Lie Back and Think of England

Posted on June 4, 2013 by mayfairblog

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Nick Churton of Mayfair International Realty discovers an English country cottage worthy of the most enchanting fairy tale.

For many around the world thoughts of England often include big country houses – like the one in the TV show, Downton Abbey. Other thoughts are of tiny country cottages, painted pink with a thatched roof, roses growing round the door, cottage gardens with foxgloves and hollyhocks and perhaps a little pond at the front bounded with irises.

But are these thoughts the product of vivid and over-romantic imaginations helped on by the film industry? Well I have to tell you these cottages really do exist. And I can prove it. The county of Suffolk is on the eastern side of the UK. A couple of hundred years ago it would have been easier to reach Holland by sea, than London by road, from this part of the world. Which is why there are so many Flemish influences still to be seen. But this still largely rural county is also well known for its delightful and charming country cottages in the English style, many of them painted in what is known as Suffolk pink.

Close to the small town of Halesworth in Suffolk and tucked away down a narrow country lane – where few know of its whereabouts – is South Cottage. It has been standing, largely unaltered, for the past three hundred years – from about the time King James I was on the English throne. Time seems to have passed this cottage by – and time has always passed very slowly in this part of the world.

Here is a cottage that restores one’s faith in fairy tales – if one’s faith ever needed restoring. It is a pretty little place just as the stories suggest. No doubt it creaks a bit when night falls and the east wind blows, and it might not be as draught-proof or as spacious as a modern house. But when the dragonflies are on the wing, the irises are in flower and the summer sun makes the pond sparkle and dance this is a little piece of heaven – or England, which is another word for heaven.

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God v Man

Posted on June 1, 2013 by mayfairblog

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Nick Churton of Mayfair International Realty poses a difficult question in light of visiting one of the finest houses anywhere.

Serious questions need to be asked at Seafair, the outstanding Ocean Drive estate at Newport, Rhode Island: questions like, does the house make the location or the location make the house? Here, God put down the foundations and supplied the view. But man made a heavenly house that complements this incomparable location.

The entrance is over a magnificent and rugged 9-acre private peninsular which juts out jaggedly into Rhode Island Sound. It leads to one of the most attractive house frontages one could ever desire. But that is just the overture. The full symphony comes when one walks through this exquisite house to the rear. The restless sea is the orchestra. It provides a score to the living backdrop of surf, movement and drama. This is high opera living.

Seafair certainly is a musical house. Elton John and Billy Joel have both performed here at private celebrations. But it was built as a family house and in that it excels. The interior is divine with eight en-suite bedrooms. Outside is as wonderful, with an ocean-facing pool, expansive terraces and balconies, a carriage/pool house, tennis courts and garages. An additional three-bedroom residence is available. It is a Loire Chateau, a Parisian palace, and a jewel amongst many other jewels in Newport which somehow just seems to glisten a little brighter than most. It is a miracle of a house.

Once again Melanie Delman, at brokers Lila Delman, has brought another Newport classic to the market.  Why does she always get these prizes?  Because Newport runs in her veins and she is the ‘go to’ person for serious folk who are serious about this amazing town.

So, does God or man win at Seafair? One shouldn’t need to ask. It is God, inevitably. But, as the Duke of Wellington said after narrowly winning the Battle of Waterloo, ‘It was the nearest run thing you ever saw in your life’!

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Beyond A Joker

Posted on May 29, 2013 by mayfairblog

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Nick Churton of Mayfair International Realty visits a loft in Houston, Texas fit for a super-hero.

Only in America could a developer have the courage to build a serious apartment block as an hommage to Batman, call the building Gotham – and get away with it! Pedimented, gargoyled and columned, this building is a monument to modern American popular culture. But in the films the buildings of Gotham City are, brooding, brutal, pessimistic and dark, whereas this one is light, witty, optimistic and pink.

Up on the top floor is a penthouse as spectacular as it is airy. The lower floor of this duplex is vast with floor to ceiling windows that look over to the metropolis of Houston, Texas. This open plan area contains living, dining, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom areas. Then there is a spectacular balconied mezzanine floor, served by two staircases, that contains more bedrooms and bathrooms.

