Probably the most charming, enchanting home to come on the Rockland County market in many-a-day.  It's a marriage of the look and feel of yesteryear with all of the creature comforts of today.  If taste and style define you, you must see this home.  Nature's greenery abounds - spreading swaths of well tended lawns, gardens and towering trees.  And, the home nestles right at the foot of the Clausland Mountain Park with its hills and trees, trees, trees. 

 

 

 

There's absolutely nothing like them, especially in the early morning as the sun begins its ascent, streaking the sky with its bold reds, brilliant oranges and bright yellows and each finger of dazzling color is mirrored in the rippling rivulets of the Hudson. It's a stirring, sensual sight of nature at its best. You can catch these views from our latest listing, "Enchanted Cottage," in Upper Grandview, they're yours for the taking.

This year marks the 400th anniversary of the discovery of the Hudson River by Henry Hudson and the discovery of Lake Champlain by Samuel de Champlain.  It's also the 202nd anniversary of Robert Fulton's successful steamboat journey on the Hudson River, so he's being honored too by The Nyacks, New York in a gala celebration.

An exhibit entiteled "Fish & Ships",  a fishing, shipbuilding and river commerce history will be part of the celebration. 

The exhibit will be on Saturdays and Sundays 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM June 13-July 12, and August 15-September 13th, and by appointment at the former Pavilion Building, 60 Cedar Hill Avenue, Nyack.

David Sanders

 

 

If you venture out of Manhattan, heading north on the western bank of the Hudson River in Rockland County, ask any anyone you meet how to get to SouthMountain Road, and they will be able to tell you.  That's because it's more than a road, It is a whole artist's community, rich in history and awe inspiring beauty.  Together with Snedens Landing, South Mountain Road almost completely tells the history of the performing creative and performing arts' exurbanites of the 20th Century.

Members of the group included Maxwell Anderson, the playwright, whose home was later owned and inhabited by Barry Bostwick, composer Allen Jay Lerner who wrote 'My Fair Lady" here, composer Kurt Weill and his wife, singer/actress Lotte Lenya, Charlie Chaplin and Paulette Goddard, John Houseman, theater actor/director /producer who was often remembered to TV audiences by espousing in a commercial for a financial investment firm..."We make money the old fashioned way, we eaarn it."  Others included architect/ painter and potter Henry VarnumPoor, rock stars Mick Jagger and John Lennon.

South Mountain Road community is just another of a host of reasons why when many Manhattanites go in search of a special home in the country, they select Rockland County.  We like to call it "The Other Hampton.

David Sanders

Long before the HBO special, the Broadway musical, the documentary film, even before Big and Little Edie Beale, Jackie Onassis' relatives and all, there was an enchanted little garden by the sea in East Hampton, New York.  It was the summer home for the Gillman family of New York City and Snedens Landing.  Mrs. Anna Gillman Hill was a nationally recognized authority on gardening, in fact, she wrote one of the definitive books on the subject, FORTY YEARS OF GARDENING.  She was at one time the president of the Garden Club of America.  Gardening was her passion.

Of her garden by the sea, she wrote in her book, "It was truly a gray garden.  The soft gray of the dunes, cement garden walls and sea mists gave us our color scheme as well as our name.  We used as edgings all the low gray-foliaged plants such as nepta, stachys, and pinks.  Clipped bushes of santolina, lavender, and rosemary made gray mounds here and there.  Only flowers in pale colors were allowed inside the walls, yet the effect was far from insipid."

The home is now the home of a well known publishing couple and much changed from the little garden spot by the sea.  But I believe Mrs. Hill would be pleased to know that her loved garden has returned to quiet gentility and loveliness, which was its reason for being all along.

David Sanders

 

 

North of Manhattan about 15 miles north of the George Washington Bridge, on the west bank in Rockland county, if you know your way around, you will happen upon the enchanted village of Grand View-on-Hudson.  You may not even know you are here, for there are no shops, no signs to speak of, no traffic lights.  But for about two miles on a former Indian trail on a bluff beside the Hudson River, there is a stretch of road which looks out to the three mile expanse of the Hudson River to the hills of Westchester County to the east.  The collection oh homes is amusing and charming, small dwellings to grand estates.  Old and new, they are all blessed with the ever changing sights and sounds of the river.  Timeless.  Each spring, this time of year, is a very special time in Grand View, with its veritable explosion of blossoms from flowering trees almost like fireworks.   It is astounding that this kind of bucolic beauty can exist so close to Manhattan. 

So take a drive up river to see what all the quiet fuss is about.  You'll be charmed and you may want to stay. 

David Sanders

 

The softened economy can bring out the worst in some people, and word had percolated in our area about isolated thefts taking place at public open houses being held by brokers.  Sadly, but true, the time seems to be arriving when brokers are not only going to have to act as charming, knowledgeable guides, but good detectives, as well.

Recently, a couple toured a home, surreptitiously unlocking an obscure window, then returned and stole computers, TVs and jewelry.

Having an official sign-in book has always been an imperative at our open houses.  Often when guest have been asked to sign in and refused, they have been turned away by our company.  Now the time may have arrived to ask guests for some form of identification.  Perhaps iy may be possible to take note of a license plate on a vehicle.  The truth is, brokers are vulnerable and it is best to be smart and alert to our personal and client's safety.

Always have a cell phone handy.  Never hold open houses after dark.  Best to have two brokers present.  Always instruct home owners to place small valuables out of sight, anything easily concealed. Remember to check that all windows and doors are locked before leaving.

Remember, the clients home is our responsibility for the time we are there.  Guard it like a bulldog!

David Sanders

 

 

 

With the beginning of the spring market making a most welcome appearance across the country, now is the time to begin preparing your home's presentation.  Lawn to be mowed, winter's accumulation of leaves raked, spring weeds removed and spring annuals installed.  Pansies are an easy way to break the winter doldrums.  A pot or two near your home's entry is a good beginning. 

Remember that there never a second chance to make a good first impression, so perhaps your front door could use a fresh coat of paint after the harsh winter winds.  Now is the time to replace that worn mat with a thick natural fiber one.  Make sure your entry light bulbs are all new and remember to never place a harsh, too bright light at your entry.

Remove anything remotely reminiscent of winter, like dead branches from trees or shrubs.  If you have a gravel drive, a fresh truckload of gravel is an easy way to make a big statement. 

Perhaps the time is right to open the pool and put out summer furniture cushions.  Stage your front entry or porch with benches, rockers, and a table or two, perhaps with a candle lantern.  Personalizing even the most formal entrances is always a sign of welcome to visitors.  Hanging plants or wind chimes can be an enchanting device, whispering...buy me!

David Sanders

 

Singer Bjork's eclectic, marvelous stone and copper roofed Snedens Landing home has just been reduced in price to $1,800,000.  The home was built in the 1930's and was expanded in the 1960's. It features seasonal Hudson River views and is among the area's most interesting and distinctive homes.

Snedens Landing is an artist colony located just outside New York City and is home to artists, professionals and scientists.  It is known for its bucolic charm and non-prepossessing homes predating the American revolution.

David Sanders

Longtime Rockland County New York resident Dorothy Salisbury Davis, and past president of the Mystery Writers Association of America will be conducting a discussion of one of her most famous books, which was set in Piermont, New York, "Black Sheep, White Lamb" on Sunday, April 26th at 2:00 PM.  The lecture is being sponsored by and held at the Piermont Library.  You should plan to be there, as she promises to share many tidbits and gossip which never made it into the book, but make for great story telling.

David Sanders