I’d be tempted to leave the kitchen as is.
Untouched since the 1890s, tasteful friends
by Anonymous | reply 44 | December 25, 2020 7:44 PM |
I'd totally leave the kitchen alone.
by Anonymous | reply 1 | December 25, 2020 4:35 PM |
Well, maybe add a newer sink and a dishwasher.
by Anonymous | reply 2 | December 25, 2020 4:36 PM |
Love that kitchen! those tall cabinets make my heart flutter.
by Anonymous | reply 3 | December 25, 2020 4:39 PM |
I would keep it completely intact and move in as-is. Wonderful house!
by Anonymous | reply 4 | December 25, 2020 4:51 PM |
I love the tall cabinets too R3. What's sad is someone will buy this and strip all the character out and put in a SS and granite kitchen. All those cabinets will be torn out.
by Anonymous | reply 5 | December 25, 2020 4:51 PM |
I'll bet some obnoxious nouveau riche white or Asian family buy it and gut the entire house because the NEED to put their mark on it. Subway tile EVERYWHERE!
by Anonymous | reply 6 | December 25, 2020 4:56 PM |
The main upgrades needed would be behind the scenes, so to speak-- electricity, plumbing, HVAC.
But provided the rest of the house is is good shape--no termites, so sagging floor, no water damage from holes in the roof, then it is a steal.
You can easily update the kitchen without losing the charm, though you'd need to find an architect with a similar vision
I wonder what the taxes are?
by Anonymous | reply 7 | December 25, 2020 4:57 PM |
They can’t. Changes are subject to historic commission approval and is being sold with a preservation easement that the front and interior woodwork downstairs cannot be changed.
Taxes are very high in Montclair.
by Anonymous | reply 8 | December 25, 2020 4:59 PM |
Not as high as I'd imagined R8, $48K
Here's the listing
by Anonymous | reply 10 | December 25, 2020 5:03 PM |
Don't vorry. I poot in vhite shag and gold tassels.
by Anonymous | reply 11 | December 25, 2020 5:04 PM |
I am a minimalist to core, but that is seriously almost my dream home. If I could add a showerhead to one of the bathtubs and hire a couple of hot butlers, some hot landscapers, a hot chef, a hot chauffeur, and a hot coal-shoveler, I'd move in tomorrow.
by Anonymous | reply 12 | December 25, 2020 5:04 PM |
Kitchen needs granite!
by Anonymous | reply 13 | December 25, 2020 5:07 PM |
The interior looks like the house from American Horror Story - Roanoke.
Pass.
by Anonymous | reply 14 | December 25, 2020 5:08 PM |
Google Mapped it and it is a 5 minute walk from a Whole Foods and other shopping.
by Anonymous | reply 15 | December 25, 2020 5:11 PM |
Too dreary. All those dark wood interiors are depressing.
by Anonymous | reply 16 | December 25, 2020 5:16 PM |
@r12, "I am a minimalist to core"
Haha, as long as you have a staff of hot men taking care of your every need. High maintenance minimalist
by Anonymous | reply 17 | December 25, 2020 5:34 PM |
Once the house is modernized the taxes will go up.
by Anonymous | reply 18 | December 25, 2020 5:37 PM |
I’d leave the kitchen the same too. In fact I’d be happy to put that kitchen in a brand new house. Plenty of storage.
There’s a lot of companies that make modern reproduction appliances and fixtures for old houses. They look like the old ones but they’re modern. Elmira makes refrigerators, microwaves and dishwashers in the Victorian style, in a lot of colors. You could put a complete modern set in there that wouldn’t change the style at all.
The main things you need to worry about in a house like that is all the electrical has to be replaced, because the old type of wiring isn’t safe (and it’s probably been done already), plumbing, likely the same, and water damage, mold and roof leaks. Termites are another. If those are all covered, it’s probably fine for another hundred years.
by Anonymous | reply 19 | December 25, 2020 5:39 PM |
R19 see R7
by Anonymous | reply 20 | December 25, 2020 5:44 PM |
It's really great. So much to love. But, I can't gauge how much work it needs. I'm sure that's the reason it's not selling.
by Anonymous | reply 21 | December 25, 2020 5:46 PM |
The large rooms and ample natural light mitigate the darkness. It's really beautiful and it sits on 2 acres.
by Anonymous | reply 22 | December 25, 2020 5:46 PM |
I could see this in there without changing the theme too much. This is a brand new stove by Elmira.
by Anonymous | reply 23 | December 25, 2020 5:48 PM |
Someone who loves old homes and has the cash could make this place amazing.
by Anonymous | reply 24 | December 25, 2020 5:50 PM |
Wonderful! Is that a woodworking shop in the attic?
by Anonymous | reply 25 | December 25, 2020 5:53 PM |
What’s going on with the ancient-looking addition in the back?
by Anonymous | reply 26 | December 25, 2020 6:04 PM |
The price reflects the work needed.
by Anonymous | reply 27 | December 25, 2020 6:05 PM |
Stephen Colbert lives up the block.
by Anonymous | reply 28 | December 25, 2020 6:06 PM |
That kitchen is lovely, I hope the new owners keep it as is.
by Anonymous | reply 29 | December 25, 2020 6:17 PM |
Elmira's wares look great but they need some major help with their website which is barely functional
by Anonymous | reply 30 | December 25, 2020 6:28 PM |
Its very beautiful. All the cabinets, behind GLASS no less! Very practical. Of course it would be a lovely home but it could also function as an office or setting for something more community minded. It would be a nice small school of some sort, or a half way house or sheltered home, etc etc.
