The Edo Grill is the latest in a line of intriguing sculptural grills from Kalamazoo Grills. The design is based on the yakitori carts of Japan where skewered meat is cooked on a hot grill. The Edo has a simple zen form when not in use. The two steel panels of the top open to reveal the 18" x 24" grilling surface and controls and create ample counter space to each side. There are two control zones with a total of 50,000 BTUs and the fuel tank is concealed in the base of the grill (iquid propane is standard; natural gas is an option). It has hidden casters for ease of movement. The base price is $7,495.
One thing I noticed when I was in Austin in March is just how much condo construction is going on.One of the most attractive condo building that is already completed is the 5 Fifty Five, a building of 99 residences ranging from approximately eight hundred to over five thousand square feet. There are just five residences left for sale in the building. This one is a two-bedroom, the last one available on the 31st floor.
The 5FiftyFive is above the Hilton Hotel but there is a private, secured entrance and elevators for residents as well as separate parking from hotel guests, access to hotel room service and 24-hour lobby attendant and 24-hour room service available. Residents can also join the Tower health club which includes the eighth floor rooftop pool and hot tub as well as a fitness center and spa treatments available.
This unit also has a private rooftop cabana. Details include granite counters, travertine tile, bamboo flooring and floor-to-ceiling windows to take in the view. The unit is two stories and includes a large living room with a wall of bookshelves and a dramatic staircase. It is listed at $1.795 million.
If you've ever wanted to be part of a Guinness World Record you might want to check out one of the many pubs across England in the JD Wetherspoon group on May 21. The British pub chain is holding a free wine tasting on May 21 at 6p.m. hoping to get the record for the world's largest synchronized wine tasting. We aren't talking a great vintage here, they are offering free 1.7-ounce servings of Fetzer Coldwater Creek Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Grigio or white Zinfandel but it might be fun to be part of such a huge undertaking.
His appeal is rather lost on me but scruffy young actor Josh Hartnett has been chosen as the face of Emporio Armani Diamonds for Men, the latest men's fragrance by Giorgio Armani. The new scent will be unveiled in June during the Spring Summer 2009 Men's Fashion Week in Milan and will be on sale worldwide starting in August. Armani is quoted as saying that Hartnett has "a charm and charisma that is magnetic. His individuality, allure and nonchalant way of being are all qualities which inspired me in the creation of this new fragrance." The face for the female version of Emporio Armani Diamonds is Beyonce Knowles.
Imari porcelain is one of the most striking styles of Japanese porcelain. The style originated circa 1616 in the city of Arita and the porcelain ware was distributed to Japanese locations through the northern Kyushu port of Imari. The traditional color palette for Imari porcelain is very vivid with an underglaze of cobalt blue, and overglaze of iron red and details in gold paint. Sometimes green and yellow polychrome enamel colors were also used as accents. The rich ornamental look of Imari porcelain is reminiscent of the brocading of Japanese textiles. Next month, Flying Cranes Antiques (located in galleries 55, 56 and 58 in The Manhattan Art and Antiques Center, 1050 Second Avenue at 55th St - NY, NY 10022), will feature a display of Japanese Imari porcelains. Exhibited for sale will be rare forms executed in the rich palette characteristic of the ware. The Flying Cranes Antiques Imari porcelain collection includes various forms: bottle shapes, vases, covered jars, foliate plates dating circa 1850-1880. The cost range for the exhibition is in the $800 to $15,000 with many pieces in the $1,000-2,500 range. Shown here is one of the exhibition pieces - a Japanese Imari porcelain shell-form plate (19th Century - Circa 1850-1880 which has a price of $2,200.
BootJack Ranch is one of of the most expensive ranches we've seen in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. This ranch is located in the southern San Juan Mountains and ranges over 3,100 acres of meadows, forests, lakes and streams. The main house is a 13,800 square foot residence made of rustic logs, timber and stone. The home is decorated in classic Western luxe with including a dining room fixture shaped like a canoe and fireplace screens that feature the ranch brand.
The property includes multiple guest cabins, a separate lodge, offices and manager's housing that can accommodate over 50 guests. The most extravagant feature on this property is the 12,000 square foot spa and aquatic center that seems more like a resort pool than one for private use. The ranch is a private residence but has also hosted concerts sponsored by Music in the Mountains and a retreat for missionaries and business leaders. This amazing expanse is listed at $88 million.
