It's always been my dream to live in a library. You can live my dream in the former Carnegie library in Rockport, Massachusetts. The former library, which originally opened in 1906, has new life as a stately, luxurious residence with water views. The building was sold to private buyers for around $500,000 a couple of years ago and has been renovated into a single-family home with three bedrooms, 3.5 bathroom and an underground garage.

It doesn't look like a usual house and when you step through the granite arched entrance you find the library's huge rotunda and marble floor. The home has large bay windows, massive wood columns, a chef's kitchen and a granite patio. The property was restored to the standards of the State Historical Commission and is listed on the National Register of Historic Homes. This unique residence is listed at $2.75 million.

Today's estate was originally built for the Montreal's rising merchant class over one hundred years ago but now the home has been given a luxurious new renovation for modern tycoons. Thompson Manor, in Ville-Marie, Montreal was built in 1907 and has been updated into a luxury home with all the modern amenities. The fully equipped eat-in kitchen has granite countertops and the original hearth appears to have been turned into a low maintenance gas fireplace.

The mansion has over 10,000 square feet of space that includes an open-concept formal dining room and living room, home theatre, three family rooms, a gym area, four bedrooms and a mahogany wine cellar with room for 5,000 bottles, a wine tasting area and wet bar. This home boasts some very indulgent bathrooms including one with a solid rock soaking tub. The property also has a triple garage with a loft that can be used for additional living space or as an art studio or home office. It is listed at $7.875 million Canadian.

The listing calls it the "most stunning renovation you have ever seen." I'm not sure I'd go quite that far but a four-bedroom loft in New York City belonging to David Tutera is certainly done up within an inch of its life. The Real Estalker reveals that the ultra-popular wedding planner who has a show called My Fair Wedding appears to have picked up this loft in 2007 for $4,312,500. Tutera has clearly put a team of decorators to work on the look of this home. It's a vivid one. The kitchen has red lacquered walls, the living room includes a gold leafed stone fireplace with golden walls and the media room has an Asian cabinet wet bar, Chinese lacquer details and a screen and speakers installed on an hydraulic lift. The most colorful room might just be the master bedroom. It features a variety of colorful purple patterns including a glittery mosaic-look lavender and silver ceiling and a cushy eggplant couch. This home is listed at $5.675 million.

From the LA Times Hot Property:
--PBS commentator Huell Howser has listed his 60-acre Newberry Springs compound including the Volcano house, shown above, for $750,000. The listing is here.
--Writer-director-producer Aaron Seltzer has sold his Studio City home for $2,397,500. It was listed at $2.949 million when we checked it out as an estate of the day.

--Fashion designer Randolph Duke first put his award-winning Hollywood Hills house on the market for $8.5 million last year but it recently sold for $5.3 million. It was listed at $6.5 million when we checked it out as an estate of the day.

--Fashion photographer David LaChapelle has sold his 1920s Spanish-style home in the Sunset Strip area for $1.6 million. It was listed at $1.65 million earlier this year.

--Actress Cobie Smulders has purchased a Los Feliz-area triplex for $991,000.
Actor Oliver Hudson and his wife, actress Erinn Bartlett, have purchased a home in Brentwood for about $2 million.

From Cityfile's Buyers and Sellers:
--via New York Magazine, the townhouse at 160 East 95th Street that Walter Cronkite helped his son Chip buy for $1.725 million in 2000 is on the market for $4.25 million. The listing is here.
--via New York Magazine, the former home of photographer David Gahr has gone on the market for $3.2 million. The listing is here.
--via the NY Times, the penthouse duplex at 1020 Fifth has undergone a $5 million price cut. The 7,000-square-foot apartment, which is owned by heirs to the Kress retail fortune and first went on the market for $46.5 million in 2008 and is now listed for $34 million.
--John Novogratz, a senior managing director at Millenium Partners has paid $3.44 million for an apartment at 39 Vestry Street.
--via the NY Times, Richard Gere has finally unloaded his spread at Julian Schnabel's Palazzo Chupi. The 3.500-square-foot space, which Gere bought for $13 million in 2007 and listed for $17.995 million in 2008, has reportedly sold for $12 million.

