All articles by Emily Nonko

Emily is a Brooklyn-based writer who has covered New York City real estate, architecture and design for Brownstoner, The Wall Street Journal, Dwell and other publications. You can follow her on Twitter @EmilyNonko.

January 10, 2017

A bona fide log cabin on 18 acres in the Catskills asks $775K

By Emily Nonko

It doesn't get any more rustic than this log cabin in upstate New York. Located at 1260 Spriceton Road, in West Kill, the home sits on a whopping 18.4 acres of land, which connects to 19,250 acres of a forest preserve. The custom cabin was made in the Scandinavian full scribe style with white pine logs. Inside, you could easily mistake this home for a hunting lodge. And it's priced less than some one-bedroom apartments in Manhattan, asking $775,000.
See the stunning property

Distinctive Homes

January 9, 2017

Exposed brick dominates at this $979K duplex on the Upper West Side

By Emily Nonko

This two-bedroom apartment occupies two floors of an Upper West Side brownstone at 171 West 73rd Street. Renovated by an architect, the interior is chock full of exposed brick and hardwood floors while rooms were smartly laid out to maximize space. After last selling in 2010 for $750,000, it's now on the market for $979,900.
Take a peek inside

Distinctive Homes

January 8, 2017

High, dramatic ceilings grace this $3.5M Greenwich Village loft

By Emily Nonko

What's a loft apartment without towering ceilings above? This lofty prewar building, at 30 West 13th Street in Greenwich Village, was converted to co-op in 1978 and holds 24 units. This one, now on the market for $3.5 million, is a sprawling three bedroom with dramatic beamed ceilings in the open living and dining room. This last sold in $2.3 million in 2004 and has been on and off the market since 2015, when it was first asking $3.95 million.
Take a look

Distinctive Homes

January 6, 2017

This $840K duplex condo in Bed-Stuy comes with its own private backyard and deck

By Emily Nonko

Though the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant is best known for its historic townhouses, you can still find a cute condo in the area. Cue this apartment from 156 Pulaski Street, a three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bathroom unit now asking $840,000. There's 1,150 interior square feet plus a big added bonus: a private backyard and patio space that'll make you long for summer.
See more

Distinctive Homes

January 4, 2017

Live like Theodore Roosevelt in an updated log cabin upstate for $1.15M

By Emily Nonko

This rustic cabin was built in the early 1900s on land that was part of Theodore Roosevelt’s 1897 Campfire Club. And that's not the only presidential connection the property comes with: it's also located upstate in Chappaqua, hometown of the Clintons. Asking $1.15 million, the cabin was renovated and doubled in size by the current owners in 2005, who managed to preserve the feeling of the original, retro cabin. And although you're living out in the woods, it's only a 50 minute trip into Manhattan.
Check out the full property

January 3, 2017

Two bright, lofted co-ops in the West Village hit the market together for $1.599M

By Emily Nonko

Sunlight is a good look for these two apartments at the West Village cooperative 79 Barrow Street. Both pads—which hold a large floor-to-ceiling window and a lofted bedroom—are being offered together with an opportunity to combine them into a bigger, even brighter, two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment. Located right in the heart of the neighborhood, directly west of Washington Square Park, there's lots of design potential for the buyer who doesn't mind getting their hands dirty and combining two apartments into one.
Get a look at both places

Distinctive Homes

December 31, 2016

From a Trump presidency to rental prices, NYC real estate experts share their 2017 predictions

By Emily Nonko

CityRealty spoke with New York City real estate experts—everyone from developers to architects to contractors to brokers—on their predictions for the upcoming year in the city’s ever-changing real estate market. From the presidential election of real estate magnate Donald Trump to the likely return of 421A tax incentives, 2017 promises big changes ahead. And yes, […]

Real Estate Trends

December 30, 2016

Historic Victorian home on the Staten Island waterfront asks $2M

By Emily Nonko

This freestanding Victorian home was built at 204 Richmond Terrace on the Staten Island waterfront way back in the 1870s. Impressively, it still stands today and has hit the market for $2 million. Lots of historic details, like a curving staircase, fireplaces and wood carvings, can be found inside. Buyers also have some options upon purchase: the zoning allows for an expansion to the home, or they could replace the existing structure with a multi-story building of at least 10 apartments, retail and parking (but we've gotta say, we prefer what stands).
Tour the historic property

