Most people make their housing choices based on practical concerns—expense, schools, and the like—so on vacation it might be nice to go with something a little off-the-wall to break from the norm. Agree? Well do we have some delightfully oddball rentals for you, starting with this treehouse nestled in the olive groves of Arlena Di Castro, Italy. Trading in the traditional rope ladder for a gracefully-curved stairway, this treehouse delivers its childish fantasy with a dose of grown-up luxury. There's space on the balcony to take breakfast, full electricity, and a cozy double bedroom for $458 per night.
At Home With Mitchell Gold
This week Washington Post home editor Jura Koncius checks out the 1,850-square-foot two-bedroom D.C. loft of Mitchell Gold of the furniture firm Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams and his partner, Tim. While not it's a showroom, writes Koncius, "of course the guy who co-owns a $100 million furniture business shops his own stores." [MGBWHome via @MGBWHome]
Design Trends; Entertaining History; Cultural Icons; More!
Photo of the very dragon-ified Harlich House in Dublin via Buzz Feed
· A bunch of shelter bloggers talk about the year's design trends. [Centsational Girl]
· Entertaining history: inspiration from the 1960s. [Apartment Therapy]
· Sunken dune design by Walter Thomas Brooks is a must-see. [Realtor.com]
· Photos of cultural icons snapped in their own beds. [Flavorwire]
· Homes for sale on the beach. [WSJ]
· Dennis Quaid is suing the seller of his Austin, Texas, mansion. {The Real Estalker]
· Cork furniture from Portugal. [NYT]
· Top design firms make palaces out of cans. [Curbed NY]
· Meet Dallas' talking house. [Candy's Dirt]
· California Home + Design is having some design awards, y'all. [CHD]
· An NYC boutique covers Eames loungers in fun fabrics. [T]
Lifestyles of the Rich and Richer
Over on Curbed Hamptons they're talking about obscenely expensive rentals again, this time ones in Montauk and Amagansett. Price range: $135K to $450K per season. [Curbed Hamptons]
Website of the Day: The Karen & Ellen Letters
OK, so we're not really sure where to begin. Basically, there's this brand-new blog that chronicles the adventures of two roommates (Karen and Ellen) who move from Seattle to Oakland, Calif., and proceed to torture their landlord (Mark) with a totally insane, bonkers, crazypants quantity (and quality) of letters. Called The Karen & Ellen Letters, the blog is posted anonymously not by one of the roommates themselves but by an anonymous person who claims to have received all these letters in the late-'80s for his/her 24th birthday. Whatever. Details, schmeetails. The meat of the letters is what's funny. There's one particularly inspiring example of the correspondence above; click over to Curbed Seattle for more.
· The Karen and Ellen Letters: Renters, Landlords, and Drama [Curbed Seattle]
· The Karen & Ellen Letters [official site]
Crazy, Tragic, and/or Outrageous Landlord-Tenant Feuds
On paper, landlords and tenants have plenty to disagree about. In the real world, those disagreements sometimes escalate to horrific levels. Next time you think about holding a grudge against a landlord or tenant take a look at these ultimate horror stories and think again:
1. ↑ If you happen to live in China, good luck. Preventing a developer from evicting tenants to make way for a new project in Shenzhen seemed like a good idea, until the Shenzhen Luosha Engineering Development Co. dumped more than 100 pounds of stinging scorpions on the property. According to the Shanghai Daily,
"A resident surnamed Chen woke up early Monday morning and discovered a scorpion crawling on his body. Chen turned on the light and was astonished to see the bedroom full of scorpions, which have a poisonous sting, local news portal Southcn.com reported yesterday. Chen woke up his family and together they captured several hundred scorpions in his apartment."
NYC's Priciest Rental
According to Streeteasy, the most expensive rental in NYC is a fancy-pants three-bedroom unit at the Waldorf-Astoria tower. How much, you ask? Just an easy, breezy, $135K a month. No big deal. [Curbed NY]
Artist Creates 3D "Toile de Jouy" Out of Porcelain Sculptures
Photo by Curbed NY editor Kelsey Keith
Last night Curbed NY editor Kelsey Keith stopped by the Pavilion of Art and Design at the Park Avenue Armory in NYC and snapped the above photo of a toile de jouy "wallpaper" created by ceramicist Beth Katleman. In fact, "Folly," as the piece is called, consists of hand-done porcelain sculptures of, as the Times points out, "elves and Barbies in lieu of frolicking aristocrats." Unbelievable.
