Reacting to the Historic Mansions You Sent Me, From $2M to $68M | Architectural Historian Reacts

Añadido: 2026-06-05

[00:00:00]Last time we did one of these real estate react  videos, you all seem to really love it. So, this time I'm reacting to historic homes for  sale that you've sent me since then. Hi everyone, Ken here. Hit that subscribe button and let's just  dive right in. Just like last time, you all are going to see the picture of the house before I do  while I read the stats. So, this one is in Tuxedo Park, New York. 27,500,000. 19 bed, 21 baths,  22,400 ft. And it was built in 1928. Let's see what we're working with here. Oh, wow. This one is  really charming. It kind of has those like tutor storybook elements to it. And yeah, that charm  just continues around the side to the front here.

[00:00:37]I'm really excited to see how this one plays out.  So, it looks like we step into this vestibule, which is stoneclad, go through iron grills, and  then suddenly you're in the stair hall. This is a glorious house. Love those parquet floors. Then  all the guilded accents up on the cornice. Yeah, this is really lovely. Oh, and then we get to the  library. The library is always one of my favorite rooms in these old houses just because of all the  wood paneling, intricate plaster work that you find. And then, of course, you can just imagine  the smell of books overwhelming the space. Oh, now this is a charming detail. It looks like  there's some steps down to the dining room. I love this bit of Gothic tracery up here and then  also the hexagonal tiles. It's a really charming and rustic kind of feel that it lends. Then I  think they did okay with the kitchen. You guys can let me know what you think in the comments.  Yeah, there's a lot of fun spaces in this house.

[00:01:40]It doesn't seem to be taking itself too seriously  and yet it's still very elegant in some places.

[00:01:49]What a spread that is with a pool, tennis  courts, formal gardens. Yeah, this is a gorgeous, gorgeous property. All right, the next house is  in New York. $68 million, six bed, nine baths.

[00:02:01]And we don't know the square footage of this  one. So, let's scroll up and take a look. Oh, I've walked past this house several times, and  I think I've actually seen these listing photos before. Sometimes I like to doom scroll the real  estate apps just to see what's out there and get an idea of houses I can feature. And I have  not reached out to the owners of this house.

[00:02:24]Wow. This is this is insanely gorgeous. I'm just  absolutely blown away by the plaster work on the ceiling. This is really intricate and delicate  looking. And this is such a charming dining area.

[00:02:41]And then the kitchen is fun. Is is  that are those mint green cabinets?

[00:02:48]Well, that's fine because I mean, you have stuff  like this in the house. This is just incredible.

[00:02:54]And I wonder how much of this is original because  we get to the dressing room here and we see all these little built-ins and this is just not how  closets would be designed today. I'm sure it's been renovated or updated over the years, but it's  still just very nice and very functional. Next up, we're going to St. Louis, Missouri. The  house is listed at 2.3 million, 7 bed, 5 baths, almost 10,000 square ft, and it  was built in 1903. Right from the start, I'm loving what I'm seeing from the curb  appeal with the Italian palazo composition, the Italian Renaissance detailing. This is a very  lovely home. I'm excited to see how this plays out on the interior if we follow through with the  same kind of historic charm that we've been seeing in the different architectural elements from the  exterior. I have a feeling we'll get there any day now. Oh, here we are. We're in the entrance hall.  Wow, these plasters are absolutely breathtaking.

[00:03:51]Looks like the same kind of detailing continues  on the new post over here, really tying it all together. And then the steer landing. I hope we  have a better picture of this because it looks like the windows bow out. I guess one thing at a  time, though. We'll probably get there eventually.

[00:04:07]So, what might be considered the drawing room  has an incredibly elaborate plaster freeze capping off the panled walls. And then that  fireplace surround. Wow. This is the kind of detailing you just don't find in newer houses  with all these intricate carvings everywhere.

[00:04:26]Yeah. Furnishings aside, this is an  incredible house to be exploring.

[00:04:30]Just from an architectural standpoint,  it's very interesting. And once again, I'm seeing these houses for the first time,  so I'm not really sure what's been restored, what's been renovated, what's been added onto.  But one of these details I really like in this room is how the built-ins are perfectly in  line with the Wayne Scotting. It just creates a seamless look to the room. It just feels  very natural and very pleasant to experience.

[00:04:54]And this looks like a conservatory to me  with the tile floor and windows on all the sides. And look at this. This mill  work is all curved to round out with the room. I think those types of details  are just so pleasant to find. Of course, this dining room is absolutely  gorgeous. I love these plasters.