Distinctive Homes

December 29, 2016

Bright one-bedroom pad off Union Square asks $4,900/month

By Emily Nonko

This one-bedroom apartment comes from the Zeckendorf Towers, a 1980s development that encompasses four 29-story towers with 630 apartments. Although it is a condo complex, you can rent this particular unit for $4,900 a month. It's particularly flexible as a sliding glass door that separates the bedroom also partitions off a bonus space which could be used as an office or nursery. The unit also benefits from built-in shelving and custom closets that maximize storage space.
Take a look

Distinctive Homes

December 28, 2016

Lovely prewar duplex in Carnegie Hill is up for both rent and sale

By Emily Nonko

You've got options when it comes to this prewar duplex at 1281 Madison Avenue, a Carnegie Hill cooperative that's a block away from Central Park. After being on the market for $3.125 million (price chopped down from $3.495 million) it is now also on the rental market, asking $10,000 a month. The two-bedroom, two-bathroom pad has some lovely prewar details still intact, like the large wood-framed windows, equipped with window seats, parquet floors, fireplaces and 11-foot ceilings.
Take a look around

Distinctive Homes

Upper West Side studio with custom design elements asks just $398K

By Emily Nonko

If you're on the hunt for holiday apartment deals, this Upper West Side studio has just hit the market for $398,600. It is located on the ninth floor of the Master Apartments, an Art Deco co-op at 310 Riverside Drive that was recently entered into the National Registry of Historic Places. The apartment has been renovated with some unique features, like custom blinds and a murphy bed, that help maximize the limited square footage.
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

December 23, 2016

This darling prewar apartment asks $535K in the East Village

By Emily Nonko

This one-bedroom apartment is being marketed as both charming and quiet, located at the prewar cooperative 315 East 12th Street in the East Village. You're not getting tons of square feet but it's just enough for a first-time buyer who can afford the price tag of $535,000. This unit's asking price has been creeping up over the years: it was asking $249,000 back in 2006 and then $449,999 in 2008.
Look around

Distinctive Homes

December 22, 2016

Historic upstate farmstead offers a dairy barn, yoga studio, and luxe main house for $2M

By Emily Nonko

This 18th century farmstead, known as Spy Hill, is historic on the outside but has been renovated with modern, luxurious finishes inside. Located upstate in Brewster, New York, it's on the market for $1.95 million, CIRCA tell us. There's the main house, decked out with fireplaces, a large outdoor terrace with a covered veranda, as well as a guest house, three-level dairy barn, workshop, yoga studio, green house and heated in-ground pool and spa, all over four acres. Talk about an impressive property.
Now take the tour

December 21, 2016

Live/work loft with an eight-foot wall of windows asks $4,950/month in Midtown West

By Emily Nonko

This Midtown West condo, at 448 West 37th Street, is known as the Glass Farmhouse—and this live/work loft is certainly glassy. The completely open, 1,550-square-foot pad has 13-foot, beamed ceilings, with eight feet of windows underneath. And all that space, the listing suggests, "allows endless possibilities for decoration and setup as you want." Although the building is a condo, this one is up on the rental market for nearly $5,000 a month.
Check it out

Distinctive Homes

December 20, 2016

Chic Gramercy loft stretching over two floors hits the market for $1.75M

By Emily Nonko

This apartment checks the boxes to qualify as a dreamy loft apartment: two sprawling floors with high ceilings, exposed brick, and floor-to-ceiling windows that lead to some private outdoor space. The pad is located at 215 East 24th Street, also known as the Penny Lane cooperative, in Gramercy Park. For a total of three bedrooms and three bathrooms, it'll cost you $1.75 million. It last sold in 2013 for $1.36 million.
Take a look around

Distinctive Homes

December 19, 2016

Price halved for an apartment in the building Barbara Walters once lived

By Emily Nonko

This opulent apartment has been patiently waiting to find a buyer. It first hit the market in early 2014 and the price was quietly dropped to $12.5 million by the end of the year. Now, it's back two years later with a reduced ask—by nearly half!—of $6.295 million. This is a four-bedroom, five-bathroom pad with all the elegant bells and whistles at 555 Park Avenue, the prestigious Upper East Side building that Barbara Walters once called home.
Take a look inside

Distinctive Homes

December 18, 2016

Book lovers will swoon over this $915K prewar Morningside Heights co-op

By Emily Nonko

A New Yorker with a big book collection should like this Morningside Heights apartment, which has a room lined with floor-to-ceiling book shelves. Otherwise, the two-bedroom co-op at 611 West 111th Street has all sorts of prewar charm, like parquet floors, moldings and a bay window. The pad last sold in 2010 for $790,000 and it just hit the market yesterday with an ask of $915,000.
Go inside

