REAL ESTATE PORN: BLACK DESERT HOUSE

The desert is always a stark setting for any modern architecture to stand out but Black Desert House was conceived to disappear as a mere shadow cast across the boulders. Situated in Yucca Valley, it offers the ultimate desert experience –immersion into the timelessness of the California desert panorama. From the looks of these pictures here, it’s in one of those architectural settings that make it impossible to take a bad picture. By day, it shelters like a cave with all of the modern conveniences and at by night it seems to disappear into darkness. The simple geometry of the design minimizes any distractions, while floor-to-ceilings walls eliminate indoor-outdoor distinctions. The sheltered entry courtyard opens to broad view terraces, at an elevation of over 4000 feet. On 2.5 acres, the gated residence has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and a pool and it’s on the market now, for what seems like a bargain price of $975,000.

IS THIS THE HAMPTONS' TINIEST OCEAN-FRONT BEACH HOUSE?

The Hamptons are THE premiere get away spot on the East End of Long Island and being “north of the highway” or “south of the highway” is a descriptive that says everything about your property. But for all of the most affluent, being beach front is next to impossible. Architects Harry Bates and Paul Masi had to brave a variety of quagmires over this ¼-acre lot, an investment property left vacant for decades which was ultimately declared to be in a protected wetland. The owners had to negotiate just to build even the smallest dwelling imaginable. Masi says:

“They fought that to the state supreme court.”

A legal judgment ultimately allowed the architects to construct on a footprint of 15 by 20 feet. Even more challenging, the structure had to be more than 6 feet above-grade but no more than 25 feet tall. The septic system and rainwater runoff were hidden in the front yard which was filled with sand and planted with beach grass. Floor to ceiling walls of glass let in the sun, bathing the living space with Long Island light. Every detail has been carefully thought out, from the Sonos sound system to the hidden Miele appliances to the custom indoor and outdoor lighting to the skylight topped lightwell that pierces through the house. It has an ocean view, beach rights an outdoor shower… and, the best part? With the Atlantic just 250 ft away, a access path directly to your own stretch of nearly private beachfront. Price; $1.65 million. Not cheap, but it’s hard to touch any sort of house on the ocean in this neck of the woods for any less than $5 million, no matter WHAT the condition or size. So, in some ways this a rare bargain for modernist Hamptons-obsessed beach lovers…

HOW MUCH IS NYC'S MOST EXPENSIVE APT. RENTAL? WOULD YOU BELIEVE $500,000 A MONTH?!

Last month I posted the deal of the century; an duplex on Minetta Lane in the West Village for $10 a month. Now here’s THE most expensive rental in New York City (by quite a lot.) The 39th floor of the Pierre Hotel, rents for $500,000 a month. Uh-huh, $6 million dollars a year. (As a comparison, one of the most expensive apartments in the city offered by Corcoran, on the market for $60 million, would cost you $290,000 a month for for mortgage, maintenance and taxes. Of course, you’d need to plop down $12 million…) The Pierre’s’s Presidential Suite (which is $20,000 a night) combines with other suites to form this full-floor, 4,786-square-foot, 6 bedroom, 6 bath, (no kitchen) suite. The major selling point of being at the Pierre are the over-the-top hotel amenities, which include twice daily maid service, an on-call physician, two restaurants (which, btw, you’ll need without a kitchen) butler service and a chauffeur-driven Jaguar. To say nothing of that lobby and view of the park. If this seems a bit steep, they also have a one bedroom there with a park view for $120,000 a month.

JOAN RIVERS LIVED LIKE A QUEEN IN THIS $28 MILLION PALACE

She was the Queen of Comedy, and good pals with Prince Charles so, it’s no wonder her East 62nd Street penthouse was a palace. Joan loved this regal, gilded apartment and said that “It’s what Marie Antoinette would have done, if she had money.” It’s is now on the market for $28 million. Rivers died after botched procedure 6 months ago, leaving a void not only in the entertainment world, but also on her condo board, where she served as President. The mini-mansion is 5,100 square feet with four bedrooms, five fireplaces, and a terrace, on three levels. The building is a seven-story Gilded Age gem designed in 1904 by Horace Trumbauer for millionaire John Drexel and Joan’s apartment was once the ballroom. Wonder if she’ll haunt the new owners design choices: 

“Oh, my God. Please! You are killing me! You are NOT putting that tacky rug in this room! Boo! No! Out!”