This is the coolest place. It’s a place for a star – in film, sport, rock music, business or any other field. This is hedonism in its residential form. It is a glorious realm in which to circulate, luxuriate and whatever-ate. It is outrageous, fantastic and breathtaking. But although perhaps comic in influence it is serious in intent – more Bruce Wayne than Joker. It is amazing – it could only happen in America, and perhaps only in Texas.

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Dixie Chic

Posted on May 29, 2013 by mayfairblog

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Nick Churton of Mayfair International Realty visits a home in Austin, Texas perfect for a musician, artist, entertainer and parent.

High in the hills to the west of Austin, Texas is a retreat of peace, silence and serenity. It is the sort of home which is perfect for someone with a busy schedule and a very loud day or night job.

Over the past few years this property has been a perfect haven for Martie Maguire of the country rock band, the Dixie Chicks. It has been a retreat from hectic tours and sell-out concerts. Without doubt Listener’s Hill revives and nurtures.

The hill top property comprises main house with 4 bedrooms, 3 separate guesthouses and a studio complex. The latter is fabulous – a two story building with state-of-the-art recording studio (all equipment included in the sale), dance studio, rehearsal space, chill out area, kitchen and enough closets to house the largest stage wardrobe of the most clothes-conscious rock chick. There is even a long gallery for a serious art collection.

When you need to let off steam a running track follows the boundary of this seven-acre property. A pool, 5 stall stables and menage complete a home which offers security, seclusion and sanity. In the land of Dixie this is very country chic – like the Chicks!

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Pentcastle

Posted on May 14, 2013 by mayfairblog

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Nick Churton of Mayfair International Realty considers a very special home in a magnificent stratigic position beside Newport Harbour, Rhode Island.

What do you get when you cross a castle with a penthouse? The answer is a pentcastle – especially when one adds a crenellated roof terrace that looks more Norman than now.

It is up on the roof of Beachbound near Newport, Rhode Island that this magnificent property really takes off. The commanding views are over Newport Harbour and Narragansett Bay. Between 1776 and 1778 part of the Royal Navy was stationed here during the American War of Independence. Today the fleet at anchor flies the stars and stripes rather than white ensigns and is made up of sleek racing yachts rather than not-so-sleek men-of-war.

Below the roof – or perhaps it should be termed, aftercastle – of this Peabody & Sterns designed building, and still with all those fine views, is a delightful suite of spacious rooms that include master bedroom, guest bedroom or den, custom fitted kitchen, dining area and marine living room. Outside, within the private estate, are Olmsted designed lawned gardens with specimen trees, a deepwater dock, boathouse and beach. Don’t bother to drive into Newport for great shops, eating and culture. In the summer it is easier and more agreeable to use the launch service that also attends the Newport yacht clubs. That is the great thing about Newport, land and sea work in perfect harmony.

Rather than heading off to New York in 1778, and to an ultimate defeat that would cost them a rather valuable colony, the British fleet might have been better off remaining in Newport. Nowadays that is exactly how lots of people feel about this wonderful city. I know I do. And I can’t think of a more exciting place to remain than in a pentcastle.

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Wains’ World

Posted on May 9, 2013 by mayfairblog
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Nick Churton of Mayfair International Realty gets in the mood for living in The Hamptons.

In the winter the Hamptons shoreline at Wainscott is moody. The marram grass bends low in the wild wind, the sand nips at one’s ankles and the sea angrily lashes the shore. It is the haunting scuddy grey mood this coastline has towards the end of one year and at the beginning of the next. It is a time for long walks in long coats. But in the long days of summer this world is benign and blue. The sea invites, the sand is warm underfoot and the grasses offer high, upright seclusion.  Above all here the contemporary oceanfront home, Wains South, peeks over the dunes like a trophy.  It is a trophy. It is a prize for anyone who wants to call this wonderful place home.

Wainscott stands between Bridgehampton and East Hampton in that area towards the tip of Long Island which is famous the world over for its easy lifestyle and glamorous residents. The hamlet was named after a village in Kent, England from which most of the early settlers in the area came, and which is immortalised in Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations.

Wains South stands in 2.3 acres with 315 ft of breathtaking beachfront.  Throughout the year this and houses like it are in terrific demand for vacation rentals which makes it not only a wonderful home but also a great investment opportunity.

