Posts Tagged ‘access’
What It’s Like to Live in an Urban Home
If you love being where the action is, look for convenient living in a city’s downtown area
For the hip home seeker who longs to be near great food and culture, neighborhoods in a city’s downtown area hold a nearly irresistible attraction. The “urban core” typically has a higher crime rate and less favorable schools than the suburbs, but many downtown areas across the country are undergoing a revitalization of sorts, as cities invest in projects and amenities to attract new residents. And as more people look for alternatives to long commutes and urban sprawl, homebuyers are flocking to the urban core. Homes in urban core neighborhoods come in a variety of styles, such as these brownstones in Boston. Read the rest of this entry »
Trending Towards Urban Living
A growing migration out of the suburbs is leading to higher demand for urban properties
High fuel prices and walkability are key factors in many downtown buyers’ decision.
The quintessential American dream used to include a suburban house with big yard, but homebuyers are increasingly dreaming of a walkable urban lifestyle along with their dog and two kids.
Flight from urban areas began after World War II, when thousands of returning soldiers and their young families needed inexpensive housing. In Leviitown, an early Long Island, N.Y., suburb, developers built more than 17,000 virtually identical Cape Cods. The development served as a model for later ‘burbs, and the middle class migration out of the city continued until a peak in the 1980s. Read the rest of this entry »
Top 10 Expert Tips for Buying a Luxury Home
From a brand-new Trump condo and a historic Newport estate to a golf course community in the South, there’s a plethora of choices in high-end homes. Consider these tips from luxury home market pros before buying your dream home.
1. Learn the search process.
“Many luxury homes go unlisted to protect a seller’s privacy. These properties are often found through the Realtor’s personal connections as opposed to the MLS.” Virginia Cook, Virginia Cook Realtors, Dallas
“You may need to go to more online sources as not everything is on the large search engines.” Ronald Phipps, Phipps Realty, Warwick, R.I.
2. Go beyond the photos. Read the rest of this entry »
Business of Life
Urban living
Sea views, wide-open spaces spread over 8,000 sq. ft, a private lift connecting first and second floors: life in the city doesn’t get much better than this
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The family entertainment area adjoins the central hall. Visible beyond the glass wall to left is a part of the sea-facing balcony opening out from the central hall |
Before they started work on this luxury apartment, architects Bahaar and Kaif Faquih of the Mumbai-based firm Faquih and Associates, spent considerable time getting to know their client Piyush Kothari and understanding the family’s requirements.
The duplex, spread over 8,000 sq. ft, has a fairly symmetrical plan. A perforated wall separates the lobby from the central hall. |
The wall, in a sense, sets the design dictum that has been followed throughout the house—visual connectivity.The double-height (22ft.) central hall has two wings, one on each side. There are no doors between the family entertainment space, the dining and breakfast corner and the kitchen. Sliding glass doors separate the balcony from this central space. Only the grandparents’ room on the ground floor and the guest bedroom have have doors
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Architects Kaif and Bahaar Faqui |
“Visual connectivity is a quintessential urban design requirement. People constantly want to be in the thick of things and this does become a challenge when the space is very large, so we thought of demarcating the area with objects instead of dead walls,” says Kaif. Read the rest of this entry » |