This is likely the most beautiful home for sale in NJ. Ever.
I’ve had the opportunity to write about some beautiful homes in New Jersey and as a real estate voyeur, I’ve drooled over many.
But I can’t help thinking that this one is the most beautiful and glamorous I’ve seen yet. And with the number of magnificent estates we have here in the state, that’s saying a lot.
Take a look at Faircourt in Bernardsville, an estate that doesn’t just look like it’s from the gilded age. It actually is.
Inspired by a Tuscan villa, it was built in 1897 for industrialist Anthony R. Kuser and was once home to the late philanthropist Brooke Astor.
After a two-year renovation, the mansion now is a perfect balance of Old World style and New World modernism. And that’s not an easy feat. I’ve seen plenty of miserably failed attempts to blend both.
Faircourt’s new design was the subject of a cover story in a 2015 issue of Architectural Digest.
And you can see why: Eight bedrooms, eight full baths, three half baths, including a four-room guest suite with two baths. Each of the home’s four levels is served by an elevator, of course. What were formerly service rooms is now a contemporary wing with a center-island kitchen adjoining a two-story family room, where a retractable glass wall (imported from Germany) gives way to magnificent views.
In order to maintain period details in the entrance hall, living room, dining room and library, there was a restoration of elaborate plasterwork, oak paneling, Spanish tilework gilded ceilings, extravagant woodwork, and ceilings adorned with mouldings, friezes and medallions.
That’s the historic part.
The contemporary updates include a spanking new kitchen with Boffi cabinets imported from Italy, Gaggenau appliances and radiant-heated floors; a new gas fireplace, and LED lighting accenting the bookcases and fireplace in the family room; a quartz wet bar and dressing room with power drapes and new carpet in the primary suite; and radiant heated floors and new glass shower doors in the baths.
Set on approximately 13 acres, the grounds include an orchard with 72 peach, pear, apple, and cherry trees, a 45,000-gallon stone cistern, deer fencing, and an irrigation system to keep the lawns and gardens pristine. There’s also a VersaCourt tennis court, heated saltwater pool, three-hole putting green, and heated parking courtyard.
And as if that weren’t enough, the new owners’ cars will need love, too. There are upper and lower garages providing protected parking for multiple vehicles, a car lift, a new workshop, and epoxy flooring.
Smart home automation and security system are also featured and a diesel generator provides 95% power to the home in case of a power failure.
Not to leave anything out, this breathtaking home also includes: Bronze-accented wrought ironwork in the entry, opening to a foyer and 60-foot long gallery, A bar/trophy room centered by a stone fireplace, An oak-paneled library lined in built-in bookcases which were imported from France. There’s A walnut-paneled living room edged in gold leaf-accented moldings, Lower Level wine cellar, a workshop, and a greenhouse.
You’ve never seen anything like this masterpiece of architecture and design and it’s right here in NJ.
A cool 12 million, and it’s yours.