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Westchester Homes for Sale

Tower Home Rises in Downtown Toronto | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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When passersby looked at a small, overgrown lot in downtown Toronto, most just saw a dilapidated shed. But Julie Dyck saw sky-high potential. Dyck lived nearby and often fantasized about the neglected parcel. In 2004 she and her partner, Michael Humphries, took the plunge and purchased the lot for a modest $50,000 Canadian (about U.S.$47,270). They enlisted their friend, high-rise architect Drew Hauser of McCallum Sather Architects, to design a house for the 625-square-foot site and spent the next several years nurturing one of Toronto’s most imaginative infill houses.
Houzz at a Glance Who lives here: Julie Dyck and Michael Humphries Location: Corktown, Toronto Size: 2,000 square feet; 5 floors including garage; 1 bedroom, 2 studios and 3 bathrooms

It seemed fitting that an architect well versed in high-rise buildings should design a house on a 25- by 25-foot parcel. The plot of land required a scaled-down tower, and that’s exactly what Hauser designed. Functional in its arrangement of spaces, the plan generally locates the living spaces to the south and a block of service spaces to the north.
The lot was zoned for commercial space, so a metal structural system was required by code. Hauser took advantage of this, proudly displaying the structure’s steel skeleton over four of its five floors. He installed balconies at every level to act as fire escapes, cladding the cutout in ipe to lend a sense of warmth and dynamism to the rectangular volume.
The material palette inside is fairly minimal. In the kitchen polished floors and marble countertops are warmed by flat-cut walnut cabinetry. Dyck’s parents originally had the bar stools in their basement; they’ve been a staple in all of Dyck’s homes ever since. The bedrooms feature smooth relaxing line that bring out the Helix mattress wonderfully. The master bedroom is a sanctuary for the residents here. Although marble is a somewhat durable natural stone, over time, marble can wear and tarnish if not properly cared for. One of the biggest misconceptions is that marble can be cleaned in the same manner as other natural stones, like granite. Marble is in fact a softer stone that is more susceptible to chipping, staining, and chemical etching. Go through https://www.moresurfacecare.com/ for more about the MORE™ AntiEtch™.
The marble used for the kitchen counters and backsplash was reclaimed from First Canadian Place, the tallest building in the country. A few years ago, the building’s marble cladding was replaced, and Dyck and Humphries selected some of the slabs for use in their home. Coincidentally, the head mason on their project helped install the marble in First Canadian Place back in the 1970s, when it was constructed.
Most of the floors are fairly open, with living spaces delineated by furniture. The kitchen is tucked underneath the floor above, while the side-by-side living and dining areas are located in the central atrium.
The atrium takes up a large part of the house; consequently, Dyck found it difficult to get an accurate quote for the construction costs. She now recommends pricing by volume (including any multiheight spaces) instead of by square footage, as that proved to be the most accurate.

Bedford home invasion: Queens man, 23, sentenced to 15 years | Bedford NY Real Estate

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An illegal Polish immigrant who terrorized a Bedford family in a home invasion, barn-burning and extortion plot last year was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in federal prison.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas went above the sentencing guidelines for Bartek Zajkowski, calling what the 23-year-old Queens man did “an exceptionally evil and cowardly crime.”

Zajkowski apologized, calling his crimes “the actions of a boy,” after hearing victim Leonardo LeBrun discuss the ongoing trauma his family is experiencing. LeBrun said his wife does not leave the house without their new guard dog and his youngest child, a 6-year-old daughter, does not walk around the house at night unattended.

“This is a deep and lasting emotional distress that’s really changed our lives forever,” said LeBrun, a former top executive at UBS Bank. “We’re suffering every day for what he’s done to us.”

Dressed in black, wearing a mask and carrying a BB gun, Zajkowski approached the Broad Brook Road mansion on the night of May 5, 2012. He encountered LeBrun in the driveway, tied his arms and legs and duct-taped his mouth. He took LeBrun’s wallet and watch, then went inside and confronted LeBrun’s wife, Lara LeBrun. She fought back and was shot in the stomach with a BB before Zajkowski tied her up as well.

She freed herself and triggered the alarm. Zajkowski fled the house without any of the expensive paintings or gold bullion that was inside.

