All articles by Michelle Cohen

Michelle is a New York-based writer and content strategist who has worked extensively with lifestyle brands like Seventeen, Country Living, Harper’s Bazaar and iVillage. In addition to being a copywriter for a digital media agency she writes about culture, New York City neighborhoods, real estate, style, design and technology among other topics. She has lived in a number of major US cities on both coasts and in between and loves all things relating to urbanism and culture.

October 30, 2015

Buyer of Andy Warhol’s Montauk Estate Lists Nearby Home for $29.5M

By Michelle Cohen

Though it may seem unlikely, there are some similarities between art and real estate, one of the biggest being that with big fish come big numbers. That's definitely the case for billionaire art collector and gallery owner Adam Lindemann–buyer of Andy Warhol’s former Montauk estate, Eothen, which was listed for $85 million. The contemporary art world high-roller recently listed his nearby property at 406 Old Montauk Highway for $29.5 million. The home was built in 2004; After he acquired it, Lindemann–who is married to gallerist Amalia Dayan, granddaughter of the late Israeli politician Moshe Dayan–hired British architect David Adjaye to take on a complete redesign. The 5,000- square-foot, six-bedroom home is now a unique residence in the far-east end of Long Island affectionately referred to as “the end of the world,” though the former fishing enclave has in recent years become a more-chill-than-the-Hamptons hip celebrity party spot.
Check it out

October 28, 2015

Surreal Estate: NYC Listings That Are Scary, Hairy, and Totally Hideous

By Michelle Cohen

As if New York City home prices, monthly rents and apartment sizes weren’t scary enough. Between the horrors of Airbnb, overpriced dorm-style “co-living,” super-expensive micro-apartments, and Donald Trump, it’s hard to imagine we'd need Halloween to scare ourselves silly. But scare we do. Because of listings like these that know no season. Because sometimes real estate gets a little too real. From spookily dilapidated to eerily obscure to downright hideous, 6sqft has rounded up some of the most horrifying listings out there.
Be very afraid

October 27, 2015

This $8M Tribeca Loft Is a Real Eye-Opener

By Michelle Cohen

Though you might wish you left them closed. As the listing says, this full-floor condominium at 408 Greenwich Street is indeed a quintessential Tribeca loft–over 3,500 square feet of space, two bedrooms, a private key-locked elevator, ten-foot floor-to-ceiling arched windows looking out over beautiful Greenwich and Hubert Streets...they're all there. "The moment that you step inside you are surrounded by pure opulence." That's the part that makes this home a little more unique. Is it $8 million unique (it's also available as a rental for $26.5K/month)? You decide. "Hit one button for your programmable lighting system and let the experience begin."
Hit it, Maestro

October 26, 2015

Live in a Landmarked Fairytale Castle With Round Rooms and a Storied Past for $10M

By Michelle Cohen

Such is the state of real estate in New York City that there is no shortage of homes of every size and stripe upon which you could drop $10 million. And though the ask may seem relatively ambitious for a single-story residence, this particular listing at 455 Central Park West doesn't need to reach far for the adjectives required to command such an outlay (Just for starters: It looks like a fairytale castle). And while the Manhattan Valley location may be a little "far uptown" for some late-to-the party folks, its village-y vibe is getting lots of love of late, and, really, Central Park West is Central Park West. Between the amazing architecture and fascinating–if somewhat macabre–history as the former New York City Cancer Hospital, 2,360 square feet of space including two enormous circular opposite wings, private courtyards, and a peerless menu of building amenities including a pool, spa and drive-up entry courtyard, very few boxes remain unchecked in this unquestionably unique four-bedroom condominium.
Take a look a...round

October 23, 2015

Dramatically Angular West Village Penthouse Rental Wants $18K a Month

By Michelle Cohen

Whether Rogers Marvel Architects, designer of the dramatically-angled building atop which this 3,000-square-foot pad is perched, were inspired by the convergent lines of the Flatiron Building, had some tricky space issues to navigate, or just wanted to make a point, this triangular triplex at 1 Seventh Avenue South does its best to avoid looking like a contemporary interpretation of a ‘50s corner diner, and to some degree, succeeds. To be fair, the building conforms perfectly to its similarly-angled lot, undoubtedly no small feat. This high-floor haven offers three bedrooms, multi-floor terraces, a host of modern amenities (smart wiring, multi-zone heating and central air, to name a few) and the kind of big views–and neighborhood–that command big rents, so the $18K a month is no surprise. Though much of the apartment's decor and furnishings seem out of place for a glass-walled Downtown penthouse, as they say, there’s no accounting for taste. We don’t know if the rental is available furnished or mercifully emptied of its late-20th century Z Gallerie closeout haul, but with three floors and lots of outdoors, there's plenty of room, literally, for improvement.
Let's point out some highlights

