By Nancy Kane
Home for the holidays takes on many meanings for house hunters this season—from prime Central Park frontage to ocean vistas and Rocky Mountain highs. Take the recent high-profile sale of Sting and Trudie Styler’s duplex penthouse at 15 Central Park West for $50 million. The Robert A.M. Stern address has been home to Robert De Niro and Alex Rodriguez; Ben Affleck was seen house-hunting there this fall. Amenities like a Theo Kalomirakis screening room and a 75-foot skylit lap pool draw the A-listers. On the opposite end of the city in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, the picturesque arts and crafts style home, known as The Gingerbread House, is for sale for $11 million. The fairy-tale six-bedroom home was built in 1917 by James Sarsfield Kennedy and has unique details that are described as magical; classic bungalow-style beamed ceilings, wainscoted walls, stained glass windows, stone fireplaces and a medieval façade adorned with hand-wrought iron fences.
For decades, Aspen has been a go-to place to get your holiday jingle on for folks like the Goldie Hawn-Kurt Russell clan to songbird Mariah Carey (who wrote her holiday classic “All I Want for Christmas Is You” there). This year the posh set welcomes Lachlan Murdoch, who just purchased Mopani—a 45-acre equestrian estate—for $29 million. The 13,500-square-foot, eight-bedroom home features a striking wood overhang and pivoting door leading to an open-concept interior. If you’re looking to buy in Aspen, $58.5 million will get you Four Peaks Ranch and the peace of a mountain sanctuary.
The craftsman-style and LEED-built 18,000-square-foot home features a chromotherapy tub, vitamin D-infused sauna and steam room. For those with imagination, the property known as The Mountain is an opportunity to live on—you guessed it—your very own mountain. Available for the first time since 1986, this Midnight Mine Road compound has lots of potential at 450 acres. Its asking price is $40 million. Rocky Mountain high, indeed.
Heading west, Saota Architecture’s highly anticipated first L.A. property, 900 Stradella, sits on close to an acre secluded from the street for the privacy many Angelenos crave. An indoor wellness center features a massage therapy area, gym, sauna and steam shower bath. Outdoors, a zen garden and infinity pool overlook a blanket of city lights. The asking price is $45 million. Palm Springs has always attracted design-conscious home-seekers and this iconic house doesn’t disappoint. The former honeymoon home of newlyweds Elvis and Priscilla Presley sits on just over an acre, with a tennis court and pool. A William Krisel gem, the unique design stacks four circular rooms on top of one another. Add the glass-and-stone walls and the house resembles a flying saucer that costs $5.9 million.
Back in L.A., the Hollywood set is choosing turnkey living, the kind afforded to tenants of Ten Thousand, a 40-story luxury property in Beverly Hills. Catering to some of Hollywood’s most influential—Neil Patrick Harris stayed here recently—the all-rental building features amenities such as Botox on call and an indoor lap pool. But the best is Charley, the resident robot, who delivers artisanal cocktails from the mini-bar upon command. Monthly rentals start at $9K a month, peaking at $75K for the penthouses.