Luxury Berkshire Homes

Great Barrington, Ma is considered one of the best small towns in

New England by Boston Magazine..the articles focus is on Railroad Street

as a destination for terrific restaurants and shopping...

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/new_england_travel/articles/new_englands_best_small_towns/page8

Great Barrington, Ma. Real Estate / Living A Country Life  Restaurants have always been a big part of my lifestyle....Here in Great Barrington, Ma. we lost 2 good ones over the last few weeks...One was very sad and untimely, the chef/owner was killed in an automobile accident  Our community has grieved the loss of the young and promising chef /owner Jonathan of Pearls restaurant in Great Barrington, Ma. . The other was Helsinki, although in that case there was talk for a couple years that Club Helsinki was expanding and opening another branch in Hudson. NY. although the original would remain in Great Barrington, Ma.  Over the last couple months the word spread that Helsinki in Great Barrington, Ma. would be closing, and would soon be re-opening in Hudson. NY. It was such a well loved place that the tributes are still being blogged. These 2 restauants were no more then a block away, but were miles a part...Pearls, city slick chrome, leather, glass and rosewood interior, a well dressed, casual and coifed clientele, steaks and chops were their specialty.  Helsinki was bohemian and exotic in its artsy thrown together decor, and patrons. 1 part restaurant/tea room with a finish spin, (think gravlax, borscht) 2nd part music/dance club bringing some of the best country and rock musicians to Great Barrington, Ma.

The one thing both these extablishments had in common though was delicious food.  The food and ambience were so different that they served our community well by offering us different types of experiences.

I had great times at both Pearls and Helsinki, I will truly miss them...Although being true to form i can't  stop thinking about what restaurants are going to open next in Great Barrington, Ma. Today i was walking around Railroad St, and noticed that the old Helsinki is being renovated. More to follow...

Berkshire Homes For Sale    Today i would like to talk about an outstanding property in West Stockbridge, Ma.  It is a particularly wonderful  Berkshire Home For Sale  because the property has been designed to take in and capture the panoramic Berkshire  view from every room. There are soaring ceilings, a wonderful spacious flow that will accommodate family gatherings and entertaining. with the addition of surround sound throughout the house.  The centrally located living room has a dramatic stone fireplace and special lighting fixtures that adjoin a wrap around deck which overlooks the sparkling infinity pool. This Berkshire Home For Sale has a gourmet kitchen that will inspire meals to be shared in the adjoining dining room with a sensational bamboo peaked ceiling. The entertaining area is extended onto a large and impressive screened porch. This luxurious home has a fabulous master en suite on the main level with both his and her baths. There are four additional bedrooms, bathrooms, media and game room. The beautiful terrace that surrounds the pool and hot tub are perfect for alfresco dining and entertaining while taking in the captivating view of the mountains, a most special Berkshire Home For Sale  in the wonderful town of West Stockbridge Ma. To request a brochure, or for more information leave a comment below. $2,750,000.

Berkshire,Ma. to Kennebunkport, Me.    What a weekend..I love living in the Berkshires the mountains, the country roads, the exquisite scenery, but i also love the sea...so when i travel i love to visit the water...this weekend we left the Berkshires and drove east to Kennebunkport, Me. I am posting a photo i took of the Bush family summer compound.

We stayed at a terrific Bed & Breakfast, Bufflehead Cove Inn, on the Kennebunkport River...A very private and romantic spot, with excellent service and a full breakfast, our balcony overlooked the river, we sat out and took in the wonderful view. If you want you can see more  photos on my facebook page.

Saturday was wet, so we decided to do a shoreline drive south to Portsmouth, NH..visited the John Paul Jones House, would of done more historic homes but we were getting drenched and decided to head back dry off, relax and head out for dinner. We had a great  dinner at 77  Ramp on cape porpoise..

Sunday was beautiful...shoreline walks along the rocky coast, photos along the way, trolley tour to historic sites, shopping on the wharf, lunch was fried clams at the Clam Shack, they have the reputation as having the best fried clams in all of maine...we were happy with the chowder, fried clams, jumbo shrimp. We sat on one of the benches that overlooked the wharf...

