Jawdroppers

  by Elizabeth Finkelstein Living in New York's Lower Hudson Valley, I'm surrounded by incredible old houses. I see them every day; I gawk at them, I take pictures of them, I drag all of my out-of-town guests on long neighborhood walks, and I talk ad nauseam about them. My entire town is eye candy; frankly, it's why I live here. Every so often, the opportunity presents itself for me to visit an old...

by Elizabeth Finkelstein I know, I know: You have ALWAYS wanted to own a historic inn. Thanks, Melanie, for sending this one my way! Located on the banks of the Des Moines River, this stunner was built by one of Keosauqua, Iowa's founding fathers, Edwin Manning, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  ...

Whether or not you're a fan of the "more is more" approach the Victorians took to outfitting their homes, you'll still be awestruck with the interior of this massive home for sale in Rock Island, Illinois. It appears to have retained pretty much all of its original woodwork, and let me tell ya'—there's a LOT of it! This beauty is on the market for $205,700, and that would pretty afford you a semi-large...

Every once in a while, I come across a fixer-upper that makes me stop dead in my tracks. Ladies and gentleman, behold this 69-acre island for sale (yup, the whole thing!) in Michigan, known as Squaw Island, that happens to contain an incredible 1892 lighthouse JUST WAITING FOR ME TO BUY IT.  ...

Recently, I spent a week in Anna Maria Island, Florida, which at one time was full of darling mid-century ranches and beach bungalows that harkened back to the early days of Florida family vacations. It seems like every time I go back, another handful have been replaced with monstrous, cookie-cutter vacations rentals. Beach houses seem especially vulnerable to tear-downs, and because many beach towns have...

by Elizabeth Finkelstein. All photos courtesy of Kas-Bar Realty, Inc. Well, now I've seen EVERYTHING. A CIRCA fan (thanks, Margaret!) just sent over this listing for a spectacular Queen Anne style mansion (Is mansion the right word? I'm thinking more like ACROPOLIS OF THE OLD HOUSE GODS). It's got everything: to-die-for woodwork, ornate plaster & coffered ceilings, stained glass--the list goes on. And...

Image courtesy of the Portland Press Herald.   Every Sunday growing up my parents would take us to our local Catholic church; it was called the "Beach Chapel" since it was close to the shore and smaller and less formal than the main site. Religion aside, there was always something comforting about the ritual and the way in which, for at least that hour, there was nothing to worry about. When I saw a...

As a child, I loved crafting -- making jewelry, painting pottery, scrapbooking. And while I do still enjoy breaking out the ol’ glue gun in my adult life, my interests have turned to a very different type of Arts and Crafts -- the architectural style made popular by the great architect Frank Lloyd Wright.   Last summer, I was fortunate enough to visit Chicago and its surrounding suburbs, where Mr....

Most of us who live in New York City dream of one day owning a luxurious, spacious home filled with all of life's luxuries. I'm talking about the little things: an extra closet, a spare room, or an eat-in kitchen. To us space-deprived urbanites, an extra few square feet seems palatial. So, you can imagine my shock and awe when I saw that a castle -- yes, an actual castle! -- is for sale in The Bronx....

Today's Jawdropper is much more than your typical gingerbread house. For sale by Jackie Scura of RE/MAX and built in 1871, this roomy cottage in Mount Tabor, New Jersey, is oozing with fanciful cutouts, decorative ironwork, intricately carved woodwork, colorful stained glass, and offbeat ornamentation. Its striking whimsy might make you think it came right off the pages of a child's Hansel and Gretel...