Bedford NY Real Estate | Robert Paul Talks Life in Bedford NY

Sometimes you just have to go for it. About a year and a half ago, Dabney Tompkins and Alan Colley moved from a condo in Portland to 388 square feet in rural Oregon. Their house, a  40-foot-high fire lookout , doesn’t have a street address or a bathroom. And the nearest neighbor is three miles away. “We still have that sense of ‘are we really doing this?'” Colley admits. When the couple decided to go off grid, they didn’t know a thing about solar power. But through trial and error — and lots of Googling — they figured out how to pump running water into their kitchen, power LED lights and have Internet using only 80 watts of electricity.  As for the bathroom, they “visit the bear” (aka an outhouse in the woods) or use one of three  alternative options designed for emergencies — or a few laughs . Through it all, Tompkins and Colley have tried to keep things in perspective. “Every time I think could I really do that...

Photo by Gail Albert Halaban via  Design Boom "I like to look into people's windows," declares New York artist  Gail Albert Halaban , whose latest  photo series  peeps into the apartments of Parisians. "I know it sounds kind of creepy. Many people may even think it's illegal," she continues in a  video  about her work, but "I am a friendly window-watcher." The photos, cinematic and intimate portraits recently published in her new book  Paris Views,  appear voyeuristic but are actually painstakingly stage-directed; Halaban has gained consent from all the parties she is seemingly spying on. The results are lovely, and, just like window-watching from a city apartment, hard to look away from. read more... http://curbed.com/archives/2014/11/04/gail-halaban-photography-paris.php

Photo by Koichi Torimura via Design Boom While many of us fret over the erosion of privacy, some of Japan's most radical architects continue to design homes that do away with it almost entirely. The country's latest very transparent urban dwelling is an all-white honeycomb-like stack of platforms called the S House. The bathroom is its only walled-off interior space. Step inside. >> Design Boom theorizes that the project "represents the simultaneous diversity and order that is ever present in our cyber lives." Yuusuke Karasawa Architects designed it so that the alternating rectangular platforms are connected by diagonal sections that line up with the crisscrossing lines in the facade. Aside from the bathroom, the only "room" that breaks out from the purposeful uniformity of the others is the kitchen. Take in more views of the project over at Design Boom. . read more..... http://curbed.com/archives/2014/10/13/s-...

Priciest Manhattan Listing | Cheapest Manhattan Listing

5 images <div class="gallery loaded"><a href="http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/06/25/how_much_for_a_garden_duplex_on_the_upper_west_side.php"><img src="http://cdn.cstatic.net/images/gridfs/53ab04b5f92ea1517b006c66/77987933.jpg" width="500" height="334"></a><br /><a href="http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/06/25/how_much_for_a_garden_duplex_on_the_upper_west_side.php" style="font-size: 9px; text-align: center;">Click here to view the full photogallery.</a></div> What: 2BR/2BA garden duplex next to Riverside Park, in the West 80s. Square Footage: 1,278 CC/Taxes: $2,342 What definitely looks like a recent renovation has left this duplex on the Far West Side looking a little confused, with a mixture of exposed brick and plain white walls that don't really seem to be cooperating with one another. It's impossible to ignore the apartment's good aspects,...

7 images <div class="gallery loaded"><a href="http://curbed.com/archives/2014/06/09/five-classy-offerings-from-highsociety-standby-marion-sims-wyeth.php"><img src="http://cdn.cstatic.net/images/gridfs/5395f7aef92ea14ee501bf89/1790721_2.jpg" width="500" height="375"></a><br /><a href="http://curbed.com/archives/2014/06/09/five-classy-offerings-from-highsociety-standby-marion-sims-wyeth.php" style="font-size: 9px; text-align: center;">Click here to view the full photogallery.</a></div> Though he designed some of America's most famous residences, including Doris Duke's Shangri-La in Honolulu, Marion Sims Wyeth is remembered alongside peers like Addison Mizner and Maurice Fatio as one of Florida's classic society architects. Naturally, the estates he designed still command pretty staggering sums, like the $42.9M that architect and philanthro...

U.S. housing starts rose but below market expectations and building permits fell in March, pointing to underlying weakness in the housing market that could persist despite improving weather. The Commerce Department said on Wednesday groundbreaking increased 2.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 946,000. February's starts were revised to show a 1.9 percent rise rather than the previously reported 0.2 percent fall. Economists polled by Reuters had expected starts to rise to a 973,000-unit rate last month. "Given the weather, housing is still disappointing," said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James in St. Petersburg, Florida. Compared to March last year, starts dropped 5.9 percent, the biggest decline since April 2011. While a brutally cold winter weighed on home building in December and January, activity has also been hampered by shortages of building lots and skilled labor as well as rising prices for materials. A report on Tuesday showed h...