[00:05:15]And then the kitchen is pretty modern.  I'm not really sure how we got here. I think we ran into that same issue in the  last video we did with historic homes, but that's okay because we get to stuff like  this. This is that landing I really wanted to see.

[00:05:28]This is just truly an incredibly  special space right here. Yeah, I can imagine just sitting here all day reading a  nice book. That'd be such a lovely, lovely place.

[00:05:43]All right. And all these bedrooms and closets. Eh,  we can move on to the next one. All right. We are now going to Greenwich, Connecticut. The house  is listed for 24.9 mil. Seven beds, seven baths, over 18,000 square ft, and it was built in 1891.  Okay, now this is a house I can vibe with. I really love the tutor Gothic elements giving that  first grand impression. I'm really excited to see the interior of this one. So, it looks like you  walk in, you have an angle nook, nice little place to warm up. If that was the entrance, these  pictures seem maybe a little random, but it's so warm and cheerful inside. So maybe we'll uh we'll  just have to kind of imagine where we are in the house as we go through. I think this is pretty  clearly the dining room. And then the kitchen, even though it's a white kitchen, because the  dining room is also all white, I think that that works to tie in together. I really like to see  matching meal work painted or unpainted to create that cohesive experience whenever you're exploring  these old homes. So, even if it has been updated, I do like to see the same themes play out.  And wow, these windows are incredible.

[00:07:00]Oh, and what a charming space this is with  the stained glass and the wallpaper. All that beautiful, beautiful wood wings scotting. So,  where I said there was an Engle Nook earlier, it looks like I was correct because it has  the same flooring as this entrance hall does.

[00:07:15]And I am absolutely drawn to these  belusters here which look like they have ionic capitals on them and perhaps they fade  to Doric afterwards. That's a very interesting use of you know the classical order. So  then we get to the bedrooms and there are absolutely some charming details in here  with the Wayne Scotting the pointed arches.

[00:07:38]Yeah, I love how these gothic themes  just keep carrying throughout the house in just kind of the smallest places. A lot of  attention to detail was put into this house, whether it's newer or older. I mean, this looks  like a finished basement, and yet it could totally pass for an oldtimey billiard's room or even  a library. Oh, and then the backyard. Yeah, this is such an absolutely charming estate. It  would be like living in a fairy tale to be able to enjoy this everyday. Our next house is in Newport,  Rhode Island. Listed for $18 million, 12 beds, 11 and 1 half baths, 16,61 ft, and it was built in  1929. Let's see what we're working with here. Now, this is my kind of house, the Chatau with a steep  roof. I am absolutely loving this so far. Oh, and I see the marble house right here in the  background next to Beachwood. So, I am very, very familiar with this area. I've definitely  walked by these gates a million times, but I've never had a chance to see the inside of  this one, so I'm very excited to get there. These grounds are absolutely lovely. It's exactly what  you'd expect for the area around Belleview Avenue.

[00:08:59]The entrance hall isn't quite as grand as what you  might expect in most of these Newport cottages.

[00:09:04]However, this is still very charming.  And it looks like it might be a center hall plan because it's carrying straight  through to the backyard. And I see this grand staircase just peeking out from around  the corner. I'm hoping we get there soon.

[00:09:19]I'm sure we'll get there eventually, but in  the meantime, um, this room is incredible.

[00:09:26]Yeah, I'm a sucker for herring bone floors  or really parquet of any kind. And wow, wow, wow, wow. Check out this space.

[00:09:37]Look at these insanely intricate carvings  on these wood panels. I wonder if this was salvaged or if this was designed  specifically for this house. I might need to look into this one a bit more closely.  But I don't really mind the modern furnishings with this house. It seems to have been done  very well. The use of color is excellent.

[00:09:58]It's very balanced with a lot of  complimentary touches with the decor.

[00:10:07]And the kitchen, it's all stainless steel.  All stainless steel. Interesting choice, but if you can afford a house like this, you're  probably not doing too much cooking yourself. So, that's probably for a chef. Very sterile  butler's pantry. Interesting that they went with what looks like maybe historic  China in such a sterile space. It's it's an interesting touch for sure. Now, this  staircase is absolutely wonderful. This looks maybe like kenstone or marble. And then  we have this gilding on the rod iron. Now, this is absolutely gorgeous. And I love how  almost all the rooms seem to have the same paneling throughout. It really ties it  all together. They each have their own, you know, distinguishable characteristics  such as in this dressing room or bathroom, but it's just nice to see so many  characteristics carried throughout the house. Once again, it gives it  that cohesive feeling throughout.