October 22, 2015

Wine-Making Artists Called This $6.8M UWS Townhouse Home for Over 50 Years

By Michelle Cohen

Like many a New York City address, this classic townhouse at 307 West 103rd Street has a creative legacy as well as a rich history as a family home. The Queen Anne bow-front on a tree-lined Upper West Side block was, since 1956, the family home of Leonard and Chiarina "Cherie" Tredanari, a sculptor couple who also happened to be winemakers (as per the listing, The New York Times called theirs "one of the rarest Italian wine labels in the world"). Leonard's career could have been right out of "Mad Men:" He was a live TV director in the '60s for JFK's presidential campaign and president of the advertising agency Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB), where he created The Director's Studio. Leonard passed away in 2003 and his wife followed in February of this year at the age of 96. The family's longtime home is now on the market for $6.795 million. While the historic four-story townhouse with so many original details intact is a treasure in its own right, its artistic and artisan past add a compelling energy, from the unassumingly creative decor to a cellar filled with wine casks and vintners' equipment.
Have a look inside

Distinctive Homes

October 21, 2015

Tribeca ‘Suburban’ Mansion With Pool and Three-Car Garage Chops Price to $44.5M

By Michelle Cohen

When you think about a home with a pool, a full-house backup generator and a three-car garage, downtown Manhattan probably isn't the first location you think of–but this off-the-hook urban mansion at 2 North Moore Street in the heart of Tribeca could rival many a compound in the Hamptons. The turnkey billionaire’s bunker was built in 2008 and purchased in 2010 by financier Mark Zittman for $24 million, who hit recycle and put it back on the market unchanged in 2014 for $48M; after having no luck finding a buyer, the price was reduced to $46 million, 50-foot skylit lap pool pool, three-car garage and all. Now, with a $1.5M reduction, the search continues. The fact that you could fit an entire hotel inside this 11,200 square-foot dusky-hued modern masterpiece (whose facade actually does resemble a chic downtown boutique hotel a bit) will surely appeal to someone, though there’s definitely a limited market for eight-figure suburb-in-the-city dwellings, so it may take a while.
More inside this way

Distinctive Homes

October 20, 2015

Quirky East Williamsburg Artist’s Loft Offers a Bygone Authenticity for $3M

By Michelle Cohen

This converted East Williamsburg warehouse at 139 Powers Street is of the sort you don't come by too often anymore. It's one of those really cool-looking spaces you'd walk by maybe ten or twenty years ago and think, "hey, I'd like to live in this neighborhood" and wonder who lived there and what it looked like inside. As the listing says, it offers "authenticity that is difficult to find." The immediate neighborhood is that rare "unspoiled" old-school slice of what was once the 'burg's Italian enclave, and still has the vibe of being a mix of old, new, neighborhood-y and Vice-era cool. The two-story property, currently used as a single-family home, spans 3,600 interior square feet in a 25 x 100-foot building and is listed at $2.95 million; the loft currently belongs to local artist Joanne Ungar, and it definitely reflects the owner's creative tendencies–and green thumb.
Take a look around

October 19, 2015

Eeeek! This Frightful $550K Village Fixer-Upper Is a Diamond in the (Very) Rough

By Michelle Cohen

To kick off Halloween season, 6sqft has found a listing that will strike terror in the heart of anyone looking to move right in; this underdressed underachiever of a "one-bedroom" co-op at 138 West 10th Street looks just a fright. The listing throws in the towel and offers, "West Village pre war one bedroom wreck in beautifully preserved building on one of the most sought after tree lined blocks.” Which, if you think about it, is only one word away from lots of folks' dream apartment. Once you get past the completely spooky condition of the small but well-located space, it's worth noting that it actually has quite a bit going for it given its $550,000 ask, which, though more than the price of a Brooklyn cemetery plot, is far less than you'd pay for the average Village one-bedroom apartment. But it’s clearly up to you, brave buyer–plus an architect, a contractor and a lot of patience–to clear away the cobwebs and make the dream happen.
Follow the screams

October 16, 2015

Rather Modest UES Townhouse Has Five Floors, Seven Fireplaces, Two Kitchens, Mail Center and Elevator