It is also a great investment in family. As beach houses go this is state-of-the-art with five spacious bedrooms, an open kitchen, living and dining room – all with huge windows to make the most of the amazing seascape. Outside there is a large ocean view deck. If the sea is too salty for one’s swimming taste then there is a great pool with pool house and spa. This is a house on which lifelong memories are built.

Then there are the neighbours. There aren’t many close by. But those that are, are no doubt well worth knowing.  If ever one wanted one’s family to make good connections and rub shoulders with the right people then surely this is one of the best places in the world to do so.

Wains South is a beauty. Welcome to The Hamptons. Welcome to Wains’ World.

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The Real Deal

Posted on April 30, 2013 by mayfairblog
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Nick Churton of Mayfair International Realty takes a rare look at a master work in Millbrook, New York.

Nature doesn’t like architecture very much, even its own. But it likes human architecture even less. Nature endlessly erodes structures and features. Which is why old houses need looking after more than new ones. This is a snag comes when one prefers the appearance of older houses but not all the attendant upkeep. Then the answer is to find an architect who thinks the same way. In the UK one would go to the old master, Quinlan Terry. In the US one might choose the younger master, Gil Schafer, whose eponymous practice is based in New York City.

Houlihan Lawrence is now marketing one of Schafer’s superb houses, West View, in Millbrook, New York.  If you prefer living in a white box, with all of your possessions hidden away and only an Eames chair, artfully placed by a wall of glass, to sit on then West View may not be for you. There is of course great beauty in modernism. Yet it is not for everyone.

But look at West View. Just look at it. It is magnificent. It is a Greek revival villa with columned porticos and matching single storey wings in the Palladian style. It’s not a copy. But it is new – and thermally efficient. The plumbing and the electrics are state of the art. It isn’t draughty and it doesn’t let the rain in. It is as beautiful today as if it had been built two hundred and fifty years ago when trappers were paddling canoes up and down the nearby Hudson river, and naval ships belonging to a king who gave his name – George – to this style of architecture were anchored in New York Harbour.

This is not a pastiche. It is not pseudo-Georgian. It is genuine Georgian – in spirit, if not in origin. It is the evolution of an architectural style which happens to be one of the most enduring, successful and popular in design history. It is the creation of an exceptional house of quality and distinction in a place of singular beauty. It is classical house-building at its very best – a masterpiece by a master architect following a masterly tradition.

Gil Schafer recentely wrote a book called The Great American House. In all his creations he has put his drawing pen where his mouth is. He makes wonderful sense on paper and the execution of his ideas into buildings of great delight proves the point.  We are very fortunate to have Gil Schafer, and the buyer who will live in this incredibly lovely house with Hudson River and Catskill mountain views is very fortunate indeed.

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Boca Chanel

Posted on April 22, 2013 by mayfairblog

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Nick Churton of Mayfair International Realty visits an inspired house on the Boca Raton Riviera, Florida and receives a lesson in style.

The closets seem particularly important at 299 NE Spanish Trail, Boca Raton, Florida. Now this may seem strange when there are so many other features to thrill at this sumptuous and stylish palais sur la mer. They are all described very well indeed by Premier Estate Properties online, on video or in their excellent brochure.  Yet it is still hard to convey this special interior.  It has something of a Parisian grand salon about it. So grand that residents may feel the need to dress accordingly – hence the closets. The reception rooms look perfect for a grand soiree. The spiral staircase with its ornate ironwork suggests Art Nouveau Paris. One could half imagine Coco Chanel sitting elegantly on a step casting a critical eye over what the guests are wearing.

Boca Raton is a smart place for smart people – the sort of people who might wear Chanel. They are fortunate. The label is available at Neiman Marcus and Saks 5th Avenue in Boca Raton, and of course at the Chanel boutique in Worth Avenue, Palm Beach, just up the coast a bit.

French, Italian and even Moorish – it is difficult to pin down the exact style of this house. That is because it has its own style. Themes have been drawn from various sources. But there is great merit in that.  Coco herself did the same with her couture.

