Cody

The February cover of Architectural Digest has a local connection.  It’s the living room from the Colorado Springs vacation home of Dallas interior designer, Emily Summers. 

The issue’s focus is “Before & After” - striking renovations by professionals in the design industry.  Apparently the editors fell in love (once you see her work, you’ll understand) with Emily’s one-of-a-kind midcentury modern home, which happens to be round. 

That’s right, round.

There’s a round bed in the master bedroom, which also offers 360-degree views of the Rocky Mountains and downtown Colorado Springs.  And, to top it off (literally) - just off the master terrace, you’ll find a putting green which was installed on the living room roof. 

To see photos and learn more about this Colorado Springs home, pick up a copy of the February 2010 Architectural Digest. 

It’s also worth noting that Architectural Digest has long been a fan of Emily’s work - she has been named to their AD 100, which is their annual pick of the top 100 designers and architects.

And for those of you interested in Emily’s other works, don’t forget the impressive Preston Hollow home she designed which was listed and sold by Ellen Terry of Ellen Terry Realtors a few years ago (pictured above).

Emily also designed the W Hotel Penthouse of Ross Perot, Jr. and his wife, Sarah, which was featured in Architectural Digest in March 2008 (pictured above).  You can read more about that home and see a slideshow of photos here.

Her interior design genius can also be seen at both the Winspear Opera House and the Wyly Theatre at the AT&T Performing Arts Center, which opened this past October with one of the most spectacular week-long celebrations Dallas has ever seen.

So if all this great design and beautiful homes leave you wanting more, you’ll find thousands that could be yours at the website recently named one of the industry’s best by the Web Marketing Association, Ebby.com.

Cody

It’s a new year, which means maybe it’s time for a new home - let’s not forget the tax credit extension and the new move-up tax credit for existing homeowners (learn more about that here).  

Or maybe you’re thinking of doing a bit of remodeling?

Either way, everyone loves a little inspiration - from browsing the latest home design shows on HGTV, home design books & magazines or just perusing your local home improvement store.  

And here’s some unique inspiration that will get the creative juices flowing of any home enthusiast - an exclusive peek inside celebrity homes from around the world courtesy of Architectural Digest, The Bible of Home Design.  

This spread takes you inside such notable addresses as the LA apartment of pop legend Elton John, the Bel-Air home of actor Kelsey Grammer, fashion designer Donna Karan’s retreat in the British West Indies (pictured above), the Paris apartment of couturier Elie Saab (pictured below) and the Italian villa of the scion of the Salvatore Ferragamo fashion house.

Also featured are the homes of television director James Burrows (pictured at the top of this post), advertising extraordinaire Mary Wells and Emmy-winning actress Patricia Heaton (pictured below).

So get your pens and pads ready and take notes - no matter your budget, you’re likely to find many ideas you can replicate in your North Texas homes (ok, maybe on a slightly smaller scale). 

And even if not, it’s always fun to look.  

And while we’re on the topic, if you’re curious about current Dallas homes for sale or DFW homes for sale, there’s no better place to start your search than Ebby.com - the website recently named one of the industry’s best by The Web Marketing Association.

To see more celebrity homes, visit Architectural Digest.

To find your new home, visit Ebby.com.

Admin

Luxury Portfolio continues to provide national and international exposure for luxury homes for sale by the Ebby Halliday Companies. 

This time it’s the impeccably designed home at 14225 Hughes Lane in North Dallas, listed by Gena Richards of the Ebby’s Little White House office in Preston Center.

A quick glance at the photos and you won’t be surprised to learn that this is the home of a designer. 

The current home owner’s resume includes 10 years as creative director of interior design for Neiman Marcus and senior vice president of design for Wedgewood china and Waterford crystal.

This home, which is one of the most incredible Dallas homes for sale, will also be featured in Traditional Home magazine this spring.

To read the full post from the Luxury Portfolio Blog, click here.

Cody

The front page of the Business Section of today’s Dallas Morning News features some great news - DFW home prices have held almost steady in the latest Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, falling only 1.2 percent from one year ago.  Nationwide, prices fell 9.4 percent.

The featured photo (above) is of the home at 3016 Milton Avenue in University Park, listed by Cindy O’Gorman of The O’Gorman Group.

To read the full article by Steve Brown, click here.

Cody

Modern day vampires apparently have very discerning taste in homes. 