· A Globetrotting Display With American Flair [NYT]
Here's a Photo of Shigeru Ban's Earthquake-Relief Housing
Photo via Architizer
Cardboard lord Shigeru Ban has been helping victims of Japan's March 2011 earthquake in various ways for a while now, and today Architizer brings word that the architect's three-story complex in Miyagi is complete and ready for move-in. Designed from corrugated-steel shipping containers, the temporary housing complex boasts minimalist, clean interiors, ample storage space, and even features such as balconies on some units. Eloquently put: "His noble housing project works within tight environmental and material constraints and yet also, by a seeming miracle, manages to extract an understated elegance that speaks intuitively to a human’s wants and needs." Good architecture for a good cause: definitely something we can get behind.
· A Look at Shigeru Ban's Minimalist Shelters For Earthquake Victims [Curbed National]
· Shigeru Ban's Earthquake Relief Shipping Containers Complete [Curbed National]
· Corrugated Steel Shipping Containers Do Double Duty as Housing [Curbed National]
· Shigeru Ban Tapped to Design Massive Cardboard Cathedral [Curbed National]
Popular
Rooms with a View: Luxe Vacation Rentals with Water Vistas
For the purposes of this round-up, the West Indian island of St. Barts has all the necessary equipment: tropical island, stylish crowd, and high-dollar real estate. This rental villa on Point Milou is sited at the edge of a rock outcropping and surrounded on three sides by the turquoise blue waters of the Caribbean. A swimming beach is a decent drive and we wouldn't want to try to tackle the roiling waters at the foot of the cliff, so luckily there's a swimming pool. The rental rates vary wildly, from $1,560 per night in low season to $11,000 per night—with a 14 night minimum stay—over the Christmas and New Years holidays. For that price the furnishings are a little dated, but the daily maid service should help to make up for any decor disappointment.
NYC Rental Websites
As Renters Week 2011 winds down, Curbed NY is taking a masochist's tour of six rental Websites aimed at NYC tenants. If it sounds like a positively awful mission—sorting through the terribly designed sites, listings, quality control, etc.—we can't really argue. That said, the findings are worth a look. [Curbed NY]
Jaw-Dropping Views and Supreme Seclusion on the Coast
Have a nomination for a jaw-dropping listing that would make a mighty fine House of the Day? Get thee to the tipline and send us your suggestions. We'd love to see what you've got.
Location: Big Sur, Calif.
Price: $6,800,000
The Skinny: This 60-acre estate, comprised of rolling grasslands on the cliffs above the Pacific surf, offers Bay Area folks a relaxing retreat, provided they can afford the near $7M price tag. Located above the famed Pfeiffer Beach, the modern post-and-beam home measures just 3,180 square feet, hardly the McMansion one might expect at this price point. But such is the culture of Big Sur, where the rich come for privacy and stellar views, not to show off their extravagant homes. That's not to say this house is without luxuries, like a hot tub, massive stone fireplaces, a built-in grill, and a media room.
· Ocean View Luxury on 60 Acres above Pfeiffer Beach [Big Sur Real Estate]
Infographics
Those clever guys over at Trulia took a sample from the 250M+ property views on their site between July 1 and Sept. 30 and came up with some interesting factoids about just how far people are willing to move, based on properties looked at versus IP location. Turns out an estimated 59 percent are trending toward leaving their metro area. Click over for the full-size infographic. [Trulia]
Polls Open: One of These People Will Win a Free Month's Rent!
The votes have been tallied on all the Curbed sites; here now: the Renters Week 2011 Horror Story Finalists. One of these guys will win a free month's rent (up to $2,500), funded jovially by Curbed. Let the voting begin!
Editor's Note: This poll will be open until Monday, Nov. 14 at noon EST. Voting irregularities will be strictly policed.
Bobbi Brown Buys!
Makeup maven Bobbi Brown has bought a place for $4.8M in the steely, glassy, 245 10th Avenue building in Manhattan. The finishes look lovely (oak floors, Rifra fixtures, etc.), but the only listing photos are the model units. [NYP via Trulia Luxe Living]
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