--Abigail Wexner, the wife of apparel billionaire Les Wexner, has sold a two-bedroom apartment at 910 Fifth Avenue for $2.4 million.
--Barbara Gutmacher Girard has listed her two-bedroom apartment at The Plaza for $8.995 million.The listing is here.
--Literary agent Dan Strone, whose clients include Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and Chris Rock, has paid $1.8 million for a two-bedroom apartment at 29 East 64th Street.
--Gisele Bundchen has found a buyer for her townhouse at 42 Barrow Street. Bundchen bought the home for $5.8 million in 2005 and it had been listed for $13.95 million since September.
--Entrepreneur David Smilow has found a buyer for his duplex penthouse at 140 Perry Street. The apartment was once listed for $19.5 million, was taken off the market in April and went into contract to sell earlier this week.
--via Newsday, Dr. Arthur Agatston, the cardiologist best known for having created the South Beach Diet, and his wife Sari have paid $7 million for a mansion in East Hampton.
--via Newsday, caterer Rhona Silver's seven-bedroom Long Island home has gone on the market. The home has been the setting for more than a few rap music videos over the years and is listed at $5.5 million.
--Barry Weiss, the music executive who replaced Clive Davis as the CEO of BMG in 2008, has picked up a new apartment paying $4.995 million for a penthouse at the Harrison at 205 West 76th Street.
--via the Real Deal, Showtime chief executive Matt Blank has paid $11.2 million for a 10th-floor condo at the Superior Ink building at 400 West 12th Street. [Real Deal]
--via Curbed, hedge fund mogul Bill Ackman personally auctioned off the guest suite he owns at The Majestic on Central Park West for $320,000, just $20,000 above the minimum bid.

From the NY Observer's Manhattan Transfers:
--Former Random House chief executive Peter Olson and his wife, iVillage.com co-founder Candice Carpenter Olson, have sold their duplex apartment at 799 Park Avenue for $4.5 million to Essie Nail Polish founder Essie Weingarten and her husband, Massimo Sortino.

From the NY Post:
--Madonna may be buying Kelly Klein's horse farm, Wild Ocean Farm in Bridgehampton for under $10 million. Madonna is also attempting to purchase an additional 24 acres nearby listed for $2.4 million.
--Celebrity chef Todd English has been spotted checking out apartments in the Novare building.

From Berg Properties Big Time Listings:
--Kiefer Sutherland has sold a condo unit in Manhattan's Greenwich Village for $3.5 million and his loft/recording studio in Los Angeles' Silver Lake area for $3 million.
--Jakob Dylan has sold his seven-bedroom home Los Angeles' Brentwood area for $8.225 million. It was listed at $11 million when we checked it out as an estate of the day last year.

--Mark Ruffalo has sold his three-bedroom home in the Hollywood Hills for $1.65 million.

From the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties:
--Fashion designer Tory Burch has listed a property in the Hamptons for $17.9 million. She bought the home in 2008 from her ex-husband for $22.5 million and planned to tear it down. The property is being offered with the approved plans for a new house. The listing is here.
--As my colleague Jared Paul Stern mentioned earlier this week designer Yves Saint Laurent's Paris home is on the market. It is listed for $34.6 million.
--Bank of America has sold a historic Manhattan townhouse for $29.4 million. It was not on the market, was purchased in a direct deal by a partnership led by Jules Demchick , president of JD Carlisle Development.

From ShelterPop:
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Tracking Nicolas Cage's Many, Many Homes

We don't see too many estates with their own chapel but Chota Falls, in Clayton, Georgia has been a popular wedding destination for years. The 62-acre estate includes four villas, the chapel and event facilities as well as a 15-suite lodge. The estate takes its name from a 100 foot waterfall. The property also boasts two mountaintop vistas with views across several states. The stone and wood lodge includes outdoor fireplaces and terraces with views over the waterfalls. This property is listed at $10 million.