By Michelle Cohen

We've pretty much seen it all when it comes to no-holds-barred luxury in an Upper East Side townhouse, and this five-story, 7,000 square-foot specimen at 17 East 83rd Street is by no means the most opulent. But when the listing starts with "elevator townhouse," you know you're probably not in for a lot of skimping. And when you learn there's a "separate service entrance/mudroom with paw washer," and a "mail center," well, Billionaire's Row is looking a just a bit like Dogpatch... The current owners of this Manhattan mansion—an investor and an interior designer—purchased it for $2.9 million in 1998, which, sure, was 20 years ago, but if they get anywhere close to their ask of $24.5 million, it's still quite a payday. A tidy sum, it's true, must have been spent on renovations in this townhouse-that-treats-you-like-a five-star-hotel–though now that we think of it, where's the pool?
Take the tour (good thing there's an elevator)

Distinctive Homes

For $1.5M, a Neon Yellow Spiral Staircase and Private Roof Deck in a Chelsea Modernist Gem

By Michelle Cohen

We don't know the exact size of this Chelsea duplex-plus-roof-deck penthouse at 365 West 19th Street, but it's configured as a one-bedroom with office space, and from the floor plan there's not much extra room to spare. That said, the spaces that have been created in this out-of-the-box home are as easy on the eyes as they'd be to live in. And its price tag of $1.5 million—especially given its prime location and architectural uniqueness—seems almost reasonable.
Explore all three levels, this way

Distinctive Homes

October 14, 2015

Spiffed-Up Williamsburg Loft Has Killer Views and Brilliant Built-Ins for $6,500 a Month

By Michelle Cohen

Williamsburg was once a neighborhood known for its big, open loft spaces. While those lofts may have gone condo and acquired dog-washing stations and compost centers, they’re still very much in existence. Case in point: this cavernous loft in the totally 21st century Esquire Lofts at 330 Wythe Avenue, just a hair south of the 'burg's decidedly factory-to-fancy Northside, on the rental market for $6,500 a month. This impressive space in a former shoe polish factory–built in 1914 and converted to condos in 2000–is listed as a one-bedroom, but it’s a duplex (in the loft sense of the word), and though there’s no floor plan, it claims a sizable 1,600 square feet. One of the best things about lofts–even well-groomed ones–is that no two are alike; former residents have carved out unique living and sometimes working spaces, and this is no exception. The standout feature here would have to be that custom-milled raised wooden storage platform.
See what else is cool in this loft

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October 13, 2015

This $5.5M West Village Pad Has a Glass Catwalk and Will Make Your Frienemies Very Jealous

By Michelle Cohen

Whether or not it’s your actual dream apartment, this three-bedroom co-op at 377 West 11th Street in the lovely and leafy West Village has New York City dream apartment written all over it. It’s that one you’d want if you were going to throw a casual cocktail soiree and invite your ex, your ex-boss, those mean girls from the eighth grade or pretty much anyone you wanted to impress to the point of torment with your perfect life, starting with your perfect $5.5 million apartment. The one with a glass-encased floating catwalk. Says the listing, "At 3,200 square feet, this sprawling home has everything you could want in a New York apartment.” Everything, except your extremely envious ex.
Let’s give the party guests a tour

Distinctive Homes

October 12, 2015

This Well-Preserved $1.95M Ditmas Park Victorian Has Lots of Perfect Spots to Soak Up Some Sun

By Michelle Cohen

This well-preserved two-and-a-half-story (plus basement), six-bedroom single-family Victorian house at 447 Rugby Road in Ditmas Park has a small-town vibe–from the big, wide front porch that's just waiting for that porch swing to the very chill upstairs sun porch perfect for catching the last warm autumn rays. But there's big-city subway access and plenty to do within a few blocks, and a citified price of $1.95 million, a number that wouldn't have been seen in this lovely and historic neighborhood a few years back.
Tour this pretty piece of Brooklyn history

October 9, 2015

This $4.7M Historic Park Slope Brownstone by MESH Architectures Has the Heart of a Loft

By Michelle Cohen

When the owners of this North Slope townhouse at 144 Lincoln Place purchased it in 2005 for $2.1 million, they'd had their hearts set on a loft; after choosing a Victorian brownstone instead, they worked with MESH architectures to create their dream space without having to give up their dreams. The result? The architects explain how the home is "consistent with contemporary family life but does not erase the original structures. Instead a layered, more complex spatial composition balances gravity with lightness, old with new, raw with finished." Now on the market for $4.7 million, this 3,300-square-foot classic-on-the-outside 1882 townhouse consists of a spacious and creatively designed owners’ triplex over an adorable garden-floor apartment (in a high-rent neighborhood). The landscaped back garden paradise alone is a show-stopper. The interior of the house was thoroughly reimagined, and the resulting “vertical loft” is a unique home that’s a fit for both daily life and the pages of a design book.
Check out this history-meets-industry dream house

