Philadelphia | $1.3 Million
A 1769 brick townhouse with three bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms, on a 1,488-square-foot lot
This antique house is on a cobblestone street in the venerable Society Hill neighborhood. It is half a mile southeast of Independence Hall and Washington Square, half a mile southwest of the parks and cultural venues of Penn’s Landing on the Delaware River, half a mile south of the historic sites and art galleries of Old City and two blocks north of the commercially vibrant South Street Headhouse District.
Size: 2,848 square feet
Price per square foot: $456
Indoors: A cherry-red front door takes you into a hallway with cream-colored plaster walls and sage-green trim — colors found throughout the home. The floors on this level are replaced hardwood boards.
Pocket doors on the left open to a formal dining room that connects, at the rear, to the hallway. Behind it is a powder room with green floral wallpaper and a marble-topped vanity. Then comes a curving staircase, beyond which double doors open to an eat-in kitchen. The kitchen was updated in 2014 with ceiling-high cabinets with a ribbon of glass-fronted storage bins on top, granite countertops, a wide farmhouse sink and decorative wall tile. The elaborate suite of appliances includes double wall ovens, double dishwashers, a camouflaged Sub-Zero refrigerator with double freezer drawers and a wine cooler. French doors inset into a wall of windows open to a large backyard patio paved in bluestone.
The living room is on the second floor, with a fireplace that has been retrofitted to burn gas, a pair of ceiling-high windows facing the street and a crystal-beaded chandelier. Directly across the landing is a library with built-in shelving on three walls; a pantry with a sink, microwave oven and wine cooler; and access through French doors to a conservatory with plumbing and electricity. The floorboards on the upper levels are restored antiques.
A staircase within the library takes you up half a flight to a recently renovated marble bathroom with a walk-in shower. The next half-flight leads to a guest room with double closets, built-in shelving and a gas fireplace surrounded by custom contemporary trompe l’oeil tiles in the delft style.
The master bedroom is at the front and is reached by the main staircase. Along with its own fireplace and built-in storage, it has a private bathroom with a combined tub and shower, and marble-tile accents.
Two adjacent dormer rooms, one with a nonfunctional fireplace, are on the third floor. A laundry room and a very large storage room are in the basement.
Outdoor space: The level, paved backyard includes an outdoor kitchen with a refrigerator and grill, a gas-burning firepit and a fountain.
Taxes: $17,013
Contact: Ame Goldman, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, Fox & Roach Realtors, 215-868-3532; amegoldman.foxroach.com
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Denver | $1.275 Million
An 1898 brick house with four beds and three bathrooms, on a 5,663-square-foot lot
Less than five minutes east of Cheesman Park on foot, this property is also within walking distance of City Park (home of the Denver Zoo), and Congress Park, with its diverse sports facilities. The area is well endowed with restaurants, cafes, bars, shops and yoga studios. Denver’s downtown business district is two miles northwest.
Size: 4,229 square feet
Price per square foot: $301
Indoors: The entry vestibule leads into a stair hall with wood floors, mahogany wainscoting and large stained-glass windows. The rooms radiating off the hall include a study with a built-in bar cabinet ornamented with leaded glass; a living room with a bay window and a gas-burning fireplace; a dining room with a built-in china cabinet and a gas-burning fireplace that has a mirrored overmantel; and a kitchen reached by a small hallway, with a powder room off to the side. All of these rooms are in direct communication with their neighbors, and many of their moldings are decorated with a garland motif.
The kitchen, renovated in the last decade, includes modern-style cabinets in pale wood, with black-and-white quartz countertops and backsplash. A glass-walled addition with a seating area flows out to a deck.
On the second floor, two bedrooms with matching fireplaces are separated by a Jack-and-Jill closet with built-in drawers and a sink. A third bedroom incorporates a windowed walk-in closet. The two bathrooms on this level are next to each other; both have walk-in showers, and one includes a free-standing tub.
The fourth bedroom is on the third floor, with bookshelves flanking a dormer window at one end, and leaded glass filling a fenestration at the other. The basement contains a laundry room and a brick-walled wine storage room.
Outdoor space: An iron gate encloses the landscaped front yard. The fenced backyard includes a koi pond with a waterfall, a deck, a paved patio and a three-car garage.
Taxes: $5,838 (2020, based on a tax assessment of $80,946)
Contact: Tim Aberle, Thrive Real Estate Group, 720-483-1080; listing.virtuance.com
Austin, Texas | $1.299 Million
A 1997 postmodern house designed by Michael Graves, with four bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms, on a 0.19-acre lot
In 1996, Life magazine published plans for a home designed by Michael Graves, one of a group of “dream houses” by distinguished architects. An admirer built the house four miles north of downtown Austin. It is being sold by its second owner.
The stucco-finished house is in the Rosedale neighborhood, about three miles northwest of the University of Texas campus and convenient to several medical centers. The area contains both established homes and new builds, including the Grove, a mixed-use development a mile west of this property. Nearby paths lead to a creek.
Size: 3,151 square feet
Price per square foot: $312
Indoors: A rotunda with a remote-controlled sculptural fountain is the first thing you encounter upon entering. Straight ahead is a gallery-like hallway with niches for displaying artwork. It leads to a living room with a 20-foot ceiling and a baronial wood- and gas-burning travertine fireplace inset into a wall of glass. A wine bar and cabinets that disguise media equipment are among the built-ins. The flooring here and throughout much of the main level is polished, stained concrete.
Turning left from the galley takes you to the kitchen, an expansive room with pale cabinets topped in granite, and luxury appliances, including a double Viking wall oven and gas cooktop with a grill. The kitchen flows into an office area for two, with a long, anchored desk.
To the right of the entrance is the master suite: a carpeted bedroom with an illuminated tray ceiling and glass-block windows, and a travertine bathroom with classical columns, gold-toned hardware, two separate vanities, a walk-in shower and a jetted tub.
A leaded-glass window is embedded in the circular landing on the second floor, above the fountain, and a skylight is positioned directly overhead. Wrought-iron railing surrounds the stained glass as well as a portion of the open landing that cantilevers over the living room, creating an interior balcony. Three additional bedrooms with wall-to-wall carpet and two full, shared bathrooms faced in travertine are on this floor. One of the bedrooms, which belonged to a child, has a colorful jungle mural on one wall. There is also a flex space that could be used as a fifth bedroom.
Outdoor space: A door near the living room fireplace walks out to a columned rear patio surrounded by gravel. A fenced side yard with gravel could be turned into a dog run or a garden. The opposite side of the property is paved and used for parking up to eight cars. There is also a detached, two-car garage that has been plumbed for an upstairs accessory unit.
Taxes: $20,370
Contact: Salena Gutierrez, Coldwell Banker Realty, 512-415-7897; coldwellbankerhomes.com
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Source: | This article originally belongs to Nytimes.com