Log cabin extreme, chalet deluxe? What exactly would you call this huge home in Mountain Village, Colorado? The ultimate ski-home is located on nearly six park-like acres. It has seven bedrooms in over 10,000 square feet of space. It is a mix of modern American extravagance with a touch of European style. One of the most striking features is a huge, circular wooden staircase that dominates the massive open space that includes the kitchen, dining room and family recreation areas. This home also has one of the poshest mudrooms I've ever seen. You'll be taking off your skis and boots in style. This one is listed at $22 million.

Would you like to stare at the Golden Gate bridge from your kitchen? How about from your own spa tub? Today's home in Belvedere, California was designed to give as many perfect bay views as possible like the ones seen out of the master bedroom's wall of windows facing the water. This modern home was oriented to showcase the fact that it sits on a perfect view spot with approximately 220 feet of shoreline. The home is on 1.2 acres of land and the home itself has 7,900 square feet of interior space with five bedrooms. There is also a separate two-bedroom guest house. The use of warm wood with spare clean lines provides a calming effect and skylights flood the home with light. This home is listed at $28.5 million.

Famed French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent's incredible collections of art, antiques, furniture, decorative objects and personal effects were recently auctioned off in a series of sales fetching a total of over $700 million. Now the legendary couturier's Paris duplex on the Rue de Babylone, which housed many of his most prized possessions collected with longtime partner Pierre Bergé, is being put up for sale as well. The 5,400-sq.-ft. spread with a massive garden has been listed with prestigious Paris-based agency Emilie Garcin and is expected to fetch at least $30 million, WWD reports. Pictured above is the cover of The Private World of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé, a stunning book about the eye-popping environments Saint Laurent created.

We've already covered the late great author Dominick Dunne's Connecticut retreat. That house, which hit the market at $2.1 million, was recently reduced to $1.495 million. The Real Estalker reveals that Dunne's estate has also put his New York City pied-a-terre up for sale. The one bedroom penthouse at 155 E. 49th Street is a little jewel box of a place with a wraparound terrace with room enough for entertaining, a small study and a living room with a wood-burning fireplace. The kitchen is miniscule and overall the rooms are small but it seems to still carry the genteel spirit of its former owner. The celadon-colored living room has French doors which open out onto the terrace. The bedroom has vivid blue wallpaper and on one wall a poster for one of his son Griffin's movies still hangs on the wall. This apartment is listed at $1.45 million.

Today's home is the height of luxury in Grants Pass, Oregon. This home is located on a very private nine acres in a gated community. The main home is approximately 15,100 square feet but with just three bedrooms, this is a home given over to the owner's interests. The luxury log cabin is full of many custom details and custom stonework and wood carvings. The great room features a floor-to-ceiling fireplace with a carved mantle. The kitchen includes modern appliances and a beautiful stone countertop. The dining area boasts a large natural elk antler chandelier and has views over the poolside gardens.

The home's trophy room has a two-story fireplace, poker tables and a mahogany wet bar. There is a home theater with a separate lobby and a retro soda-fountain style bar. The master suite has a bedroom and sitting room which share a dual-sided fireplace. The master bathroom is floored in travertine tile punctuated with river rock mosaic. The additional bedrooms each have private balconies. Outside there are 8,000 sq. ft. of stone patios, covered stone decks, outdoor kitchen featuring a grill and stone fireplace, sauna and stone firepit all designed around the free flowing pool with a 35' "log" slide, waterfalls and hot tub grotto. There is an 1,100 sf. detached guest house above the RV/Boat garage. This incredible home is listed at $6.5 million.

Recently Khloe Kardashian and her new husband Los Angeles Lakers basketball player Lamar Odom picked up a seven-bedroom home in Tarzana, California which was listed for $3.995 million. Odom is still trying to sell his former home in the sports-star-friendly town of Mahattan Beach. The home is showcased on the the Sports Star Relocation website. The website was designed specifically for professional athletes and has a National Listing System that helps athletes find a new home in their new city (perfect for those sudden, surprise trades). The site includes a database where athletes and their families can search for properties that suit their specific needs including ones that are located near other local athletes/teammates, the airport or practice facility. Ed Kaminsky, founder of SportStar Relocation, found that the vast majority of his athlete-clients desire a home within a geographical triangle that includes their practice facility, stadium/arena, and the airport.

