Feature: Bigger & Better
November 1, 2004
“In homes greater than 12,000 square feet, elevators are usually a
necessity,” says Ed Weinlein, vice president for the Atlanta and Eastern
divisions of development company Crescent Resources. Through the years, Weinlein
has watched luxury homes in two Crescent developments in the Atlanta
area–Sugarloaf Country Club and the River Club–nearly double in size from 6,000
to 22,000 square feet. Some homeowners, he adds, are even building elaborate and
expansive replicas of their favorite British pubs.; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
Mansions in Sugarloaf Country Club, built by Atlanta-based Crescent
Resources, are known for their grand Southern style and size. Some homes total
22,000 square feet. (Click image to enlarge)
Many home builders and buyers agree that incorporating an underground
playground into the blueprints is oftentimes a means for the husband to show off
his toys and trophies. Some subterranean floors include elaborate garages,
brilliantly lit for displaying rare cars and exotic motorcycles, as well as wine
cellars, which are often accompanied by dining facilities that can accommodate a
wine-tasting dinner for 24. “It’s becoming very popular to offer an evening of
entertainment around a wine cellar,” says David J. Cohen, president of New
York’s I. Grace Co.
The home theater, the number-one boy toy that was once relegated to an unused room or small basement, has grown into a sophisticated subterranean screening room that demands thousands of square feet and can easily cost up to $1 million, just for the audiovisual equipment. While luxury builders have been carving out space for elaborate family room media centers for years, movie watching is no longer restricted to a single room: It is not uncommon for a single residence to have upward of 20 plasma TVs scattered about. Builders are even figuring out how to install flat-screen televisions into showers.
New construction, however, is not the only benefactor of audiovisual technology these days. “Lots of actors have moved back to New York and brought the technology with them,” says Sweeney, whose Manhattan projects range in size from 5,000-square-foot apartments to 20,000-square-foot restored mansions. Some of Sweeney’s clients are placing theaters adjacent to the master suite, giving new meaning to the private screening room.
Below ground level, the gym is also being expanded and customized in countless ways. “People [return] from spas or resorts and want all those things for their home,” McGhee says, adding that he has incorporated large steam rooms, saunas, massage treatment rooms, kitchenettes and laundry rooms into some clients’ home gyms.
In some homes, the art of collecting is taking precedence over working out. “We are seeing a lot of very serious collectors’ buildings–big spaces with all sorts of outfitting via lighting and museum-quality climate control,” Cohen says. When space permits, he adds, gyms are often relocated to ancillary buildings originally designed for home offices and guesthouses.
Not surprisingly, the adults-in-training of the house are not left out of the design equation. Children’s suites, which often include nanny and sitting rooms, continue to grow in popularity. In fact, many of Sweeney’s young New York clients are gutting townhouses, penthouses, lofts and apartments on the Upper East Side and in the West Village to devote entire floors to their kids and their playrooms. Other clients are converting staff quarters into enlarged breakfast rooms.
His-and-her closets, with individual climate control and designated areas for
suitcase packing and large dressing quarters–sometimes the size of a small
living room–are
de rigueur, as are separate but equal baths and individual
offices and sitting rooms. Many master closets even provide office
functionality so movers and shakers can stay connected via TVs, laptops or
touchscreens.
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