Distinctive Homes

December 16, 2016

A horrifying blaze swept through Lower Manhattan 181 years ago today

By Emily Nonko

It's hard to envision blocks and blocks of Lower Manhattan being destroyed by a raging fire, but that's exactly what happened there 181 years ago to the day, December 16th, 1835. That year marks one of New York's most traumatic fires in history, known as the Great Fire of 1835. It came at a time the city was developing rapidly, with the arrival of new businesses, railroad terminals, and people. But there were also major concerns that came with the city's boom: there was a lack of a reliable water source for the city, and there were not enough fire departments to keep everyone safe. And so the forces collided into a traumatic fire that would change the course of New York's development significantly.
Keep reading for more

History

December 15, 2016

A grand fireplace and double-height ceilings at this $2.4M Chelsea condo

By Emily Nonko

As the weather chills, a nice big fireplace starts looking pretty appealing. That's the main attraction in the double-height living room of this two-bedroom condo at 121 West 20th Street, in Chelsea. The spacious pad, with 1,642 square feet, hit the market this fall for $2.595 million and now is down to $2.395 million. (It last sold in 2004 for $1.15 million.) It's got some quirky details over two floors, including the original columns of the historic brick building still in tact.
See more inside

Distinctive Homes

December 13, 2016

Lofty two-bedroom Williamsburg pad with massive windows asks $1.395M

By Emily Nonko

This two-bedroom condo comes from 80 Metropolitan Avenue, which you might mistake for a converted warehouse. But this blue brick building with punched, multi-paned windows was actually constructed in 2009 in the loft style that's popular around Williamsburg. From the inside of this apartment, 10-foot ceilings, huge windows and wood floors make it hard to tell the difference between old and new. The condo first hit the market this fall for $1.435 million and now the ask is down to $1.395 million.
This way for a tour

Distinctive Homes

December 12, 2016

$1.65M brick townhouse in South Slope has a sunroom and a lush garden with a pond

By Emily Nonko

This three-story brick townhouse is nestled in the South Slope, a charming enclave just south of--you guessed it-- the Brooklyn neighborhood of Park Slope. For $1.65 million you get interior details like custom millwork, exposed and white-washed brick, a potbelly fireplace and a customized new kitchen. Outdoor lovers will appreciate the sunroom and the backyard, which has been completely decked out with plantings, pathways, and a lovely little pond. The home was last purchased in 2006 for $800,000 by the accomplished stage manager Tricia Toliver.
Take a look

Distinctive Homes

December 9, 2016

Duplex penthouse atop a prewar Tribeca condo renting for $25,000/month

By Emily Nonko

An opulent duplex penthouse that's been on the market since last year is trying its hand as a rental. Located at the Powell Building, a prewar Tribeca condo at 105 Hudson Street, the apartment is up for grabs at $25,000 a month. It first hit the market in 2015 asking $9 million, and has been slowly price chopped down to its current ask of $7.995 million. That sales or rental price will get you four bedrooms over 3,000 square feet, 3,300 more square feet of outdoor space and stunning views from the top of the building.
Take a look

Distinctive Homes

December 8, 2016

12-foot ceilings and a wall of windows at this $1.049M Prospect Heights apartment

By Emily Nonko

Loft lovers will appreciate what this apartment at 535 Dean Street, in Prospect Heights, is delivering. The large, open living space--perfect for that flexible loft floorplan--boasts 12-foot-tall ceilings and wall-dominating windows. In addition, there are two bedrooms and a customized loft space built out by a local Brooklyn designer. This apartment, with its many built-ins and creative bedroom spaces, is now asking a hair over $1 million.
Check it out

Distinctive Homes

December 7, 2016

$1.41M for an opportunity to combine two West Village units into one lovely apartment

By Emily Nonko

Here's an opportunity for a New Yorker not afraid to renovate. Two small one-bedroom apartments at 41 Perry Street, in the West Village, are being offered as a package with the opportunity to combine them into one larger pad. The listing promises that the transformation into a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment will be easy—it's been done several times before in this building—but it'll cost $1.41 million with renovation costs on top of that. Separately, each apartment is asking $715,000 and $695,000.
Take a look at both

Distinctive Homes

December 6, 2016

Charming, compact triplex with a roof deck asks less than $1M in Gramercy

By Emily Nonko

Over at 160 East 26th Street in Gramercy Park you'll find quite this charming one-bedroom apartment with some outdoor space and a decent price tag. The apartment--which is one of the most compact triplex units we've ever seen--is asking $850,000. On the first level it manages it hold a living area, dining area and kitchen, then there's a bedroom above, and finally a private roof deck that is sure to charm you.
Take a look inside

Distinctive Homes

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