First-Quarter Home Sales Spike In Westchester | The Chappaqua Daily Voice

During my 25 years as a designer, I have compiled a list of habits I’ve observed in the decorating and design world. Habits that I believe need to be broken. Many of these may have begun as good intentions — but we all know where that path leads! I’ve assembled 12 of those habits here. I’ve struggled with each and every one of them personally and feel I have come out on the other side a better designer for it. Although each lesson is valuable, in the hierarchy of habits to be broken, there is none more important than No. 12. Hugh Jefferson Randolph Architects Save to Ideabook Email Photo 1. Foyer neglect. Mama always said you never get a second chance to make a first impression. And she was right. Don’t let your entry hall fall prey to lack of attention. How to break this habit? Most of us with attached garages never use our foyers — and it shows. So use it. Showcase a favorite object that has a story behind it. This will immediately set a personal tone in your h...

When Housing Prices Become Fish Stories, the Economy Suffers | Chappaqua Real Estate | Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor

Since the dawn of time, humans have built shelters in the wilderness to protect them from storms and dangers lurking in the dark. Society may have changed, but the yearning persists -- with urbanites in particular seeking to escape the stresses of city life and rekindle their connection with nature. Increasingly, these little hideouts have evolved from simple shacks to sophisticated examples of ultra-compact architecture. Some of the most exquisite of these are featured in Rock the Shack , a new book spanning the world of beautiful bolt-holes, classy cabins and luxurious lairs. Squish Studio, Canada This sharp-edged studio in a breathtaking location in Canada's Newfoundland is part of a small artist community where painters, filmmakers, sculptors and other creators are chosen to spend between two weeks and four months. It's the brainchild of architect Todd Saunders , who wanted the buildings to act as beacons on the coastline: "I wanted the studios to ...

Move Inc. and the National Association of Realtors have filed a lawsuit against Zillow and former Move Chief Strategy Officer and realtor.com President Errol Samuelson for alleged breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and misappropriation of trade secrets. Samuelson unexpectedly resigned from Move and joined Zillow as the portal giant’s chief industry development officer on March 5. The complaint, filed today, comes as Zillow announced it had hired another prominent Move exec, Curt Beardsley , as its new vice president of industry development. Beardsley assumed Samuelson’s industry relations role at Move after Samuelson’s departure. Beardsley is not mentioned in the complaint. NAR subsidiary Realtors Information Network (RIN) and Move subsidiaries RealSelect Inc. and Top Producer Systems Co. are also plaintiffs in the suit. In addition to Zillow and Samuelson, the complaint names “Does 1-20″ as defendants. “At Move, we take our trade secrets and intellectual property ex...

17 Signs You Live in the Country | Chappaqua Real Estate | Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor

Chappaqua NY Weekly Real Estate Report 2/27/2014 Homes for sale 104 Median Ask Price $1,264,500.00 Low Price $469,000.00 High Price $19,900,000.00 Average Size 4297 Average Price/foot $363.00 Average DOM 103 Average Ask Price $1,677,196.00

50 Gramercy North NYC | Philadelphia Flyers Ed Snider | Chappaqua NY Homes | Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor

Fresh Food from Local Sources - January 23rd-29th, 2 014 Down to Earth Markets What's New and In Season This Week Apple and Sausage Pie Stone & Thistle Farm Chicken Stock Stone & Thistle Farm Decorated Cookies for your Valentine Meredith's Bread FREE French Baguette with purchase of bread loaf (Reg. $3.50) *Tell Al you read it here to receive free baguette* Orwashers Bakery Gluten Free Cookie Boxes Assorted Flavors Meredith's Bread Saffron-Infused Hummus Taiim Falafel Shack Shepherd's Pie Stone & Thistle Farm Click on a Market to see all vendor and event details... Mamaroneck Winter! Saturdays, 9:00 am-1:00 pm St. Thomas Episcopal Church 168 West Boston Post Road (at Mount Pleasant Ave) Headed to the city soon? Visit a D...

Mayor de Blasio to party with real estate | Chappaqua NY Real Estate | Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor

HomeFinder.com acquires Open Home Pro | Chappaqua Homes | Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor

Manhattan Real Estate Market Surging at Year’s End | Chappaqua NY Homes | Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor

Look at the average real estate company and how they’re using technology — it’s probably to complete a specific task or solve a specific problem. Think e-sign functionality for mobile signatures, or CRM for a full pipeline. That’s a great start, but homebuyers and sellers are skewing younger, are increasingly tech-savvy and are expecting more. They don’t want technology to be used in a one-off way. They want technology to be used in a way that not only makes the transaction process less painful, but also makes their lives easier. Plus, they want their experience to be personalized. To meet those expectations, real estate franchises need to think about where technology is headed.  No matter how innovative, exciting and fresh an idea or new application may seem, something even more innovative, more exciting and much fresher is right around the corner. It’s important to always look ahead, continue to innovate and ensure the greatest experience possible for homebuyers and sellers...