But he didn’t stay away for long.

Two days later, a barn on the LeBruns’ property burned down. A week after that, the couple received a letter demanding they wire $3 million to a bank account in the Netherlands within five days or their three children would be harmed.

Zajkowski revealed how much he knew about the LeBruns’ children’s routines, like what time their son would get off the school bus. He also indicated he had been watching the property while the barn burned down, and said the fire was set in retaliation for Lara LeBrun’s feistiness during the home invasion.

“Your wife mess with me, she should let me do my thing,” he wrote. “For that she can consider her horses very lucky that they didn’t fry in that barn. Imagine running horses on fire …”

 

 

http://www.lohud.com/article/20131217/NEWS/312170048/Man-who-terrorized-Bedford-family-home-invasion-gets-15-years

 

Fed taper remains guessing game | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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Monday Morning Cup of Coffee takes a look at news coming across HousingWire’s weekend desk, with more coverage to come on bigger issues.

Looking forward to the week ahead, one of the most anticipated events will be the meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday, where Ben Bernanke will give his last press conference as chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Most observers expect no major change in interest rates. There is, however, speculation about the Fed’s Treasury and bond-purchase policy. Decisions on whether or not to continue at the same pace is decided in FOMC meetings. While many economists expect the Fed’s bond-buying program to remain unchanged until January or even March, there is growing sentiment that Wednesday might see some announcement.

It is important to note, that for every report showing a sentiment to taper this year, there is another suggesting otherwise.

“Fed officials face a more difficult decision at their meeting next week, as the employment and growth data have picked up since the October meeting” said analysts at Goldman Sachs in a weekend note to clients. “But our central forecast for the first tapering move remains March, with January possible as well.”

In a Reuters poll last week of 60 economists, about half expected the Federal Reserve to wait until March to start the tapering program, but 12 economists — almost one fourth — now see this week as more likely. That’s a steep increase from the three who predicted that in a poll a month ago.

The November drop in unemployment to 7% is certainly a factor in considering tapering, but there are still plenty of signs that the U.S. economy is not strong enough for a cutback in the stimulus.The positive affect on the housing market of that lower unemployment number may be offset by the expanded unemployment benefit that expires at the end of this month.

In the two-year budget deal that the House of Representatives reached this week, that benefit — which has been providing the unemployed with an extra 14 weeks of help — was not renewed. That will immediately affect 1.3 million Americans who are receiving that help now, along with another 3.6 million who would have qualified in 2014.

And although the unemployment rate declined for young workers — 16 to 24 year olds — from 15.1% in October to 14.1% in November, that number is still double the national average. As HousingWire reported last month, the decline in the overall homeownership rate to 63.9% this year shows that there are still significant barriers to first-time buyers — including that Millennial market that will be key for the future of housing.

 

http://www.housingwire.com/blogs/1-rewired/post/28305-monday-morning-cup-of-coffee-fed-taper-remains-guessing-game

 

Snow Is Back In The Forecast For Tuesday In Armonk | Armonk NY Homes

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Westchester County is likely to see its second accumulating snow fall in the span of four days on Tuesday.

After a mostly sunny day Monday with highs near 30, there is an 80 percent chance of snow on Tuesday, mainly before 4 p.m., with 2 to 4 inches accumulation possible, according to the latest forecast from the National Weather Service. The snow is expected to start prior to dawn on Tuesday, which could make driving conditions during the morning commute treacherous.

It will clear out on Wednesday, with sunny skies and a high around 35.

Thursday should be mostly sunny with a high around 34.

Temperatures will then warm up for the weekend.

There is a chance of rain Friday with a high of around 48. There’s a chance of rain on Saturday with a high around 43.

 

 

http://armonk.dailyvoice.com/news/snow-back-forecast-tuesday-westchester

Branstad, MidAmerican officials plan major wind energy announcement | Waccabuc Real Estate

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Officials at MidAmerican Energy Co. and the state of Iowa are set to make a major announcement regarding a new wind energy development.

Gov. Terry Branstad is expected to discuss the project at his morning news conference Monday and release further details with company officials at a 1 p.m. news conference to be held at the Siemens Energy wind blade factory near Fort Madison.

