THE GOLD STANDARD
Are you familiar with the North Shore—aka Long Island’s Gold Coast? Our panel of local experts reveals why you should be.
All that glitters is indeed gold on the North Shore. Here to elaborate are home design specialists Bridget Adams, Harris Cohen, Annemarie disalvo, and Valerie Manwiller, plus real estate pros Lois Kirschenbaum and Jim Retz.
How do you define the Gold Coast? Jim Retz: North of 25A, from King’s Point on the west to Lloyd Neck on the east. That’s an opinion. Lois Kirschenbaum: The topography changes at Jericho Turnpike. JR: It’s an area with a preponderance of homes with architectural integrity, very unique for many parts of the United States. Heavily wooded, a rural DNA, an extraordinary number of clubs—golf, country clubs, boating. LK: Very wealthy families like the Phippses and the Whitneys, people in the railroad industry and so forth, built their estates on multi-acres. Most of those have been broken up. People look for homes here because of its proximity to the city, yet the quality of life is so great. The schools are acclaimed. Harris Cohen: The open spaces are vast. It’s a beautiful place to live— expensive, but beautiful. JR: It’s the only part of Long Island that feels like time stood still. Annemarie disalvo: Not only with the architecture— with the towns. What’s better than Oyster Bay? Than Locust Valley? Just
one town after another. You have to go out to the East End to find that quaintness. Just get there before Memorial Day to enjoy it. JR: It’s still nice after Memorial Day. Let’s explore the architecture. AD: The North Shore has a traditional aesthetic. So many beautiful homes built with stone and brick. We see a diminished amount of the contemporary wave. Valerie Manwiller: The customers are very particular. They have an idea of exactly what they want, whereas other people are like, “What do you think?” Even when they build new homes, they’re very old-world-looking. AD: A lot of details— molding packages, built-ins, wainscoting, coffered ceilings. That’s half of my office’s work. Bridget Adams: Even though these beautiful estates have been broken up, people respect that architecture. They’re really stewards of the history. The preservations of these mansions are phenomenal, and the fact that they’ve opened up to the public. LK: The most luxurious community being built out here is Spring Hill, in Old Westbury, which we represent. John Keen is developing it. JR: The Ritz-carlton Residences in North Hills, right next to Manhasset, are special; 244 luxury condominiums. And Garvies Point in Glen Cove is a waterfront community—1,100 units, half condos and half rentals— that will have a 28-acre park and a high-speed ferry to New York. It’s a very contemporary, Leed-certified—i’ll call it young—community. How are real estate values? LK: It depends on location and price point. We’re seeing bidding wars in homes up to a million and a half. The luxury market—say, 2 million and above—is more difficult. The dynamic has changed. It’s become fashionable to have a second home in the Hamptons if you live in this area, so it’s much quieter here on weekends in season. A lot of young people are staying in the city, and many are buying that second home in the Hamptons. Before, they might have moved to the suburbs. AD: At that starting price point, every other home is being knocked down.
“THE NORTH SHORE HAS A TRADITIONAL AESTHETIC, SO MANY HOMES BUILT WITH STONE AND BRICK.”— annemarie disalvo
What about design trends? AD: We’re knocking entire walls out, creating new floor plans, moving kitchens. Everyone wants a family room-kitchen combination. Lots of thresholds instead of doorways. Upstairs everything is en suite. For decorating, pale, soft, elegant palettes are still in demand. Luxurious-feeling textiles, carpets; soft, warm walls. Nothing harsh, no explosive colors, everything easy to live with long-term. HC: I’d say the same. We stopped carrying 6-by-9 rugs four or five years ago, and we’ve stopped 10-by-14s and 12-by-15s. We’re doing more silk, viscose, softer nylons—luxurious, more shiny fibers. BA: We get the same thing with stone. People love marble, because it’s soft, but they don’t want it to stain, so that leads into engineered stones that mimic natural pretty well. Porcelain has done amazing trends, and a lot of people like stone to be honed, rather than polished, for a more organic feeling. Again, not really wild. But we do have a client who wants a blue agate countertop. That’s pretty wild. HC: We see a transition to more wood floors, more porcelain floors, especially on lower levels. AD: Sandy changed everything. HC: Even before Sandy. Twenty years ago, it was 85 percent soft floor covering; now it’s 47. VM: My favorite thing is when a customer says, “I’m doing something different—a gray tile with white and Carrara.” Whoa, really different! That’s what everyone’s doing. What are your area favorites? BA: Planting Fields Arboretum brings back the past and its beauty. JR: North Shore beaches are like being on the New England coast— small, quaint, quiet. You just have to figure out how to get into them. LK: Horse trails through the villages. HC: Lots of hiking and biking trails. LK: In Westbury, I can ride right out of my home and onto the trails.
“WE SEE A TRANSITION TO MORE WOOD FLOORS, MORE PORCELAIN FLOORS, ESPECIALLY ON LOWER LEVELS.”— harris cohen