Odom seems to have stepped out of the triangle with his new Tarzana home but his Manhattan Beach home is squarely in it which might appeal to any athletes in the Los Angeles area looking for a home base. The five-bedroom home was built in 2002 by Gravatt Homes. It has been recently redone and includes a formal living room, formal dining room, large family room w/custom wet bar, three fireplaces and a three-car garage. Outside there is a pool, spa, as well as a barbecue area and a gas fire bit. This home is listed at $2.399 million.

What a difference nearly a year can make when a home lingers on the market. The ample New York City duplex of shopping center mogul Murray Goodman first hit the market nearly a year ago for an astronomical $32.5 million. The pricey co-op at 960 Fifth Avenue has been sliding down ever since and recently, as Cityfile reports, had another price reduction down to $25.6 million. But don't feel too sorry for Mr. Goodman. He'll make money no matter what, he bought the home for just $1.41 million back in 1981.

The duplex is in a lovely Rosario Candela designed building. It has four wood-burning fireplaces and the leafy expanse of Central Park can be seen from eight large windows. Rooms include an oak-paneled library, traditional dining room, and an upstairs master suite that includes dressing closets and a private study.

From the LA Times Hot Property:
--Inventor and master pitchman Ron Popeil has listed a gated Beverly Hills home, shown above, for sale. The English country-style house includes a tennis court, a large pool with a deck area and a two-story guesthouse. There are six bedrooms and it is listed at $5.995 million. The listing is here.
--The Beverly Hills home of Dr. Robert Rey, star of E! Entertainment Television's "Dr. 90210," has come back on the market at $4.395 million. It was previously listed at $5.295 million. The listing is here.
--Actor French Stewart and his wife, actress and interior designer Katherine LaNasa, have listed their renovated and expanded Hollywood Hills-area home for $4.195 million. The listing is here.
--Designer Brogan Lane has listed her 1924 Spanish-style boutique hotel and rental property, Villa Delle Stelle, in Hollywood at $1,098,100.
--Producer Marshall Herskovitz has sold his home in a Brentwood equestrian area for $4.6 million.

From Cityfile's Buyers and Sellers:
--Real estate developer Louis Cappelli has found a buyer for the 13-room duplex at 515 Park Avenue he owns with his second wife, actress Kylie Travis. The six-bedroom unit was listed for $29.5 million when it went into contract last week.
--Japanese filmmaker Keiko Ibi has gone into contract to sell her condo at 15 Central Park West. The one-bedroom unit was most recently listed for $3.485 million.
--Clifford Brokaw, a Goldman Sachs alum and a managing director at Corsair Capital, has paid $2.9 million for a third-floor apartment at 907 Fifth Avenue. It first went on the market for $4.4 million in May 2008.
--The lower half of George Gershwin's former duplex at 132 East 72nd Street has gone into contract after more than nine months on the market. The two-bedroom co-op had most recently been listed for $3.05 million. Socialite Debbie Bancroft's apartment, which is located one floor up and comprises the second half of Gershwin's former home, is still on the market for a reduced price of $1.5 million.
--African telecom mogul Yerim Sow has re-listed his three-bedroom pad at 15 Central Park West for $21 million. The listing is here.
--via the Real Deal, real estate mogul Elie Hirschfeld has put his East Hampton estate up for sale for $25 million. The listing is here.
--via the New York Post, Anna Wintour's daughter Bee Shaffer is searching for a place of her own and has been spotted touring two apartments in the "$2.3 million range" at 330 Spring Street and 505 Greenwich with her mom.
--via Curbed, real estate heiress Caroline Cumming has closed on the sale of her home at 11 Spring Street. The building had been listed for $26 million and sold for $19.5 million.
--Vice magazine co-founder Shane Smith has reportedly paid $2.2 million for a loft on Desbrosses Street in Tribeca.
--Hedge funder Glenn Dubin and his wife, Dr. Eva Andersson-Dubin have put their 12-room, 6,000-square-foot duplex at 1010 Fifth Avenue on the market for $18.5 million. The listing is here.
--via Curbed, New York's tiniest townhouse at 75 1/2 Bedford Street has gone into contract. It was most recently listed for $2.499 million.
--via the NY Observer, Kenneth Horowitz, the Florida-based entrepreneur who founded Cellular One and Weather Risk Solutions, has paid $5.2 million for a 46th-floor apartment at Trump Palace on East 69th Street.
--via the NY Observer, software mogul Marty Sprinzen has closed on the sale of his ninth-floor apartment at 838 Fifth Avenue. The apartment, which Sprinzen bought in 2007 for $15.8 million sold for $22.5 million.
--via the NY Observer, Russian chessmaster Garry Kasparov has paid $3.4 million for a penthouse apartment at 205 West 76th Street.
--Billionaire publishing heir Robert Ziff has gone into contract to sell his condo at the Trump International. It was listed for $11.5 million.
--Late fashion designer Abbijane Schifrin's former townhouse on East 19th St. has been chopped in price. It was listed at $8.75 million when we checked it out as an estate of the day but is now $7.995 million.


