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May 22, 2007

Park Slope House Tour Recap

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We thought the Park Slope House Tour on Sunday was very impressive. From our favorite of the day, the period restoration at 867 President Street, to the modern carriage house renovation on 4th Street, every house we saw (and we missed two) had something either awe-inspiring or instructive about it. Interestingly, the tour go-ers seemed a little older and less numerous than at the Clinton Hill house tour; the houses were by and large in a different league too. Of course, it's only fair to point out that they would sell for twice as much. What were your favorite parts of the tour?




Posted by Brownstoner at 10:22 AM | Comments (18)
Categories: House Tours, Park Slope

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Comments

I really liked the 3rd street house. It was a nice example of a beautifully restored home that incorporated modern elements as a contrast.

I also enjoyed the fact that many of the houses let you see the whole thing. The Clinton tour was very annoying in that you'd stand in a long line to just see the main floor. I want to see the whole house!

The "crown jewel" of the tour (as per the booklet) was way too over the top for me. Every room was sensory overload from the moroccan sitting room to the wallpapered bedrooms. Its probably the most valuable house on the tour but it was more museum than home to me.

And what is with that lady who was pushing everyone to buy the tour poster? I really wish they didn't do stuff like that. It made me avoid looking too closely at the statue newel post b/c I didn't want to be attacked.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 22, 2007 10:30 AM

Missed the PS tour, darnit, and Clinton Hill was disappointing--I agree. But you don't really think the same house would literally sell for twice as much in PS as in CH, do you? My house hunt does not bear that out. I'd say the slope runs maybe 30% higher, give or take.

Posted by: Bob999 at May 22, 2007 10:50 AM

Good point. We probably should have said that the average value of the houses on the Park Slope tour was about double that of the ones on the Clinton Hill tour--because the houses were higher quality in Park Slope. 30% is probably a reasonable discount for the same house...

Posted by: Brownstoner at May 22, 2007 11:00 AM

I loved the carriage house on 4th st. Very light and airy what with the huge skylight over the stairs and window-walled atrium. The 2 upstairs front bedrooms/den were creatively separated by a door on tracks that allowed both rooms access to a balcony. All in all the tour highlight IMO. Perhaps all this a felicitous result of collaboration on the part of the owners--an architect and a construction manager.

The tour was sparsely attended maybe because rain had been predicted so people made other plans.

I also took in the Clinton Hill tour this year and noticed there a younger demographic than PS. Maybe it had something to do with this year's tour focusing on the "better" quality houses in the long-gentrified heart of Park Slope (with the exception of the carraige house by 5th av) rather than the more marginal (if there's really such a thing in PS anymore) South Slope the PS Civic Council has been showing in the past few years.

All in all a nice outing on a beautiful cool day. The street fair and the open Old Stone House were a bonus. The rain showed up much later.

Posted by: carolyn at May 22, 2007 11:37 AM

The house at the top of 3rd st. was on the tour? Now I'm really sorry I missed it! I remember that house selling for something around $1 mil. back in 1999, I think. It took them a long, long time to get the renovation done, and in the interim the interior was filmed for a True Value hardware commercial. Was anyone allowed to take pictures of the interior?

Posted by: petunia at May 22, 2007 11:40 AM

I loved the carriage house on 4th Street as well -- it was the most livable house to me -- so airy and bright and spacious! Absolutely amazing to give that kind of a feeling in a long building with almost no exterior windows.

My other favorite thing from the tour was the modern kitchen with the glass corner window and built in round cabinets/eating area - was that in the 3rd Street house? The upstairs bathroom in that house, with a glass walled shower and stone tiles on the walls and ceiling as well as the floor, was also gorgeous.

The traditional Victorians were stunning but not to my taste -- and so far out of my league as to make them seem like museums. In fact, the house owned by Greenwood Cemetary and lived in by its president DID seem like a museum to me, what with all the art crowding the walls. It seemed a little corporate to me, I'm not sure why. Maybe it was just too formal for me. What did others think of that one?

Posted by: Jen KG at May 22, 2007 11:49 AM

Oh yes, the Greenwood Cem. Director's house. I thought it was the perfect use for this well-restored brownstone. Made for entertaining, as was confirmed in the brochure--that it was used for business-related social functions. It did have the air of a very, very small conference center with a Brooklyn motif (artworks) which definitely worked.

