On the Waterfront: Greenport, Shelter Island

UPDATE 2/11/09: Price on the Greenport Greek Revival cottage reduced to 399K!

This intrepid old-house hunter saw two intriguing properties yesterday on the East End of Long Island:

First, a tiny 1810 Greek Revival sea captain’s house in Greenport (on the market since last June, asking $459K), half a block from the harbor. The 1 BR  house needs painting inside and out, but it’s charming and livable as-is.  It was the part-time home of Hope Dewar Hendler, a costume and hat designer who died in December at age 92. Proceeds from the sale of the house will go to Cancer Care.  Contact: Suzanne Hahn, Brown Harris Stevens  631 477 8001

Then…a superbly located but architecturally challenged 1970 artist’s house on 1.1 secluded acres on Shelter Island, on a large freshwater pond (over a year on the market, asking $499K). Needs total rehab and re-thinking but enormous potential for a fabulous summer or year-round home.  Contact: Janalyn Travis-Messer, Griffing & Collins  631 749 0500

It’s 2009.  Don’t be afraid to make a low-ball offer!

Please note: I am not a real estate broker and have no financial interest in the sale of these or any properties mentioned in this blog.

Up Next on casaCARA

• East End of Long Island Under 500K

• Winter…so what? Brooklyn Flea is open in DUMBO

• Urgent real-estate questions

Right: 1810 sea captain’s house in Greenport, asking 459K

Now Domino is Falling!

DOMINO MAGAZINE IS FOLDING, and I am devastated.  Hard on the heels of Cottage Living, my other favorite magazine is ceasing to publish.  Why why why why WHY??!!!???

As if it wasn’t enough to lose Cottage Living, Country Living, O at Home, the infant Blueprint — not to mention HG — now this lively, original, and inspiring magazine, that just made you want to go re-arrange furniture and paint a wall pink, is no more.

I never subscribed, because I just couldn’t wait to receive it in the mail if there was any chance of finding it at a newsstand a day or two earlier.

Domino was fun and and unpretentious — they never shied from IKEA furniture, if it was used well — and they featured mostly old houses, often in Brooklyn. In the February ’09 issue (March ’09 will be the last), there’s a 1930s brick row house in Brussels, Belgium; a gingerbread Victorian in New Orleans; and a couple of L.A. bungalows.

A few months back, irresistibly, they featured Chase Booth’s three-week makeover of a dank ’70s ranch with an acoustical tile ceiling in Columbia County, and made it look GREAT.

Is the economy really THAT bad?

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From today’s mediabistro.com: Conde Nast to Fold Domino (UnBeige)
Conde Nast is folding Domino, the young “Shopping Magazine for Your Home” launched in April of 2005. A final March issue will be published, and Dominomag.com will be shuttered. “This decision … is driven entirely by the economy,” said Conde Nast president and CEO Charles Townsend. BusinessWeek: Domino and the folly of the magazine spin-off. NYO: A spokeswoman said Domino editor Deborah Needleman and publisher Beth Brenner would both leave the company, but that some staff would be given new jobs at Conde Nast. NYP: Though the upscale shelter magazine was a money loser, Newhouse’s decision caught insiders and outsiders by surprise.

FSBO: 1905 Catskills house $250K

My Boerum Hill neighbors are selling their very attractive 100+ year-old Arts and Crafts style house  in Tannersville, N.Y., about 2-1/2 hours from NYC.

Once part of the Onteora colony, a hotbed of artists and writers, it has 4BR, 2 baths, a fireplace and a screened porch, on 1.5 acres of wooded land.  Great for hikers and skiers; Hunter Mountain is only 5 miles away.

Asking price is $250K; taxes are under $2,000/year.

For more info: Melissa Zexter, 718 858 6569 or mzexter@aol.com.

Colgate Lake is 3 miles away.

Tannersville has quite a colorful history.

“Settled shortly after the Revolution, Tannersville was a raucous place, filled with unshaven, two-fisted, hard-drinking men who worked in the tannery by day and partied hard at night in the frontier-like structures that sprang up to accommodate their trade. 1846, however, saw the collapse of the tanning business and the gradual rise of the summer resort trade, which reached its peak in 1882 when the railroad came to Tannersville.

With the railroad came New York’s glitterati…Tannersville came to be the center of the private parks, where wealthy and cultured people built substantial cottages…By 1890, Tannersville was a veritable who’s who of artists, writers, and scholars.” – Catskill Mountain Foundation

Please note: I am not a real estate broker and have no financial interest in the sale of this or any property mentioned on this blog.  I just like spreading the word about unique historic properties on the market, and what I believe are solid investment opportunities.

Brooklyn Eye Candy: Baths

Retro rules in these soulful Brooklyn bathrooms.  Whether these sinks and tubs are new or old doesn’t matter.  They look old; that’s what matters.

Above: Zen-like in Prospect Heights, with a deep soaking tub and square sink set on an old Chinese cabinet. Original parquet floors are warmer than tile; red walls and shoji-like window treatment play up the Asian theme. Design: Caroline Beaupere

Left: Classic in Boerum Hill.  The claw foot tub is original (it’s always easier to leave those in place and have them re-glazed). The new tile floor has an unusual herringbone pattern.

Below: The marble sink and old door (as well as flooring, windows, and almost everything else in this Clinton Hill House) came from Moon River Chattel in Williamsburg. Design: DK Holland