Also the wood looks to be in great condition but DRY. Everything needs to be humidified and oiled desperately.
by Anonymous | reply 31 | December 25, 2020 6:30 PM |
R24 why would you need a lot of cash to keep it the same?
I live in a 1893 house which is almost entirely original, although the kitchen was redone in 1980's. It is beautiful and has wood that is no longer available (old growth redwoods). It is hard to find a house that hasn't been gutted and given an open floor plan.
As I rant to the Historic Resources Board, "Why buy an old house if you don't like an old house?"
I grew up in So Cal post war tract house, so that may be part of why I love these old beautiful houses. Our house costs very little to maintain.
by Anonymous | reply 32 | December 25, 2020 6:32 PM |
Really beautiful, thanks for posting. I don't think I would want to live there, but I ave great appreciation for what it takes to preserve such a treasure of architecture.
by Anonymous | reply 33 | December 25, 2020 6:32 PM |
About a month ago I visited an old friend who lives in Montclair. I never realized it was so nice there with mansions adorned with beautifully landscaped acreage. We ate downtown and it was really good. It's close to NYC. The price is what you'd pay for a two bedroom in Manhattan (if you're lucky). Does anyone know the history of the town? Why all the grand homes? I mean, it's New Jersey.
by Anonymous | reply 34 | December 25, 2020 6:36 PM |
[Quote] They can’t. Changes are subject to historic commission approval and is being sold with a preservation easement that the front and interior woodwork downstairs cannot be changed.
I live in an area in Los Angeles where Craftsman homes rule. Two doors down a Chinese family bought a perfect 1908 Craftsman. I mean it was perfect. The owner died who was the 2nd owner of the house. You could see just the beautiful wood front sitting room from the sidewalk as you pass by when he owned. The family gutted the entire house and now you see from the street all the way to the kitchen in the back of the house. All white subway tile. It's gross! Yes, these are newly wealthy people. The house was/is under our historical commission. The new owner just didn't fucking care. They basically said fuck you to the commission. Newly rich do whatever they want.
by Anonymous | reply 35 | December 25, 2020 6:39 PM |
Such a feeling to see this. I love the woodshop and the sewing room.
by Anonymous | reply 36 | December 25, 2020 6:42 PM |
All that beautiful, unpainted wood! I'd buy it in a heartbeat (if I wasn't poor).
by Anonymous | reply 37 | December 25, 2020 6:45 PM |
LOL @ R34
Many transplants to NYC are surprised to find that NJ is not tract houses and Jersey Shore guidos, that there's there's a very large swath of the state that is upscale suburbia that looks a lot like Montclair, with older houses built about 100 years ago, towns with small cute downtowns centered around a train station with commuter trains to NYC, the best schools in the region, etc. Meryl Streep grew up in that area, in Summit, and is a good representation of who lives there. And Maplewood/South Orange, the "gay suburbs" are in that area as well.
Go further out and you have the horse country around Far Hills and Bernardsville, where Jackie On Assistance had her country house.
by Anonymous | reply 38 | December 25, 2020 6:51 PM |
[quote] Does anyone know the history of the town? Why all the grand homes? I mean, it's New Jersey.
You wouldn’t be referring to the wealthiest state in the union, would you?
The area was originally part of Newark. The southern part of town was settled by the English and the northern by the Dutch. Montclair split off from the town of Bloomfield (where I live) in a dispute over building a commuter railroad. The town has 6 stations.
by Anonymous | reply 39 | December 25, 2020 7:01 PM |
My ex is old money New Jersey, according to him many of these old mansions were the summer homes of wealthy New Yorkers who fled the city and the "bad air" in the summer time. Many are quite unique to accommodate a casual Victorian lifestyle, if there were such a thing
@r26, "What’s going on with the ancient-looking addition in the back? "
I believe that would be the old carriage house and horse barn. Cool, huh?
by Anonymous | reply 40 | December 25, 2020 7:16 PM |
I would love for a friend to own it and be able to visit often. Live in it .. no. What appears to be the stairs with the grill leading down to the basement gives me the serious creeps.
by Anonymous | reply 41 | December 25, 2020 7:21 PM |
R35 I believe the widow who owned the Gamble House was selling it when she overheard prospective buyers saying they would have to paint the woodwork white, and she took it off the market.
by Anonymous | reply 42 | December 25, 2020 7:29 PM |
Love the built-ins
by Anonymous | reply 43 | December 25, 2020 7:40 PM |
I can smell mould.
by Anonymous | reply 44 | December 25, 2020 7:44 PM |