Category Archives: New York City

Dallas Designer Extraordinaire Dan Nelson Shares His Second Home in New York City with One Chipper Chick

Written by Candy Evans on July 25, 2012

Dan Nelson is a Dallas-based designer and president and owner of Vision Design, which he joined in 1991, was named President of in 1992, and then just bought the place outright in 2003. His roster of New York City and Dallas clients is a “who’s who” : The Crescent, The Mansion, Manhattan’s 21 Club, and some tony local clients, too, like Pat and Charles McEvoy (Pat is never NOT on the Best Dressed list thingee and and chairs almost every charity in town); Becky and Mike Casey, among others. Dan shared his second home with us, which he just returned from: 10 Park Avenue in New York City. “It was hotter there than it was here,” he tells me. I know — New York is a blast in the summer but it can be way hotter than Dallas with all that humidity. The pied a terre is about the size of a hotel room, and most of the furniture was created by Dan’s talented wife, Chipper. The artwork above the console is a Henri Cartier Bresson photograph. Home away from Dallas home is in a pre-war building (more desireable in NYC, they have more character) in the Murray Hill area and is about 450 Sq. ft. So small, in fact, it’s known as a “studio”.

Guess Who’s Buying Up Vacation Homes Like There’s No Tomorrow? The Rich!

Written by Candy Evans on June 16, 2012

Those of us in real estate know that when the housing market plummets, vacation places plummet the most. Second homes are most often discretionary purchases you wait on until you feel flush with cash.

Posted in Beach Homes, Economy, emerging real estate markets, financing a second home, Florida homes, national news stories affecting second homes, neighborhoods, New York City, On the Market, Private Residence Club, Real estate market news, real estate taxes, Second home demographics, Second home trends, Second homes and taxes, Second Shelters, travel to second homes | Tagged California, Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas Telluride Col Lake Tahoe Naples Fla, National Association Of Realtors, Palm Springs, real estate | 1 Comment

Hudson Valley Getaway Two Hours From NYC, Pool, Ski, Views: Less Than $300,000

Written by Candy Evans on July 20, 2011

This is what I remember second homes being like when I grew up, and Lake Geneva, Wisconsin was loaded with these treasures. This is in the covetd Hudson River Valley of upstate New York. Check out this manicured jewel that a friend put on the market about a week ago. It’s a perfect weekend getaway only two hours from New York City, five miles to Hudson’s famed Warren Street, with in-ground heated pool (a must in this climate, trust me) on five acres. Cathedral ceiling in spacious living area and brick walled fireplace with open kitchen has mid-century vibes. The home is fun for entertaining, and simple to maintain. Swim all summer, ski all winter — the slopes are 15 minutes away. There’s two bedrooms, one bath (who really needs more in a second home?), a garage, pool house, and out building.

Posted in New York City, Second home trends, Second Shelters | Tagged Hudson River Valley, Lake Geneva Wisconsin, Midcentury, second homes, Summer Ski, upstate NYC second homes, Vacation Home Ownership, Weekend Getaway | Comments Off

A Perfect Second Home in New York City: The Paramount Hotel

Written by Candy Evans on July 12, 2011

We are going to feature very select hotels here on SecondShelters, because more hotels are becoming second homes, some offering CondoHotel deals as well as residences. Two weeks ago, I was in New York City, where I have had my share of negative hotel experiences. Hint: you smell Febreeze, there’s a reason. But I finally found the most perfect hotel in New York City if you want to be in the middle of Times Square and simply walk across the street to a theater. I’m talking 46th Street just a bit east of Broadway. Location with a capital L but also, once inside, a complete peaceful oasis from the NYC jungle with a huge Texas plus to make Dallasites feel right at home: interior furnishings by our very own Cantoni. Continue reading “A Perfect Second Home in New York City: The Paramount Hotel” »

Posted in Designer's Corner, Famous Architects, House Candy, New York City, Private Residence Club, Second home trends, Second Shelters, Urban second homes | Tagged Broadway Location, Ian Shrager, Liza Minelli, Paramount Hotel, Philippe Starck, Starck Bathrooms, Yoko Ono | 5 Comments

Did Real Estate Get John Wiley Price in Hot Water?

Written by Candy Evans on June 28, 2011

WFAA-TV is reporting that John Wiley Price has doubled his real estate portfolio in the last 12 months. This is Price’s home in North Oak Cliff. According to some Dallas County records digging by Channel 8, Price has been buying up a lot of property in and around his North Oak Cliff home during the last year. His personal financial statements report no gifts, says WFAA, which means, I guess, how did he manage to buy $748,000 worth of property by his lonesome? I’ll say this: it’s a damn good time to buy real estate. Looking at DCAD, Price owns these seven properties: his home at 406 East 5th Avenue, valued by the county at $144,760. Then he owns some recently purchased commercial land at 715 (CLOSED 8/10/10), 621 (CLOSED 8/12/10) and 619 North Marselis (CLOSED 1/5/11), and another at 7001 Graby Niblo Road. Price also owns two homes on East 5th Ave. – 406 (where he lives) and a 2580 square foot number at 619 built in 1916. Curiously no transfer date is given or listed in DCAD. Also did not see that address in MLS. Private sale?