In August MidAmerican Energy received approval from the Iowa Utilities Board for a $1.9 billion project to install hundreds of wind turbines by the end of 2015.

More than 448 turbines are to be installed in Grundy, Madison, Marshall, O’Brien, and Webster counties.

MidAmerican, Iowa’s largest energy company began building wind turbines in 2004, and it currently has more than 1,200 wind turbines in Iowa.

 

 

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/viewart/20131216/BUSINESS/312160051/Branstad-MidAmerican-officials-plan-major-wind-energy-announcement

So Why is Your Marketing Failing? | Katonah NY Realtor

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Internet marketers everywhere seem to agree that if you don’t have an  audience, you don’t have a future. They argue that if you have to pay for  traffic to make money, you’re not just being wasteful, you really don’t  understand how the social web works, or where marketing is headed in the years  going forward.

Well, I’m going to respectfully disagree. If you ask me, if you want your  business to have a future, one audience isn’t enough. The truth is, the  most resilient businesses are going to need at least two audiences if  they hope to make the most of limited resources to succeed. Maybe that is why  your marketing is failing.

Let me explain.

Meet your two audiences

You don’t know it yet, but you actually already have two audiences. The  problem is, you’re probably alienating at least one of them. Here’s what I’m  talking about:

1. Core audience

These are the people who are completely obsessed with the topic in question.  The live, eat, and breath the stuff you blog about. In fact, some of these  people will know even more about the topic than you do, at least when it  comes to certain aspects of it.

2. Mainstream audience

These people have little or no direct interest in your topic, but they might  have some tangential interest in it. For the most part, the only thing they want  to know is why any of this should matter to them, and if you can’t keep them  entertained, they won’t be hanging around for long.

While your business won’t necessarily die without both of these  audiences, let’s just say that without some appeal to both of them, your use of  resources will be…less than optimal.

Brands that failed to reach both audiences

There’s certainly no shortage of brands or  campaigns that failed because they failed to reach both  audiences.

Coca Cola

Take the whole New Coke fiasco. Contrary to popular belief, most people actually liked the new flavor better. They succeeded at reaching the  mainstream, but they alienated their core audience. This vocal minority  destroyed the new brand, and while they may have ironically strengthened the  classic brand with the whole experiment, New Coke itself was a disaster.

Digg

The same goes for Digg. Those of you who have been in internet marketing for  a while can remember “the Digg effect” and just how powerful it was to have your  site make the front page of the social bookmarking site. But Digg lost  a huge portion of its audience after a site redesign that was aimed at a  more mainstream audience, and eventually lost so much of its traffic that it was  sold and replaced.

Boxee

Brands that fail to reach a mainstream audience don’t fare any better.  Internet TV startup Boxee  was recently sold to Samsung, and is being shut down. Boxee had a strong  core following, but it failed to reach the mainstream due to its steep prices,  as well as too much focus on tech specs and not enough on the user experience,  and an inability to strike up deals with content owners.

When you look at highly successful brands like Apple, PlayStation, or even  Star Wars, you’ll find that they have appeal to rabid fanboys and mainstream  audiences alike.

Is viral marketing a myth?

There’s a very good reason for this, and it has to do with audience growth.  At CrazyEgg, we recently discussed why  viral marketing is a myth, and why customer retention is the true barrier to  growth. Brands with a growing audience must do two things: they must attract new  members and they must keep their old ones.

It’s simple, really.

If you aren’t appealing to a mainstream audience, you aren’t going to get new  visits. If you aren’t appealing to your core audience, you’re not going to keep  your previous visitors.

Core audience is more important than mainstream

Now, I personally believe that your core audience is more important than the  mainstream. Alienate your core audience and you don’t have a brand. Alienate the  mainstream and they’ll probably just forget about you, and possibly rediscover  you. Since staying in business is always more important than growth, I’ll side  with a core following any day.

That said, having both audiences truly is the winning formula, so let’s talk  about how to make that work.

