Luxist

Dupont Circle Townhouse, Estate of the Day

Posted Jul 4th 2008 1:02PM by Deidre Woollard
Filed under: Estates

Today's home is located in a prime area off Dupont Circle in Washington D.C. This home was built in 1890 and is a stately townhome on Massachusetts Avenue next to many other similar homes which are embassies, cultural institutions, foundations, associations and private residences. The first floor of the home is given over to grand public rooms for entertaining including double formal parlors and a large dining room with a fireplace. There is also a catering kitchen and a custom wine cellar . The second through fourth floors are the family space including a family kitchen, living room and five bedrooms. The home is done in a luxurious and formal style that would befit the family of a senator or dignitary. It is listed at $17.5 million.

For more prime properties and lush locations, see Luxury Homes and Mansions.

Gallery: Dupont Circle Townhouse

Continue reading Dupont Circle Townhouse, Estate of the Day

Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka

Posted Jul 4th 2008 12:02PM by Deidre Woollard
Filed under: Spirits

Summertime in the sweltering South calls for that thirst relieving concoction known as sweet tea. Now a South Carolina distiller has created a liquored-up version. Firefly Sweet Tea vodka is an infusion of American Tea and Firefly Vodka which is a muscadine grape vodka. The new flavor is a huge hit in Charleston where local bartenders are creating new tasty drinks for summer sippers. The vodka is sold in South Carolina, Colorado, Nevada, New York currently and will soon be making its way to other states but it's perhaps best experienced in states where sweet tea is already a beloved drink.

[via Charleston City Paper]

Thistle and Bee

Posted Jul 4th 2008 11:01AM by Deidre Woollard
Filed under: Jewelry

Thistle & Bee sells a variety of luxury objects including jewelry, picture frames, home goods and baby gifts. The company has a full range of sterling silver products including a large range of enameled pieces such as cufflinks and keychains. The American flag keychain shown above has handpainted enamel detail and sells for $250.

Thistle & Bee has now expanded into gemstones and fine jewelry with new collections of gold pieces featuring diamonds and colored stones. Examples and prices are in the gallery below.

Gallery: Thistle and Bee

Drive of a Lifetime

Posted Jul 4th 2008 10:01AM by Deidre Woollard
Filed under: Charity

In the summer months the American Red Cross often struggles to collect much needed blood because many potential donors are on vacation and colleges are not in session. In southern New Hampshire, International Cars, Ltd. and the American Red Cross have a unique solution to this problem. They are offering the Drive of a Lifetime, a summer promotion at the grand opening event for the new Porsche of Stratham and Audi Stratham. The care dealer is raffling off a one-year lease of a new Porsche to presenting blood donors in New Hampshire this summer. Those who donate between now and Sept. 30 will have the opportunity to enter to win. All who donate blood and visit any of International Cars' five New Hampshire locations can get a second entry through a test drive or vehicle service.

[via Fosters]

Party-A-CarGo

Posted Jul 4th 2008 9:02AM by Deidre Woollard
Filed under: Gadgets

It's a bit bulky but if you your weekends involve a lot of tailgating, the Party-A-CarGo just might be for you. The Party-A-CarGo is a hitch-mountable, self-contained beer kegerator/entertainment system. It can pour up to 160 ice cold beers, play 12 hours of music and TV without having to recharge the battery. It has its own power source, a deep cycle marine battery, and a built-in battery charger. It also includes a five pound CO2 tank, a keg tap D-system, faucet wrench and drain tray. The entertainment package includes 230 watt, 6 X 9 speakers, a 10" subwoofer, 2 or 4-channel amplifier, CD player, satellite radio and a LCD screen with TV tuner. The dimensions are 50 w x 35 h x 26 d with 10" hitch post and it weight 80 pounds empty. It sells for $2,900-$3,800 depending on options.

[via UnCrate]

Real Estate Weakness in London

Posted Jul 4th 2008 8:02AM by Deidre Woollard
Filed under: Real Estate Developments

Here in the U.S. real estate woes have been common for a few years but lately it's not so rosy overseas either. The IHT reports that luxury-home prices in central London, the world's most expensive location for prime real estate have fallen for two months in a row. Knight Frank's analysis reveals that the average price of houses and apartments in London's nine most expensive neighborhoods fell 1.7 percent in June from a month earlier which cut the annual increase to 7.5 percent, down from a peak of 38 percent in August.