[00:11:09]Yeah, this was an absolutely lovely home and um  I thank you guys for sending it in to me to see.

[00:11:15]This has been such a pleasure. All right, let's  move on to our next house. It's in Tuxedo Park, New York. $6.8 million, five beds,  six baths, over 10,000 square feet, and it was built in 1912. I can already see  why you all sent this in for me to look at.

[00:11:32]The roof is very interesting. It almost gives  the appearance of a thatch roof, but I can tell that these are shingles. Then there's an  interesting tableabte over the main door. Yeah, we can get a closer look at that. Oh, and then  these beautiful tiles. Oh, and then the interior.

[00:11:50]Yeah, I'm already absolutely enthralled by this  house. From the chandeliers to this intricate cornice to these beautiful Corinthian columns.  And I'm not quite sure what material this is, if this is stone or if this is painted. Hopefully,  we get a closer look at that at some point. Oh, and then this grand staircase just swooping down  so gracefully. I really love these pops of color we're getting through these natural materials,  whether it be stone or the tile work or the different variations in the wood tones. It's all  very pleasant and very warm. And this is a very interesting door surround. You don't usually see  floating along the top here in this time period.

[00:12:31]And then these very intricate corners. This almost  hearkens back to maybe like 30, 40 years before the house was built. And then this dining room  is just absolutely incredible. It's interesting that the paneling is wood and yet the window  surrounds are all painted white. I wonder if it was originally like that or if this is something  that someone decided to do more recently. However, the picture rail caps it all off and brings it  all together below this Jacobian ceiling. Just absolutely stunning work here. Oh, and this tour  looks super special. I wonder where this takes us.

[00:13:10]Maybe we don't get to find out. That might just be  a little secret for the next owner. And honestly, I don't think I would care for this kitchen too  much with the blue countertops if it weren't for this shinazeri. I'm an absolute sucker for  shinazeri. I have it in my own dining room and it just kind of helps to pull it all together.  Yeah, absolutely gorgeous setting. Tuxedo Park is such a magical place. If you ever are invited  to a house there, I highly recommend you take up that invitation and just go because otherwise it  is just such a private little enclave. But it is such a pleasure to just be there and experience  Tuxedo Park. All right, the next house is in San Francisco, California. 8.5 million, 6 bed, 6  1/2 bath, 8200 ft², and it was built in 1876.

[00:14:02]When I think of San Francisco, this is exactly  the type of house I imagine. I love the Italian 8, what some might call stick style. It's just so  fitting for the region. And oh, this house has a name, the Sloth Lillenthal House. This house was  constructed in the country's centennial by Louisis Sloth as a wedding gift for his daughter  Bella and her husband Ernest Lillenthal.

[00:14:25]It is a classic example of Italianade  architecture with its elegant angled bay windows so characteristic of San Francisco during  the Champagne day of the 1870s. Oh, it survived the 1906 earthquake and fire and has remained  virtually unaltered. Well, I am incredibly excited to see this one. These details all around  the exterior are absolutely incredible. And it looks like they continue into the porch here. Um,  strictly for the architectural elements, this is exactly what you would expect to see walking into  one of these houses. Of course, I would love to see wallpaper everywhere and a bunch of period  chachkis. And in this photo, it appears to be that way. I'm guessing we saw a virtually sage photo  in the last one. So, yeah, this is definitely more in line with what I would love to see walking  into this house. Wow, this ceiling's incredible.

[00:15:20]Why would they do the virtual staging? This looks  so bad compared to what is actually here. Yeah, this is a gorgeous house. It looks like it's kind  of your standard parlor plan, which once again, that's exactly what you would expect to see  in one of these houses out in San Francisco.

[00:15:40]And the kitchen is modern, and  that's okay. It looks like a lot of the rooms are essentially the  same. I do love these bay windows, how they're separated by these giant  corbals. This is really something.

[00:15:57]I'm a huge fan of stick style  of East Lake of the Italian 8.