But if the house is Little Black Dress territory in the evening then the days are perfect for that blue and white striped Breton shirt and wide bottomed trousers, especially by the pool, the waterside loggia or a highly varnished classic yacht, were it to occupy the deep-water dock.

Back to those closets: in the privacy of the upper floors the chambre privée is a haven of quiet grandeur and romance, a place of sophisticated retreat and toilette.  Yes, Coco should have liked this house. She wouldn’t just have been close to her stores, she would have liked the luxury – as she once said, “Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury.”

299 NE Spanish Trail may not be exactly Coco Chanel but it certainly is Boca Chanel.

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Laird of the Manor

Posted on April 11, 2013 by mayfairblog

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Nick Churton of Mayfair International Realty considers a very special house and the legacy of two important Scottish architects.

Three individuals stand out in popularising the landscape and culture of Scotland in the late 18th and 19th centuries. They were Queen Victoria, the romantic poet Robbie Burns, and the historical novelist Sir Walter Scott.

Lesser known, but in some ways extremely influential for the built environment in Scotland at this time was the father and son architectural partnership of Andrew Heiton Senior and Junior. These two managed to catch the zeitgeist and translate this new public passion for Scotland into buildings which captured the romance and grandeur of this beautiful land.

It is not hard to imagine how. Heiton senior knew Sir Walter Scott personally and would have found himself at the heart of this popular movement. To begin with small industrial buildings and railway stations were their stock in trade. But increasingly designs for large country houses in the new Scottish baronial style rolled off their drawing boards. There were many wealthy industrial age clients prepared to pay to be at the forefront of this new fashion. These houses followed the lead of celebrated Scottish architect, Robert Adam, a century before. They were heavy, turreted, robust and masculine affairs made for hunting, shooting and fishing. But no less beautiful for that.

A fine example is Drumfork House, built by Heiton junior in 1878. Laid out over five storeys the house features fine rooms dominated by oak panelling, embossed ceilings and marble fireplaces. A bold Lochinvar would be most at home here.

Neither does Drumfork House disappoint in its location or sporting prowess.  Set in 747 acres in the glorious Perthshire countryside there are magnificent views over the Vale of Blackwater and half a mile of single bank salmon fishing on the Blackwater.

In many ways there is as much demand for these houses now as when they were built – and for all the same reasons. So if you hanker to be laird of all you survey now is your chance.

Scottish property specialists, Bell Ingram, are handling the sale. Not only can they sell it to you but they can handle alterations, manage the fishing and expertly run the entire estate if you wish. You couldn’t be in better hands.

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Join the Club

Posted on March 15, 2013 by mayfairblog

3751030_1Back in Newport, Rhode Island, Nick Churton of Mayfair International Realty views a house that punches way above its weight.

The Flower Cottage is a pretty nosegay of a house among the larger bouquets that are the mansions of Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island. These others are the big blooms of private houses in one of the finest, if not the finest, address in the US. In the past, owners of houses in this magnificent thoroughfare have included Gilded Age billionaires with names like Vanderbilt. Today these have been replaced by Silicon Age billionaires with names like Ellison.

And in amongst all this splendour is The Flower Cottage – as marvellous in its own way, and as historic, as any of its much larger neighbours. Originally this cottage was the headquarters of the Newport Botanical Society – they take botanical matters seriously in Newport. Later, the cottage was a florist’s shop. Today the name connects the house with its fragrant past.

The great thing for me, besides the charm of the cottage, is the location. The Flower Cottage sits on the corner of Bellevue and Leroy Avenues. It is a fortunate spot. The better elevation is on Bellevue Avenue but the front door is round the corner on Leroy – giving the property certain tax advantages. I have long held that it is better to have a smaller house in the best street rather than a larger house in a lesser location. That way the other houses lift the value of one’s own. So, if you are not engaging in a mine’s-bigger-than-yours competition, or are so wealthy that you have more money than the US Treasury, then owning The Flower Cottage is just about as good as it gets.

I recommend that instead of joining the public queues to visit the Gilded Age mansions in Bellevue Avenue, you call Lila Delman and arrange a private view of The Flower Cottage. It won’t take as long to look around as the others but then you won’t have to be as rich as a Vanderbilt to join a very exclusive club indeed.

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