooms, a climate-controlled wine room, a pool with a waterfall spa and two fire bowls, and a breezy verandah with an outdoor kitchen. Extravagant wall and ceiling treatments add visual interest throughout, from a stunning groin-vaulted brick ceiling with a glossy black lacquer in the dining room to a study with thoughtful built-ins and a transfixing blue ceiling coffers.

Greenwich Grandeur

In the coveted Round Hill area of Greenwich, this gated estate includes a meticulously renovated six-bedroom residence with an indoor swimming pool, an elegant granite terrace surrounding an outdoor a pool and spa, a pool house with a bath, a putting green, and lush gardens and grounds that afford room for a tennis court. Among the distinctive architectural details are a coffered ceiling in the formal dining room and an eye-catching hammered-copper ceiling topping the handsome media and billiards room.

Santa Fe Contemporary

Enjoying views of the Jack Nicklaus–designed Sunrise Course and two mountain ranges, this contemporary smart home exemplifies new Southwestern sophistication. Its boasts an open floor plan ideal for entertaining, three bedroom suites, a media room, an office, a chef’s kitchen, and a three-car garage. In the great room, which sits beneath a striking beamed ceiling, retractable glass doors open to a covered patio with a gas fireplace and a courtyard with a built-in gas grill and a traditional kiva fireplace.

Discover luxury homes for sale and rent around the world on sothebysrealty.com

Originally posted by Sotheby’s International Realty.

by dbsir

Perfectly Patterned: 5 Homes With Picturesque Wallpaper

Few things transform an everyday interior space like carefully chosen wallpaper—whether classically botanical or bold, bright, and modern.

Silver Lake Jewel

On a quiet hilltop in Silver Lake, this delightful two-bedroom home features charming living and dining rooms and two versatile rooms that serve as office or additional guest spaces. Dating to the 1920s and painstakingly updated and maintained, it is filled with eye-catching architectural and design details, including exposed beams, roman clay walls, oak floors, a hand-painted kitchen floor, custom tilework, graceful archways, and distinctive wallpaper that contributes to the decorative allure in a number of rooms.

Colorful Prewar Co-op

A skillful renovation of this “classic 7” in the famed Astor Court building respects its historic prewar aesthetic while adding modern comforts and conveniences. Highlights include a bright living room with handsome wood paneling and a wood-burning fireplace, a welcoming dining room with wallcoverings from Studio Zen, a custom-designed and -finished kitchen, and three private bedrooms secluded in their own wing along with a powder room with whimsical wallpaper from Voutsa.

Inviting Elegance in Houston

Exemplifying traditional elegance, this stately brick manor in the gated Houston community of Stablewood encourages entertaining with its inviting living spaces, multiple outdoor areas, summer kitchen, and heated pool and spa. Other highlights include a cook’s kitchen with an island, a family room, a generous primary suite, three guest suites, a study, a media room, and a versatile space with a full bath above the two-car garage. Intriguing use of stone, paint, wood, and wallpaper creates eye-catching surfaces and elements throughout.

Park Avenue Panache

Occupying the entire third floor of a distinguished Park Avenue building that dates to 1914, this immaculately maintained six-bedroom residence enjoys a desirable circular floor plan, sunny southern outlooks, and verdant treetop views. Its inviting public spaces—each of which is warmed by a wood-burning fireplace—include a generously proportioned corner living room, a wood-paneled library, a study, and a spacious dining room with classically inspired botanical wall coverings.

Uncommon Contemporary

On a beautifully landscaped lot with a pool and an enviable outdoor kitchen, this striking four-bedroom contemporary home features an array of unique spaces, from an Italian-inspired kitchen, a glass-enclosed wine room, and a family room with a warming dual-sided fireplace to a media room, a handsome study, and a peaceful primary suite. Nearly every space boasts uncommon luxurious finishes, including superior fixtures and appliances, lacquered cabinetry, and distinctive tile and wallpaper.