Distinctive Homes

October 8, 2015

This Cobble Hill Townhouse Rental Is Filled With Historic Charm and Contemporary Cheer

By Michelle Cohen

If it's been a while since your last case of townhouse envy, enter this 3,000-square-foot Cobble Hill classic at 217 Degraw Street, on the rental market for $15,750 a month. This four-story, single-family Gothic Revival-style home on one of those postcard-worthy Brooklyn blocks has that quality that inspires both admiration and bidding wars: It possesses many of its original details–intricate plaster molding, bedroom arches and pocket doors, for example–plus the benefits of a custom renovation that bestowed a modern dream kitchen, a wall of glass patio doors and several coats of personality. Equal parts contemporary cheer and historic charm, these four floors would be hard for any family, fraternal order, sewing circle or small army–assuming they could part with the five-figure monthly outlay–to resist.
Get the townhouse tour, this way

Distinctive Homes

October 7, 2015

This $635K Washington Heights Co-op Is a Ground Floor Opportunity With Lofty Ambitions

By Michelle Cohen

At first glance, the price of this 1,245-square-foot well-configured and loft-like co-op in Washington Heights looks like a pretty good deal. The same spot in the parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn where one usually finds sprawling industrial-chic lofts would undoubtedly be several times more than the $635,000 ask. Upon further inspection, it becomes evident that this apartment at 447 Fort Washington Avenue occupies the building's basement. We're assuming it's been excavated enough to be legal, but even the listing prepares us for the fact that "...this lower first floor garden apartment is sublimely peaceful with no neighbors above, below or beside." It's certainly a nice-looking lower first floor garden apartment, though. In addition to the no-neighbors-because-it's-the-basement thing, keep in mind that the neighborhood is known as a no-longer-secret spot to find relatively reasonable real estate in NYC; the Times called it "affordable Manhattan," pointing out that the median price for apartments in Washington Heights was less than $500,000 in Q1 of 2015. On the other hand, a similarly-outfitted, though much larger, Cobble Hill duplex condo loft consisting of a ground floor and basement is listed for $2.85 million. So perhaps this lofty lower lair in upper Manhattan deserves further investigation after all.
Take a look around

Distinctive Homes

October 6, 2015

$1.6M Fort Greene Floor-Through Designed by The Brooklyn Home Company Is Quite Photogenic

By Michelle Cohen

Though they're charming and often in great neighborhoods, condos created from historic townhouses often disappoint. Railroad-style layouts get circumvented by oddly-configured hallways (left resembling a linear "ant farm" accessed by tunnels), kitchens are across the apartment from living rooms, bedrooms get subdivided into virtual closets, and so on. This lovely two-bedroom parlor-floor home at 122 Fort Greene Place in prime Fort Greene escapes most of those fates, and interiors by popular brownstone Brooklyn design firm The Brooklyn Home Company elevate it even further into the charm circle. The $1.6 million ask may seem high, but a sizable 1,384 square feet, tons of restored original details within a superb renovation, stellar location, and designer showcase status (it was featured in the coffee-table-favorite "Design Brooklyn," and a slew of interiors mags) rack up plenty of selling points.
Check out more of the interior this way...

Distinctive Homes

October 5, 2015

$20M Tribeca Penthouse Has a 25-Foot Skylight, a Heavenly Terrace and an Industrial Past

By Michelle Cohen

Designed in 1887 for a wrapping paper manufacturer by architect Albert Wagner, who also designed the iconic Puck Building, 140 Franklin Street was converted to a 12-unit boutique residential condominium at the turn of the 21st century. Considered one of the city's most handsome Romanesque Revival-style buildings, it's a study in enviable contrasts; apartments have original cast iron columns, for example, and the building boasts a state-of-the-art water filtration system. Notable neighbors: J. Crew CEO Mickey Drexler has an apartment on the fifth floor that he put on the market earlier this year for $35 million. To help put this super-fancy loft–and its fancy price of $19.95 million–in context: Penthouse A was designed for the building conversion's developer; it's on the market for the first time since the building was converted. There are 5,000 square feet of interior space on two floors, plus a spectacular 2,200 square-foot roof terrace. The unit is listed as having only seven rooms, but many of them are the kind of oversized loft space to which the term "room" almost doesn't apply.
More penthouse this way

Distinctive Homes

October 2, 2015

What’s Big and Hairy and Costs $2.4 Million? This Pretty Gramercy Co-op!