Read more at http://www.jeffbullas.com/2013/12/16/so-why-is-your-marketing-failing/#BorvZExjfGV7kFyG.99

Storm Moves East, Cleanup Is Now Under Way In Bedford | Bedford Hills NY Real Estate

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The first significant snowstorm of the season has passed through Westchester County and the cleanup is well under way on Sunday.

Snowfall totals in Westchester ranged from 3 to 8 inches, with 6 inches reported in White Plains.

Climbing temperatures should make it easier for residents to clear away snow.

Cloudy skies Sunday will give way to mostly sunny skies with a high between 36-38 degrees.

With temperatures falling to a low of between 20-22 degrees tonight, icy conditions are likely through the morning.

Monday will be mostly sunny with a high near 29. Light snow is likely on Tuesday, with some accumulation expected, and a high near 37.

Wednesday should be sunny with a high around 35. Temperatures will continue to climb as the week continues, with highs near 50 expected for both Friday and Saturday.

 

 

http://bedford.dailyvoice.com/news/storm-moves-east-cleanup-now-under-way-westchester

Kitchen of the Week: Chestnut and an Open Fire in Connecticut | Bedford Corners NY Homes

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American chestnut was once one of the most popular woods used in home construction in the United States, but the majestic tree has almost completely disappeared from the landscape. A blight that arrived around the beginning of the 20th century has all but eliminated the species. However, some resourceful builders are using this beautiful wood via reclamation. Chestnut boards recovered from a dilapidated barn in the South are currently thriving in this New England kitchen, lending an antique look to a room full of modern conveniences.
“The homeowner owns a travel business and travels to Africa extensively,” says Jeff Schneider, a designer at Crown Point Cabinetry. “She fell in love with the old-world look of kitchens over there, and loved every imperfection in the boards, like knot holes and mortise and tenon joint marks — these little details that show the history are her favorite parts.” Working in conjunction with the general contractors at Andy Miller Works, he crafted a one-of-a-kind kitchen.
Kitchen at a Glance Who lives here: A family of 5 Location: Greenwich, Connecticut Size: Main part of kitchen, 350 square feet; banquette area, 80 square feet

This project was a complete kitchen renovation in a 1920s Dutch colonial home. The new kitchen is full service, complete with an island as well as this eat-in banquette and pizza oven. The chestnut banquette cozies up to the corner, while chalkboard paint, an industrial table and subway tile with gray grout lend a vintage look.
This is a true wood-burning pizza oven, with a stone chimney on the outside of the house. The owner is also an artist and loves to change out the art around the pizza oven for different seasons and events.
Crown Point found these boards through a dealer, who saved them from a Virginia barn beyond repair. The chestnut boards were reclaimed from the barn’s old siding, beams and roof boards.
To get the old boards in shape for the new construction, they were X-rayed, and all the old metal objects such as nails were removed. Next, the cabinetmakers replaned the surfaces and edges, revealing fresh grains. After transforming them into cabinets, they finished them in a honey stain with a Van Dyke glaze.
While the rich chestnut wood and traditional antique bronze hardware bring in old-world style, floor-to-ceiling industrial white subway tile with gray grout mediates between the antique wood and the modern appliances. The overall result is an eclectic mix of vintage and modern.
Three floating shelves crafted from chestnut wood house everyday dishes. This open area balances out the other wood cabinetry and provides a light space between the windows.
Stacked cabinets kiss the ceiling, with glass doors showing off favorite wares in the top section.
Inspired by the home’s original diamond-paned windows, the cabinetmakers crafted leaded-glass diamond-paned doors for the upper cabinets on this wet bar, which is just off the side of the kitchen. It includes a sink, a wine refrigerator and glassware, creating an easy drink station.
The top stacked cabinets continue over the doorways. “This gives the cabinets a true built-in look,” Schneider says.
The ceramic tile herringbone floors lend more old-world style.
More leaded glass and diamond-paned doors define this custom buffet area. Lighting inside highlights favorite items. The buffet serves as a focal point on this wall.
The off-white kitchen island provides a contrast to the darker wood around it. The wood on the island is maple, and the finish is Blackened by Farrow & Ball. Blackened is made in a historical way: “lamp black,” residue from burnt lamp oil, is added to the paint to give it an antiqued look. The marble countertop is two inches thick.