If you’ve picked up a newspaper or magazine lately, or even turned on a TV, you’ve probably heard about the latest blockbuster movie, Twilight: New Moon, based on the book series by Stephenie Meyer.  In fact, the movie scored the third-biggest opening weekend of all time, earning an estimated $140.7 million during its first three days of release.

In the movie, Edward Cullen and his family live in a stunning, five bedroom, four bath modern home, which can now be yours for $3.3 million. 

CNNMoney.com has more information here.  And get full details on the house from the listing agent, Jason Soprovich, here.

Cody

Friday morning on the NBC TODAY Show, regular real estate contributor Barbara Corcoran was featured in a segment showing the best homes across the country currently for sale under $500,000. 

To represent the Dallas area, she chose 4606 W. Amherst, in the Briarwood neighborhood, listed by Brady Moore of Dave Perry-Miller & Associates for $349,000.  According to her, the curved front sidewalk has added as much as $10,000 in value!  You can watch the full segment below:

To learn more about 4606 W. Amherst, click here.

Cody

It’s official.  The first time homebuyer tax credit has been extended - President Obama has now signed the bill into law! 

First time homebuyers are eligible for the $8,000 tax credit if they sign a contract by April 30 and close by June 30.  In addition, this new bill extends the credit beyond first time buyers.  Those who are buying a new home and have lived in their current home at least 5 years are eligible for up to a $6,500 tax credit.

To see all the fine print about eligibility, restrictions, etc, click here.

Learn more about today’s signing from CNN.com here.

Cody

Today, The House approved the measure to extend the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit by a 403-12 vote.  President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law tomorrow morning.

This legislation will extend the tax credit to contracts signed by April 30 and closed by June 30.  In addition, it also creates a $6,500 credit for those who buy a home after living in their current house for at least five years. 

You can learn more details at CNN.com here.  And find specifics on the extenstion and addition to the tax credit bill from the National Association of Realtors’ Government Affairs Division here.

Cody

At least 50 lucky individuals will be driving the economic road to recovery in style this Christmas - in the 2010 Jaguar XJ Supercharged Neiman Marcus Edition.  It took only four hours and four minutes for Neiman’s to sell out of the 50 vehicles that were produced for their 2009 Christmas Book.  Did we mention this cool cat had a price tag of $105,000, including destination charge?

How could this relate to real estate?  At the Fall 2009 Luxury Market Update hosted by Ellen Terry Associate and Sr. Vice President Lynn Gardner Collins, David Chance, Sr. Loan Consultant with The Lending Partners LTD said:

“The most influential thing that’s going to happen to make people buy jumbo properties is the recovery in their own portfolios, which affects their access and their comfort level to come up with the down payment.  They are getting their latest statements, and their net month-to-month is actually increasing and has been for the last few months, which is a good thing and that’s what is going to increase comfort levels and encourage people to buy.”

If you would like to see more expert opinions fromt he Fall 2009 Luxury Market update, click here. 

To learn more about the 2010 Jaguar XJ Supercharged Neiman Marcus Edition and the quick sell-out, Autoweek.com has all the details here.

Cody

This morning, Ebby Associate John C. Weber of the Hickman + Weber Group served on a top agent panel discussion, “What Do Agents Value in a Brokerage Firm Today?”, at the 2009 REAL Trends Innovation Conference.  John cited reputation, education and training as the reasons he chose Ebby Halliday and said he remains with the company for those same reasons as well as the support at both the office and corporate level. 

“We have a dynamic office environment – I love the ability to share knowledge and even to gain business from being in our office.  In fact, that’s how I got my very first lead when I started in the business – one of our top producers at the time had both sides of a transaction and approached me in the office to represent the buyer.  I did and that lead actually produced two additional transactions via referrals.” 

He also stated that even in this “different” market, the Hickman + Weber Group is on track to have their best year ever by going back to basics, making a solid business plan and following through with that plan.

Held at the beautiful Four Seasons Resort & Club in Las Colinas, the conference was attended by broker/owners, CEOs, presidents, COOs, senior managers, marketing directors and technology directors from the leading residential real estate firms, association executives, senior managers of the national real estate franchise firms, relocation companies and referral networks and mortgage and title companies.   

Pictured above from this morning’s closing session are Paul Boomsma, president of Luxury Portfolio Fine Property Collection and executive vice president of marketing for The Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, John C. Weber and Randall Graham, vice president & director of marketing for The Ebby Halliday Companies.