Like other markets, the peak end is doing well. In the London market homes costing more than £10 million did fall for the first time in three years on a monthly basis bit values are still 23 percent higher than a year ago. The market for the prime properties at this level is partially fueled by international buyers, especially from Russia, India and the Middle East, including billionaires like Roman Abramovich and Lakshmi Mittal.

Dior Ethnic Zip Tote, Handbag of the Day

Posted Jul 3rd 2008 5:02PM by Rigel Gregg
Filed under: Handbags

The Dior Ethic Zip Tote is structured, feminine, and full of fun details like grommets and whipstitching around the seams, a pudgie little pocket on the outside front, and a set of dangling accents that include braided straps, a Dior-embossed heart, and a tassel. It has a zip top with a leather pull (the front pocket closes with a magnet), protective metal feet, a couple different pockets inside (including one for a cell phone), and a nylon lining. Everything you need and want in a tote! $1,150

Gallery: Dior Ethnic Zip Tote

JonBenet Ramsay House Back On The Market

Posted Jul 3rd 2008 4:01PM by Laura Malesich

JonBenet Ramsay's house in University Hill in Boulder, Colorado is on the market once again. Hoping for $2.68 million, which is within the realm of real estate values for neighboring homes also on the market, the troubled past of the 1920's Tudor style home is not expected to effect its ability to sell at a high price. It has been twelve years since the six-year-old beauty queen's body was found in the basement and since then the house has had a few more residents but none have stayed for very long. The 7,092 square foot, four-story house at 749 15th Street features grand old trees, stainless steel appliances among stark black cabinetry in the kitchen, and a master-bedroom with vaulted ceilings and fireplace. With the market a bit sour already it will be interesting to see if a home with an ugly past can keep up.

Gallery: JonBenet Ramsay's House Hits the Market...Again

Net-A-Porter's 'Emergency Wardrobe' Service

Posted Jul 3rd 2008 3:02PM by Rigel Gregg
Filed under: Apparel, Services

There's nothing worse than being on vacation and either accidentally ruining an outfit or realizing your forgot your favorite black dress at home. So what to do? No worries, Net-A-Porter to the rescue! They've teamed up with High Road House London, Babington House Somerset and Soho House New York to provide "emergency wardrobe service," which means that guests can browse Net-A-Porter's online collection of designer clothes, shoes, handbags, and accessories and receive same-day delivery of their purchases. So as of next week (when the service starts) no more worries if you spill spaghetti sauce that white blouse you meant to layer with everything all vacation -- you can order a new one and have it time for dinner!

Pharrell Opts For Expensive Tattoo Removal

Posted Jul 3rd 2008 2:01PM by Laura Malesich
Filed under: Services, Celebrity Shopping

To Pharrel Williams being a grown man means no longer have fire tattoos on his arms but instead of having a laser treatment to fade or remove the flames the rapper/producer/entrepreneur is looking to have his arms replaced! -- well, at least the skin on his arms. There is a revolutionary new procedure where a lab, using a sample of your skin, can grow more skin to be used as a skin graft over the portion where the tattoos currently reside. They just sew it on and voila! You have a seamless, tattoo-less arm that once healed will be ready for new ink designs. Pharrel doesn't seem to care that it costs upwards of hundreds of thousands of dollars for the procedure and it sounds like he anticipates a new ink job when his lab-grown-sewn-on-skin is good and ready.

Malvern, Pennsylvania, Estate of the Day

Posted Jul 3rd 2008 1:02PM by Deidre Woollard
Filed under: Estates

Today's grand estate is located in Malvern, a small town that was once the end of the Mail Line railroad in Pennsylvania. Today's home is located on a quiet country road and expands over 19 acres. The six-bedroom home has an original part that dates back to 1755 but had a major addition six years ago. There are 40 rooms total including a home theater, a large kitchen, hand-carved Parisian paneled living room and a billiards room in over 18,500 square feet. The grounds include a pool, tennis court, pond and there is a beautiful terrace that looks out over rolling green lawns. This home is listed at $10.5 million.

For more prime properties and lush locations, see Luxury Homes and Mansions.

Gallery: Malvern, PA

Continue reading Malvern, Pennsylvania, Estate of the Day

Lil Wayne To Start His Own Champagne Brand

Posted Jul 3rd 2008 12:02PM by Deidre Woollard
Filed under: Wine, Celebrity Shopping

Rapper Lil Wayne is the latest celebrity to announce his own booze brand. Lil Wayne is partnering with Milestone Brands and French grower Voirin-Jumel to create Halo Champagne. A bottle of the appeared in the video for his song "Lollipop." The Halo Champagne will be available in four styles, Brut, Brut Vintage, Rose and Halo Pinnacle and will be out this fall. He joins a long list of actors and musicians with their own wine-related projects, check out the gallery below.