Former NBA player and popular sports analyst Charles Barkley might want to steer clear of the gambling tables for a while. Barkley has spoken of his love of gambling before, in a 2006 interview he estimated that he's lost $10 million. Now his love of games of chance has landed him in hot water, Wynn Las Vegas filed a lawsuit in District Court on Wednesday saying Barkley owes $400,000 in gambling chits from last year. The casino has asked the Clark County district attorney's bad check unit to open a criminal investigation. Barkley will be given the chance to make restitution and avoid being charged with a felony. The lawsuit shows that the four $100,000 gambling markers date back to October.
The big wow from Sotheby's contemporary art sale on Wednesday, was the record price set for a Francis Bacon. His "Triptych, 1976" sold for $86.281 million setting a record for postwar art and topping the estimate of around $70 million. Sotheby's had their best night in their nearly 300-year history bringing in a total of $362 million, which bested the $348.2 million haul from Christie's just the night before. While at the Christie's sale a Mark Rothko painting went for over $50 million, at this sale a similar painting went unsold. Seventeen other artists also set record including Robert Rauschenberg, who died this week. His "Overdrive" sold for $14.6 million. Takashi Murakami's amusing sculpture "My Lonesome Cowboy" went for $15.16 million which is rather amazing considering his previous record for $2.7 million. At the sale 87 percent of the 83 lots were sold and the sale exceeded the high presale estimate of $357 million. Fine art spending is alive and well, if there's a fall coming, well, inevitably there will be one, it seems it won't be for a while yet.
I would have taken bets that Donald Trump wouldn't get his $100 million price for the home he's been trying to sell in Palm Beach, Florida for two years but I would have lost. The Palm Beach Post reports that Trump has sold the property he bought in 2004 from Abe Gosman for his desired price. Trump bought the home for $41.35 million and spent another $25 million in a renovation headed by Kendra Todd, winner of the third season of The Apprentice. He first put it on the market for $125 million which made it the most expensive home for sale in the U.S. but even Trump knew that price was optimistic and predicted three years ago that it would go for $100 million.
The home has nine bedrooms, a ballroom and a conservatory as party of its 62,000 square foot expanse. It also has a 48-car garage. Believe it or not, the unnamed buyer might tear down the huge mansion and subdivide. The waterfront property has been a prized piece of land for over 100 years and has the current house, Maison de L'Amitié, was only built in 1990. The property is appraised at $58 million by the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser's Office, meaning the 2007 tax bill at $980,033, is higher than the price of many homes in America. Trump's sale comes after a rash of big home sales in Palm Beach including Jones Apparel Group founder Sidney Kimmel who recently sold his home in the area for its $81.5 million list price.
I don't have great pictures or a lot of details on this one but it's special enough to cover based on size alone. This is the home of the Craven family, who owns Craven Original, a company that creates fine home gardening products and pottery. The home is an Italian-style villa on a whopping 1,410 acres at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in a small town north of Atlanta, Georgia. There are currently seven homes on the property. It took the Craven family 28 years to collect the property which is also home to 850 cows, 450 of which have calves. There are 20 barns and sheds for hay storage. The property includes miles of fencing and gates spread out over three counties. The land also includes five ponds and three miles of Chandler Creek that could maintain a 250 acre lake to produce power and water for municipalities. The land itself is zoned for 2400 plus homes, golf course, retail center or can be left as a horse and cattle ranch.
The main home is 18,000 square feet and is built on a grand scale with 16 to 32 foot ceilings and 317 arches and a 540,000 artistically laid brick, tile roof, two eight-foot by 16-foot chandeliers in the great hall. All the architectural details such as cupolas, balustrades, fountains and statues were sculpted and cast by Craven Original. Much of it such as the ironwork was manufactured by members of the Craven family. I'm told that the property is appraised at $49 million, but is available for $31 million.
This Arizona auciton isn't as lavish as the one of million dollar homes I covered a few weeks back but it's another real estate discount. Trammell Crow Residential has announced the auction of the Quarter Condominium Residences at Westgate City Center in Glendale, Arizona. Up for purchase are 35 two and three-bedroom townhouses. The Quarter at Westgate City Center has two resort-style swimming pools and heated spas, shaded ramadas with natural gas grills and a fitness center. A clubhouse for residents includes a kitchen, custom-designed indoor/outdoor fireplace, WiFi access, and a four-panel flat-screen TV wall.
