Modern updates enhance a classic Mediterranean home in

Real Estate
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Page B1
& classified
SECTION
B
Photos by Karsten Moran
Home of the week
Modern updates
enhance a classic
Mediterranean home
in Fieldston
D
wight James Baum, the early 20th
century architect responsible for
many of the finest homes in Riverdale, was a stylist who was equally
at ease with half-timbered Tudor or with formal
red brick Georgian. But Mediterranean houses
seem to have had a special place in his heart.
They appealed to his sense of the dramatic.
Few of his designs are as dramatic as the
8,132-square-foot Alhambra at 4621 Waldo Ave.,
which looks serenely down upon its neighbors
from atop a high rock outcropping surrounded
by mature plantings.
According to exclusive broker Anne Shahmoon of Sotheby’s International Realty, the
house is “perfect for both intimate family life and
formal entertaining.”
On its main floor, the center hall leads to an
expansive living room with its original stone fireplace, a formal dining room with a tile fireplace,
a solarium and a library.
Also on the first level is a spacious, fully
renovated eat-in country kitchen with a butler’s
pantry and an adjacent breakfast room, a guest
room with its own full bathroom and a powder
room.
The upper level master suite offers a retreat
with classic tiled bath, terrace and sitting room,
in addition to another five well-proportioned
bedrooms and three additional baths.
There is an attached two-car garage and
beautiful gardens and terraces on more than
three-quarters of an acre.
The current owners have completely updated
the house, blending modern furnishings, cabinetry and lighting with unique original details like
Moorish tilework, arched casement windows,
leaded glass doors and hardwood and quarry
tile flooring.
Ms. Shahmoon has listed the home with an
asking price of $4,500,000. Taxes are estimated
at $20,396.
The spacious
kitchen, top photo,
features plenty of
counter space and
abundant natural
light.
The Dwight James
Baum-designed
home sits at
the heart of the
Fieldston Historic
District.
Broad dark wooden
doors open into
the formal dining
room.
Colorful tiles accent
the first floor hall.
The master bedroom suite is airy and
bright.
A first floor library can double as a guest
bedroom.
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expressed are those of
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