Discover luxury homes for sale and rent around the world on sothebysrealty.com

Originally posted by Sotheby's International Realty.

by dbsir

Fabulous And Functional: 5 Home Offices That Inspire Productivity

Upper East Side Sophistication

High above Lenox Hill, this six-bedroom duplex condominium is flooded with light and revels in stunning skyline, East River, and Central Park views. Highlights include an open-plan living room with plentiful windows, a formal dining room, an eat-in kitchen, a den, and a gym. A corner office with two exposures enjoys an impressive panorama of the city that never sleeps, while the library has numerous built-ins and another iconic view. Four wraparound balconies offer further opportunities for appreciating the vista.

Greenwich Grandeur

        On 8.23 colorful acres, this 18,954-square-foot Georgian estate is a majestic retreat. It offers eight bedrooms, formal living and dining rooms, a Smallbone kitchen, a family room, a wine cellar, a theater, a game room with a bar and concession stand, a dance studio, a gym, a batting cage, an elevator, a dumbwaiter, a five-car garage, a whole-house generator, a resort-caliber pool, and an outdoor kitchen with a pizza oven and three grills. The mahogany-paneled office includes an upper gallery with a striking brass railing.

Urban Oasis

Wine Country Getaway

Abundant oversized windows and multiple decks allow for enjoyment of gorgeous wine country views from nearly every vantage point of this Sonoma estate. The 7.14-acre property includes a four-bedroom main residence, a guesthouse with a private entrance and driveway, a wine cellar, a freestanding art studio, two detached garages, and a hot tub. In addition to fluid spaces for living, dining, and entertaining, the home features an office or library with handsome wood built-ins and a wide sunny window.

Lincoln Center Luxury

Introduced by a stunning foyer with a sweeping sculptural staircase, this dramatic duplex perched atop Lincoln Center features a great room overlooking Central Park, a dining room with views of the Empire State Building, a bar clad in black marble, and a dazzling kitchen with top-of-the-line appliances. Opaque glass doors divide the primary bedroom and its en suite bath from the sizeable office, which enjoys its own enviable view. Residents benefit from direct access to culture, music, theater, and dance. Discover luxury homes for sale and rent around the world on sothebysrealty.com

Originally posted by Sotheby's International Realty.

by dbsir

Natural Wonders

THESE STONES ADD A DURABLE, UNIQUE, AND BEAUTIFUL TOUCH TO ANY ROOM THEY’RE USED IN

The innate character, the unique graining, the colors that take their cue from the earth—there’s so much to love about natural stone. Using it throughout your home, whether iterated for countertops, walls, flooring, or accents adds a singular beauty that can’t be replicated. “No two pieces of stone will ever match completely, as veining and color are all made by Mother Nature,” says Gioi Tran, founder and principal designer of San Francisco-based design firm Applegate Tran Interiors.

Each type of stone has a distinctive range of natural patterns all its own. For a cleaner look, you’ll want stones with more uniform or solid backgrounds. For a complex appearance choose stones with scattered veining, says Mary Dimichino, senior designer at Bakes & Kropp cabinetry in New York. “The finish, whether polished or honed, also impacts the appearance of natural stone. It can transform a surface’s texture, color, and reflectivity,” she says.

And because of its inherent imperfections, natural stone is forgiving—the more flaws, the more interesting the look. But perhaps its most useful quality is durability. “Natural stone is hard-wearing and provides a durable surface for flooring, kitchens, and bathrooms while also relatively being easy to clean, hygienic, and nontoxic,” says Maneli Wilson of Maneli Wilson Interiors in New York. And it’s entirely environmentally friendly. “It does not require any artificial processes or chemicals for manufacturing, unlike many other man-made engineered building materials,” she says.

GRANITE

One of the strongest of all-natural stone varieties, granite is a low-maintenance option that’s heat- and scratch-resistant, making it ideal for outdoor and high-traffic spaces such as laundry rooms, mudrooms, and kitchens, Wilson says. Many types of granite are speckled with flecks of color, while others have veining and swirls similar to marble.