The townhouses are part of the $1.5 billion Westgate City Center which will have 6.5 million square feet of commercial, retail, hotel and residential space including access to NFL and NHL games at two arenas, an AMC Westgate 20 Theatre, and restaurants like Bar Louie and Fox Sports Grill. The auction will take place on Sat., June 7 at 1:00 p.m. at the JW Marriott at Desert Ridge, located at 5350 East Marriott Dr., Phoenix, Arizona. Minimum bids for the townhouses available at auction will start at $195,000, which is approximately 35 percent below the highest previous asking price Two-bedroom townhomes had previous asking prices of up to $485,321, and three-bedroom townhomes had previous asking prices of up to $552,520.
The economy may be slumping but you wouldn't know that from the numbers being racked up at Christie's. The auction house rang in strong numbers on Tuesday night for their spring Contemporary Art Auction which my colleague, Jared Paul Stern mentioned earlier this month. The NY Times reports that there were often only a couple of bidders on each piece but the total haul of $348.2 million falls neatly between the low estimate of $282 million and the high of $398.6 million. The majority of the buyers were American but the Russians were also out in force. The top lot was Rothko's No. 15 which sold for $50.4 million. A similar Rothko is set to be auctioned off tonight at Sotheby's. Lucian Freud's painting Benefits Supervisor Sleeping brought in $33.6 million setting a new record for a Freud sold at auction and giving him back the record of being the living artist with the most expensive work sold at auction (Jeff Koons claimed the title last November).
Perhaps the most interesting lot was the one you can live in. The Kaufmann House, in Palm Springs, Calif., a classic Richard Neutra home sold for $16.8 million including commission. The mystery buyer also purchased a plot of land adjacent to the property for $2.1 million.
Little kids have Build-A-Bear stores but where can older girls go to create something distinctive? This summer in Beverly Hills, two Hollywood wives, Elizabeth Wiatt and Jamie Tisch are launching Fashionology LA, an interactive clothing store for girls age 7-14. Using touchscreen displays, girls can pick different themes such as Juku, Pop, Rock, Malibu, and Peace, each of which have their own images, and then customize a T-shirt or dress or pants adding on charms and pins for a one-of-a-kind garment. Once the piece is finished the girl steps on to a stage where she models the creation for a camera. The image will be shown in the store on a 70" LCD screen and will be emailed to her. The first store will open in June and there are plans for nationwide expansion. Seems like a natural spot to have tween birthday parties.
If you want a lot of space for your dollar the Midwest is often the best place to be. Check out today's home in Hartland, Wisconsin. This mansion has 18,000 square feet of space including a home theater, seven bedrooms and heated floors that include marble, bamboo and slate. The home is wired for the latest in state-of-the art technology and also has a 17th Century wood panel fireplace from England that flows into the gourmet kitchen with granite counters. Outside there is a sports court, a nine-car garagae, indoor and outdoor pools and fountains. It is listed at $6.75 million.
Great food always benefits from great scenery, so I can only imagine how dinner is at L'Andana, Chef Alain Ducasse's Inn in the Maremma region of Tuscany, Italy. The property is located in Tuscany's hills and groves and has 33 guest rooms, a Michelin-starred restaurant Trattoria Toscana, a 6,000 square foot ESPA spa, three pools, tennis court, /opportunities for yachting excursions, horseback riding and other jaunts through the scenic countryside. When it opened in 2004, the inn was named to Travel + Leisure's list of hot new places to stay. Even the reviewers at Trip Advisor have found little to complain about.
What goes perfectly with Tuscan food and Tuscan scenery? Tuscan wine of course. This year they are offering the Super Tuscan experience (ranging from €3.052 – 3.658, low to high season) which includes three nights (with buffet breakfast each morning), and two days visit and wine tasting in the famous Tuscan Omellaia, Sassicaia, Michele Saita with Mercedes transfer and Tognoni in the small medieval village of Bolgheri as well as dinner for two at Trattoria Toscana. Due to the current exchange rate the inn has implemented a guaranteed dollar rate program, meaning regardless of the weakness of the dollar at the time of your vacation, L'Andana will honor the rate at 1.45.
His appeal is rather lost on me but scruffy young actor 