Gallery: Celebrity Wine Projects

Breil Milano Opens New York Store

Posted Jul 3rd 2008 11:06AM by Deidre Woollard
Filed under: Timepieces

Italian accessories company Breil Milano has opened a new flagship store at 148 Spring Street in Soho, New York City. The stores is one in a series of flagship stores which Breil Milano is opening luxury cities. It evolves from the new monobrand boutiques recently opened in Berlin (February 2008), Florence and Barcelona (April 2008) .

The New York store is located in a historical building but the boutique has a modern contemporary style which combines warm color tones with bronze and green tints. The entire left-hand wall is covered by original tiles by Dutch artist Edwin Vlassenroot who also sculpted lampshades in copper.A more private space has been created at the lower level where jewelry and watches are available to the public. The next stores are planned for Rome and Milan.

[via National Jeweler]

First Book, Charity of the Day

Posted Jul 3rd 2008 10:02AM by Laura Malesich
Filed under: Charity of the Day

The mission of First Book is to supply children of low-income families with their first new books to read and enjoy as a family and instill in them the joy of stories for years to come. Certainly an admirable objective that is sure to encourage not only intellectual growth but confidence as well. Donations don't need to be large to make a difference:

$10 can introduce a child to four new books
$50 means a family will be given twenty new books to share and learn together
$100 will supply a tutoring kit of forty books that a mentor and child can work through during an entire year
$250 brings one hundred books to a classroom providing a stack of books for each child
$500 supplies two hundred books to fill forty children's backpacks in community-based programs
$1,000 opens doors of a neighborhood library with four hundred books to share

Of course as a non-profit the donation is tax-deductible but you don't just have to give monetarily. Consider volunteering, fundraising, and spreading the word, all of which will make a difference. Fifty million books have already been distributed...imagine what your donation could do.

Visionaire's $150,000 Magazine Collection

Posted Jul 3rd 2008 9:02AM by Lisa Palladino
Filed under: Decor

The Wall Street Journal reported that Visionaire magazine -- a publication where design, marketing, style, trends and art intersect -- is charging $50,000 for a special Goyard trunk designed for its collectors. The handmade trunk will house the magazine's first 50 issues. This summer, Visionaire also will offer 10 complete sets of its first 50 issues in the Goyard trunks for $150,000. The customized steamer trunks, assembled by hand, will have shelves and insets designed for all 50 issues. Collectors also can buy an empty trunks for €34,500 ($54,000).

From its premiere issue in April 1991 (now up to 54 issues, with each issue typically priced between $150 - $350), Visionaire "challenged notions of what it meant to be an art and fashion publication and was conceived of as a venue for artists such as Mario Testino and Steven Meisel to publish personal work," WSJ stated. It has morphed into something more like a design challenge for its many contributors.

Each issue (which can take between nine months and three years to complete) is typically a mixed-media riff on a theme, posing an ongoing set of challenges to a small crew of designers. For example, White began with the question: How do you publish without using ink? Answer: a combination of Braille, embossing, varnish and paper-cut illustrations. Scent came with perfume capsules, Taste had specially-designed flavor-strips and Sound featured a Mini Cooper toy car that played record albums.

Next Page >

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Dupont Circle Townhouse, Estate of the Day

Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka

Thistle and Bee

Drive of a Lifetime

Party-A-CarGo

Real Estate Weakness in London

Dior Ethnic Zip Tote, Handbag of the Day

JonBenet Ramsay House Back On The Market

Net-A-Porter's 'Emergency Wardrobe' Service

Pharrell Opts For Expensive Tattoo Removal

Malvern, Pennsylvania, Estate of the Day

Lil Wayne To Start His Own Champagne Brand

Breil Milano Opens New York Store

First Book, Charity of the Day

Visionaire's $150,000 Magazine Collection

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#	Blogger	Posts	Cmts
1	Deidre Woollard	158	3
2	Rigel Gregg	74	4
3	Jared Paul Stern	50	0
4	Laura Malesich	30	3
5	Lisa Palladino	18	0
6	Star Sutherland	15	0
7	Marsha Reid	1	0