By Michelle Cohen

This almost-2,000 square-foot co-op at 235 East 22nd Street in Manhattan's elegant Gramercy neighborhood is one of those classic pre-war apartments–created by combining two units–that, when you look at the floor plan, is startlingly spacious. There are room-sized closets, areas for eating and dining, foyers, galleries and office nooks–the antithesis of the tiny NYC apartment. This three-bedroom home also has those charming and sophisticated pre-war details–nine-foot-high beamed ceilings, big rooms, inlaid floors, restored moldings, built-in cabinetry and massive casement windows. We all know the space itself is what counts in NYC real estate. Quirky objets and freaky art will almost assuredly be bundled out with the departing resident, never to show hide nor hair (literally, in this case) once the van pulls away. On the other hand, though it's sometimes fun to see what you're not getting for your $2.4 million, any real estate agent will tell you that staging is no small matter.
Explore this sprawling co-op

Distinctive Homes

October 1, 2015

Find Your Favorite Spaces in This Flexible South Slope Loft Duplex

By Michelle Cohen

The comfortably-configured co-op at 459 12th Street in South Park Slope starts with two levels and lots of open space–and you have the opportunity to go beyond the current two-bedroom configuration with nooks and corners that lend themselves to being used as bedrooms or opened up, loft-style. On the market for $1.2 million, this two-bedroom loft offers a wealth of charming architectural details like weathered brick walls, double-height ceilings in the main areas, a wood-burning fireplace and exposed ceiling beams. Oversized windows offer Manhattan skyline views (the apartment is a third-floor walk-up, so great light, but no elevator).
Tour the loft, this way...

Distinctive Homes

September 30, 2015

Big, Bright and Modern Boerum Hill Townhouse Has It All, Plus Rental Income

By Michelle Cohen

Behind an unassuming brick facade on a classically quaint block in the heart of Boerum Hill, this three-family house at 125 Butler Street is a spacious and surprising modern home. With contemporary comforts and designer details at every turn, the 5,100 square-foot home boasts a 20-foot extension on the lower two floors, resulting in a 3,000 square-foot owners' duplex with room to spare for outdoor garden space. On the market for $3.95 million, the house is divided into that four-bedroom, 3.5-bath duplex and a pair of spacious two-bedroom apartments on the upper floors for high rental income.
See the rest of the house

Distinctive Homes

September 29, 2015

This $2.35M Artist-Renovated Ditmas Park Victorian Is Both Cozy and Cool

By Michelle Cohen

While we're used too seeing renovated houses with gorgeous details and top-of-the-line finishes, it's not as often we see one that's modern and fresh, but also feels like a well-loved home. The 1902 Victorian at 210 Stratford Road is that rare house. According to the listing (h/t Brownstoner), it was "lovingly restored and renovated by two artists," which explains the perfect blend of cozy and cool evident on every floor of this two-family, three-story Ditmas Park home on the market for $2.35 million.
Take the tour

September 28, 2015

This Sweet and Sunny East Village Co-op With a Terrace Asks $635K

By Michelle Cohen

The East Village–particularly the far-eastern, garden-filled Alphabet City part of it–may be the poster child for change in New York City. For better or worse, there are things we miss, and things we adore. But the neighborhood retains its small-village vibe while being in one of the city's most exciting locations. This second-floor one-bedroom walk-up at 317 East 3rd Street, tucked into a little-of-everything street between Avenues C and D looks the part of the perfect East Village nest, with its exposed brick, small but fun and functional outdoor space, multi-tasking modern kitchen and bright, sunny bedroom. For $635,000 it doesn't break the bank, and you'll really save on the monthly co-op fees if you meet the HDFC guidelines.
See more of this cute, sunny East Village home

Distinctive Homes

September 27, 2015

This $6,500/Month Murray Hill Rental Says City Apartment in Front, Suburban House in Back

By Michelle Cohen

Here's a NYC apartment that's thoroughly Manhattan, but, if you're standing in the right spot, could be any suburban home. Located in a bustling East Side spot that's either Gramercy, Kips Bay, Murray Hill or Midtown South, depending on whom you talk to, this two-bedroom garden condop at 242 East 25th Street just hit the rental market for $6,500/month. And if you can't bear to part with it, you're in luck, it's also for sale (asking $1.995 million). The apartment is only 939 square feet, but it's well-configured, with bedrooms on either side of spacious common areas–and, more importantly, one of those areas is a glass-walled solarium that overlooks a 785-square-foot private deck and backyard that extends your space in a way most New Yorkers envy.
See more

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