Made of many types of crystals, each slab of granite has unique coloring and veining and is often sold in shades of white, beige, black, blue, green, or gray, Dimichino says.

It’s great for kitchen counters and backsplashes, fireplace surrounds, and in tiles as a feature wall, Tran says.

  “While granite was looked down upon for decades, it is finally having a well-deserved comeback,” says Phillip Thomas, founder and principal of Phillip Thomas Inc., a design firm in New York City.    

“I have had a number of commissions lately that specifically ask for granite. New discoveries in granites that have the same qualities of quartz and marble are definitely driving this resurgence,” he says. “It has incredible depth and texture and is warm underfoot.”

Before working with natural stone, Wilson recommends obtaining stone samples to check for color, or actually visiting the stone yards themselves to see the stone in person. “Color, veining, and natural characteristics will vary from slab to slab,” she says. She also suggests having any stone surfaces resealed once every six months to ensure longevity.

ONYX

A type of marble, onyx comes in varying degrees of patterns and a rainbow of colors, including popular hues like jade, mint, light pink, and warm tan.

Tran loves the glamour and translucency of the material and uses it for feature walls, bathrooms, counters, and even furniture. “The veining, variety of colors, and vibrancy make this material genuinely spectacular; it’s perfect to be backlit as either a feature wall, powder room vanity, or even under a bar counter,” he says.

“A unique attribute of onyx is that it’s translucent and can be backlit for a wow effect,” Wilson says. “However, the downside is that it is also very soft and prone to cracking. It should be used selectively to ensure it stays away from areas of high traffic and frequent use,” she says.

It’s typically featured as an accent. “Its translucent quality, warm color tones, and beautiful veining can be stunning in the right application,” says Donna Mondi, founder and principal, Donna Mondi Interior Design in Chicago. It’s pricey, “but perfect for a floating vanity or accent wall insert.”

“It is so beautiful and unique that it’s almost like lining your home in jewelry,” Thomas says. “I love to use onyx in bathrooms because it gives the space a warm, luxurious glow.”

TRAVERTINE

A porous limestone sedimentary rock, travertine has a uniform look and feel with its characteristic pores and pits gracing its surface. Depending on the variety of travertine, these pits can be small and sporadic or very large and frequent. The colors of travertine are more neutral than other types of natural stone, and they range from ivories and creams to darker taupes or browns. “Color swirls and waves throughout [travertine] bring energy to a space and lend a more modern aesthetic,” says Young Huh, interior designer, Cosentino Design Alliance based in New York.

Travertine can also be iterated in various finishes from honed and polished to brushed and tumbled. “It’s the most suitable material for damp or humid environments, cladding walls, fireplaces, and bathrooms, since it’s naturally porous and breathable,” Wilson says. “It is also a great choice to use around swimming pools and bathrooms and shower floors, as unpolished travertine does not become slippery when wet,” she says.

TERRAZZO

Terrazzo is a composite material that uses chips of natural stones such as marble, granite, quartz, glass, or shell that are combined with epoxy or cement. And it’s extremely resilient and durable. “Typically poured in place for floors, the price tag is high, but you can find many options of premade terrazzo in tile formats which are a great way to incorporate it into bathrooms and kitchens,” Mondi says.

With its wide range of colors and patterns, terrazzo provides an abundance of design flexibility. “Terrazzo is low maintenance, nonporous, and incredibly durable, making it ideal for flooring applications in both residential and commercial spaces,” Wilson says. Since it’s made of recycled glass and stone chips, it also makes for a highly eco-friendly material option, she adds.

And it can be customized to fit any color plan and precast into a multitude of shapes to create furniture and cabinets, Tran says. “Because it’s a composite material, you can mix in different colors and insert all sorts of stones and metals,” Thomas says.

“Based on 18th-century Venetian pavement, terrazzo has come a long way and can be custom poured, shaped, or even made into tiles that can be chic and elegant for inside pools and bathrooms,” Tran says.

Originally posted by Sotheby's International Realty.

by dbsir