[00:16:05]And yeah, this is an absolutely gorgeous house.  Hopefully, whoever gets this one next maintains this level of care for its historic detailing.  Our next house is in Grossil, Michigan. Listed for 2.45 mil, 7 bed, 8 and a half baths, almost  10,000 square ft, and it was built in 1928. It's very humble looking compared to what we've seen so  far. However, I must say I love this giant front porch. And I would imagine that these windows  could be taken out to give a second floor veranda as well. Of course, that's only speculation. We  haven't seen anything inside yet. Yeah, this front porch is incredible. I would spend so much time  out here. Then we get to the entrance hall. It's clad floor to ceiling and painted wall paneling.  And this one is actually looking familiar. I believe this was another Fisher residence,  which every time we do anything in Michigan, their name seems to pop up. Oh, this is a gorgeous  space. I love these stone floors with the wood.

[00:17:06]It just works. Oh, and then the dining room. I  I'm a huge fan of murals. I just like to see the artistry play out in houses. I think we've really  lost a lot of the artistic initiatives that we had in the past where it was just stylish to have  an artist come to your house and just kind of let their imagination flow. And I really wish that our  culture was more in line with that today and that it wasn't so cookie cutter looking everywhere,  even in the higherend houses. Of course, people still build houses like this today.  They're just very, very few and far between.

[00:17:45]But I would love to see a resurgence of the arts  make their way back into houses of this caliber.

[00:17:54]This is an absolutely gorgeous house.  I'm so glad this one was sent in. It's very charming and it's very humble.  It doesn't feel pretentious. It feels very comfortable. It's easy to  imagine living in these spaces.

[00:18:10]Oh, no. This is an interesting shot. I love seeing  the underbellies of these houses. I'm wondering if this is the original boiler. If so, it'd be  interesting to know how well it still works. Um, some of those things just never break  down as long as you keep them maintained.

[00:18:29]Yep. They certainly don't build  them like they used to. All right, let's move on to our next house in Buffalo,  New York. It is listed for 3.25 25 mil, eight beds, seven baths, almost 30,000  square ft, and it was built in 1895.

[00:18:44]And I immediately recognized this house. This  was on Buffalo's Millionaires Row, and I believe I covered it in the video I did of Buffalo's  Millionaires Row, but probably with black and white pictures only. Yeah, I recognize this,  but it's very interesting seeing it in color.

[00:19:02]This covered ceiling is incredible  with all these little rosettes and delicate plaster bits. I am loving this  so far. The tile on the floor is a choice, but at least it's not throughout the whole  house. This room is very, very stately.

[00:19:20]Oh, wow. And then the fireplace.

[00:19:25]Yeah, this is absolutely incredible. Check out  this really interesting detail here. It's like the foliage is wrapping back on itself to  support the encanthus leaves. It's a very interesting bit of craftsmanship. Oh, and  then we're back into the stair hall and we can get a much better look at the fonses.  I am um just blown away by the craftsmanship inside this house. I mean, my god, this  ceiling's incredible. Oh, and who wouldn't love a Gothic library like this? Check out  the tracery work on these glass cabinets.

[00:20:04]Yeah, that's just so so amazing. Oh, and this room  is interesting. We have kind of a departure from these more English aesthetics into more French  aesthetics. Yeah, this is very interesting. The cove ceiling with this almost trellis motif.  I wish we could get a much closer look at the details. So, I really want to see what exactly  is composing those little details. The whole house is just so full of teensy tiny details.  I could spend hours in here just walking room to room looking at all the little tiny things.  Oh, and this is so whimsical and light. I love this. I love this Fibonacci swirl. All the  floral work up here and the plaster. It It's almost giving like a toned down racoo. Yeah, I I  absolutely love the space. I'm not sure what this room would have been originally, but it looks  like it's staged as a dining room right now, which I could absolutely see having a big fancy  meal in there. And it looks like now this is the second floor stair landing. This house just  goes on and on. Perhaps this is the dining room, though. It seems like we're upstairs  based on the order of these pictures. So, perhaps it's more of a bedroom or a study. I'm  not really certain. And we have another study.

[00:21:38]You know what? I think I'm remembering now.  I believe this house became offices. And this is all making a lot more sense now how it's set  up. Yeah, that was an absolutely gorgeous house to end this on. Thank you all for joining me on  this journey as we look through all these houses.

[00:21:55]If you come across historic houses that are  absolutely mind-blowing like the ones we just saw, go ahead and send me an email with them and  maybe I'll make another one of these videos.

[00:22:03]As always, thank you all for watching  and I'll see you next time on This House.