From the NY Post:
--Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky and his wife Janet have been spotted shopping for a New York City apartment in the $7 million to $15 million range.
--Late news anchor Walter Cronkite's three-bedroom, five-bathroom co-op at 870 United Nations Plaza has just hit the market for $2.995 million.
-- Belarus-born model Maryna Linchuk has purchased a one-bedroom condo in Nolita for $1.1 million

From the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties:
--Fashion designer Christian Lacroix has sold a Paris apartment for €1.2 million, or about $1.8 million. He had originally listed the apartment in January for €2 million.
--Singer John Legend has paid $1.9 million for an apartment in New York's East Village neighborhood and has gone into contract to sell his two-bedroom condo for around $1 million. It was recently listed at $1.195 million.

--Former money manager Stanley Chais, said to have channeled millions of dollars of investor funds to Bernard Madoff, has cut the price on his Los Angeles condo to $3.35 million. He paid $4.4 million for the unit in 2007 and had originally asked $4.7 million for the two-bedroom apartment in the Sierra Towers in West Hollywood. The listing is here.

From the Real Estalker:
--The West Village duplex that Jude Law is currently renting is up for sale for $6.9 million. The listing is here.
--Faith Hill and Tim McGraw may have listed their Nashville home and they have peeled $4 million off the price of their Beverly Hills home. It was listed at $14.8 million when we checked it out as an estate of the day in October of 2008 but is now down to just $10.8 million.

Today's home is another look at a home we've been talking about since 2005 when it was listed at $16.25 million. Kenockety in Lloyd Harbor, New York was once owned by Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees. The Tudor home was built in 1926 and sits on 6.7 acres of land. It has seven bedrooms, a library, conservatory, a gym and a master suite that includes several marble fireplaces. The property includes a gunite pool, brick cottages, greenhouse and 500 feet of water frontage with deeded docking rights. It is now listed at $9.9 million which is, as Newsday's Real LI points out, a nearly 40 percent reduction off the original price.

Looking for a new home just in time for Christmas? A gated home in Chula Vista, California near San Diego will be up for sale on December 17 through Concierge Auctions.The property is listed by Bobby Martins of RE/MAX Associates in cooperation with Coast Sotheby's International Realty.

The 5,400-square-foot home was previously offered for $1.785 million and is located in the Gates at Eastlake Woods in Chula Vista. The home features six bedrooms, three fireplaces,large entertaining rooms, and travertine stone floors. The second level has a game and media room, completely separate from the living areas. The grounds include a courtyard, attached three-car garage and a flagstone pool and spa. The auction will be held at 2pm PST on December 17 at 2856 Gate Nine Place in Chula Vista, California. No minimum bid is required to participate but a $10,000 deposit via wired or certified funds is necessary to bid.