Posted in CandysDirt.com, Dallas real estate news, New York City, Second Shelters | Tagged Dallas County Records, Damn Good Time, Dcad, John Wiley Price, Marselis, Personal Financial Statements | 7 Comments

HGTV’s Vern Yip Loves Second Homes

Written by Candy Evans on May 23, 2011

I caught up with Vern Yip, star of HGTV’s way popular design shows, when he popped in to visit I.O. Metro up near the Dallas Galleria last week. Yip has a new partnership with the Little Rock, Arkansas-based store that offers a wide variety of stylish, sleek but hip, good-looking and comfortable home furnishings at most affordable prices and a “made in America” stamp/tag. Yips fans were busting down the door, first in the Allen store, then at the Galleria location. Many brought design dilemmas — and he was so gracious! Yip has formed a new alliance with I.O., will be seen in advertising campaigns and is offering “Vern’s Picks” throughout the stores — these all items Yip has selected as design must-haves.

Posted in Celebrity Homes, Designer's Corner, New York City, Second home demographics, Second Home furnishings, Second home trends, Second Shelters | Tagged Advertising Campaigns, Dallas Galleria, Design Dilemmas, I.O. Metro, Old Furniture, Stain Resistant Fabrics, Vern Yip | 2 Comments

Second Homes Real Estate Update: Mid Century Trailer Had Texas Touch: Brown Armadillos!

Written by Candy Evans on March 14, 2011

Update: My friend Samantha tells me more about her grandparents’ amazing Kingston, NY home:

“The kitchen is a box off of that living room they showed (below). It has the ugliest wallpaper ever (brown armadillos – I think) with very outdated cabinets. The washer and dryer are in the kitchen as well. I am positive that the new owners had to put in new appliances as well – especially the stove (my grandmother had dementia late in life and burned the crap out of the stove and burners). The bedrooms overlook the back yard. All have big windows and the same outdated cabinets. It does appear that the boys (as my mother calls them) did update the patio – which is very nice. There are two bathrooms – one green that has a shower stall and linen closet and the other brown that had the bathtub.”

Posted in Celebrity Homes, national news stories affecting second homes, New York City, Second Shelters | Comments Off

Second Home House Porn: Mid Century Mod Trailer in the Sky, Not a Money Pit

Written by Candy Evans on March 11, 2011

This home is in Kingston, New York, in the Hudson River Valley, and was just written up in the New York Times. I’m writing about it because a) it is a second home for a NYC couple and b) it was built in 1958 by the grandparents of a friend who grew up in the area but now lives in California. They were the “meticulous couple” mentioned in this article. My friend, Samantha, says all that is missing is the Day-Glo white Christmas tree and — oh yes — she also says she has never heard it referred to as the Jetson’s House. The home is in a lovely neighborhood and the mid-mod design makes for easy maintenance, which can be a real pain when you own multiple homes. (Maintaining one drives me nuts!)!

Posted in national news stories affecting second homes, New York City, Retiring in Style, Second Shelters | Tagged Dayglo, Drainage Problems, Friend Samantha, Hudson River Valley, Kingston New York, Kingston NY, second homes, vacation homes, White Christmas | 2 Comments

Second Homes in New York State About to be on Fire Sale

Written by Candy Evans on February 15, 2011

Having a second home in New York City or state may be more expensive now than ever. For those with places in the city, the state Taxation Department will require state residents who own second homes in New York City to report the number of days they spend in the city, which will likely result in more audits for commuters. Albany, you see, wants that New York City income tax. Don’t think you are off the hook if you own a home in, say, the Hamptons, but live in Connecticut. In January. a New York tax appeals tribunal affirmed a decision that a New Canaan, Conn., resident who worked in Manhattan and owned a Long Island home, still owed the state an additional $1 million. The million is taxes on income the resident, John Barker, and his wife earned outside of New York, plus interest and penalties. Of course, Mr. Barker already was paying New York state taxes on income he was earning in the state.

Posted in Beach Homes, national news stories affecting second homes, New York City, Real estate market news, Second home trends, Second homes and taxes, Second Shelters | Tagged City Apartment, New York State Income Tax, own a second home in New York, Rockefellers, State Income Tax, Sticky Fingers, York States | 1 Comment

House Porn, New York City Style, Continued

Written by Candy Evans on January 18, 2011

I found this jazzy website showcasing 5 East 44th, and listening to it just reminded me of the good old days when properties could be sold for $1500 per square foot. (Ah, those were the days.) Also found out this building is one of the narrowest “slivers” in midtown, only 28 feet wide, designed by Alan Ritchie of The Office of Philip Johnson, which also designed the Urban Glass House at 330 Spring Street. Developer was Sam Suzuki of The Vintage Group. I wondered what was going on across the street: the Cornell Club. Here’s the fun stuff: the site once was occupied by Canfield’s Gambling House, which was closed in an anti-vice campaign in 1901 by District Attorney William Jerome and, according to New York Songlines, a website, was “perhaps the most prestigious illegal joint of the Gilded Age.”