Come to think of it, some of the other houses on the tour were more believable as quaint corporate conference centers than lived-in family spaces LOL. All of them were lovely, but I can't see a family actually *living* there what with all the "objets" catching dust. At least I can't see *my* family which would probably trash it. No family had more than 2 kids living in it as far as I could see, but then those others don't offer their house for a tour would be my bet.

Posted by: carolyn at May 22, 2007 12:24 PM

Agree with Anonymous (and lots of others) about the Carriage House being the best one and the "jewel" being a little too museum-like for me. But everyone has their own tastes. I also liked the house (don't remember which on) with the circular kitchen area. That was a fantastic touch. All in all a lot of fun and glad I went.

Posted by: CE at May 22, 2007 12:37 PM

WOW, if the houses in CH trade at ONLY a 30% discount to PS, then PS is a steal at this point in the real estate cycle. EVERYTHING about PS is superior to CH IMO - bars, restaurants, schools, park access...

Posted by: Anonymous at May 22, 2007 12:40 PM

i actually agree that ps is a relative steal.

houses of the same quality on the upper west side are selling for 6-9 million these days (i choose upper west side as an example as it seems similar to park slope in some aspects, although i MUCH prefer ps)

sure, it's manhattan so there would be a premium i suppose, but it's always been my opinion that park slope is a jewel of a neighborhood and the access to good restaurants, bars, subways, schools, the park is as good as it gets if that's the lifestle you're after.


Posted by: anon at May 22, 2007 12:50 PM

The VERY high Victorian decorating style in many of these houses was a slight disappointment. But I loved 3rd St -- gorgeous art nouveau windows on the parlor floor facing the street reminded me of iron work in the Paris metro. Also fabulous attention to finishes in that house. The house with the wacky "pie warming radiator" (in brownstoner's pic above) had another cute feature in the dining room -- a small fireplace with built in oak benches on either side (an inglenook, I guess). I also liked the new kitchen and basement reno in the house on Montgomery Place.

Posted by: NeoGrec at May 22, 2007 12:54 PM

Just another way of saying that Clinton Hill is overpriced for the state of the neighborhood. Although- If I could, I'd live in a full house in CH rather than PS. But given the train, restaurant, park and safety factors, CH should currently be at more of a discount that it is as compared to PS. It's as if there's been a trendiness premium applied to the normal CH discount.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 22, 2007 12:58 PM

President St. looked and felt like a museum but so what. It really felt like 1880 to me. I was surprised at the relatively low turnout compared to last years mob scene and the partly clowdy weather made the day very comfortable. Since the last stop on my route was 4th St., and that fabulous carriage house with the interior garden, it was then a short walk to 5th Avenue where I immediately pigged out on those sweet potato fries. Very enjoyable day for sure!

Posted by: Marion at May 22, 2007 2:32 PM

A special treat was that from that wonderful corner-windowed kitchen of the house on Third Street, you could see the back of the house on Second Street that is owned by writers Jonathan Safran Foer and Nicole Krauss. Some readers might recall that it was written up here extensively on Brownstoner some time ago, and that it includes a double-length lot stretching all the way through to Third Street (where there is a gated parking space). What you wouldn't know about this house unless you see the view from behind is that it includes a magnificent, multi-level extension with solarium-type windows that must bring tremendous light into the house. The garden, too, is magnificent (if low key) with steps leading up from the Second Street lot to the Third Street lot. I don't suppose this house will ever be on the Park Slope House Tour! (I thought the House Tour was fabulous, and enjoyed every house, from the Moroccan palace on Second Street to the modern, converted carriage house on Fourth Street. Kudos to the Park Slope Civic Council for a great event!)

Posted by: Park Sloper at May 22, 2007 4:52 PM

Are there any photos for those of us who could not attend?

Posted by: keep at May 22, 2007 5:27 PM

No, photography was prohibited.

Posted by: Park Sloper at May 22, 2007 5:55 PM

I was actually quite underwhelmed by the tour. In a couple of instances I was reminded that no amount of money can make up for a basic lack of good taste.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 22, 2007 7:27 PM

Reading the comments here just remainds me of exactly why I don't put my house on the tour, even though the PS Civic counsel begs me to almost every year.

So many catty comments from the armchair critics, so few homeowners willing to subject themselves to your petty, envious, uninformed opinions.


Posted by: Anonymous at May 24, 2007 10:21 AM

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