The trip back to the Berkshires was a breeze, arrived home and started to edit my photos of our Berkshire, Ma. to Kennebunkport, Me weekend...

Today is Monday, I am off to work with new clients...Catch you later

http://www.buffleheadcove.com/

http://luxuryberkshirehomes.com/

New Marlborough, Ma. Open House Tour  Today is tuesday August 18th, and the realtor open house tour was in New Marlborough, Ma....It was a great day to take a drive in the country, the sun was shining, and i was excited about taking some photos of what i would see along the way...The open houses were terrific...there are many historic homes in New Marlborough,Ma.  and the houses that i was going to preview were luxurious historic homes, one was a compound on over a hundred acres with 3 buildings a pool, tennis court and mature well maintained landscpaing and gardens...I thought to myself this would make a fabulous resort...The other was a totally renovated historic house that was beautifully finished and furnished...

In the meantime here are some photos that i took today as i was drivng to New Marlborough, Ma. There are many historic homes in this area of the berkshires...here are a couple that i photographed..there are many similar type properties that are for sale in New Marlborogh, Ma.

I stopped for lunch in the very chic southfield store, where you can get some delicious designer type sandwiches and salads...great local place anytime, dinners are delish.. 

http://southfieldstore.com

http://luxuryberkshirehomes.com                

View From Berkshire, Ma.   I thought i would like to blog about my adopted home, Berkshire County..I will start by talking about the history of the county, and then we will see how and where it goes...

Before i begin though i would like to give you some background of how i chose Berkshire County as the place i decided to reside in... I have lived here for 8 years, i am originally from new york city where i was a designer of textiles, and home products.. after achieving many of the goals i had set out for myself i began to have a new vision, it was to live in the country, i wanted to experience what a small town country life was like......i began my research by talking with friends, and any one i met about their ideas of where a nice place would be to live a country life, that was withing 2 1/2 hours of new york city...long story short Berkshire County, Great Barrington, and Lenox, were names that kept coming up more then other locations...after 9/11 i knew if i did not make a move then, i probably was never going to do it...so i set out and began to exolore different areas that fit my criterior..Woodstock, NY., New Hope, Pa, and the Berkshires....i slowly eliminated the other areas for a variety of reasons, but kept coming back here...what appealed to me was the natural beauty of the landscape, the scenic roads, and how far all of it extended. It wasn't as if there was a town or two that looked good and then there was sprawl..the beautiful scenery just kept expanding from one township to the next...The next thing that got to me was the lifestyle, the people, and the culture, musicians, artists, writers, and healers who come here from all over to practice at canyon ranch or kripalu...Last but not least was the food...fabulous sophisticated restaurants that had top notch chefs..enough background...

Berkshire County, was originally a part of Hampshire County,and was incorporated April 24, 1761, and named from Berkshire County in England. It occupies the western extremity of the State, and is bounded on the north by Vermont, on the east by Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden counties, the south by Connecticut, and on the west by New York. It has an area of about 1,000 square miles,-not including water surfaces. The city of Pittsfield is the county seat. The Mahican (Muh-he-ka-neew) Native American tribe,were the first inhabitants of the county until the early 1700's when the first English settlers and frontiersmen appeared and began to set up farms and homesteads. On April 25 1724 "The English finally paid the Indians 460 pounds, 3 barrels of cider, and 30 quarts of rum for what is today Berkshire County" (page 5. Wood, David H. Lenox Massachusetts Shire Town. Published by the town of Lenox, 1969). This deal exempted Sheffield, Stockbridge, Richmond and Lenox, which were collected at various other dates into English territory. In the 1800s many of the towns of Berkshire County became popular with the country's elite as they built throughout the country side what they called "cottages". The gilded age ended in the early twentieth century with the income tax, World War 1, and the Great Depression. In the 1900s many of these cottages were torn/burned down, became prep schools, or were left uninhabited. Today the Berkshires is known throughout the east coast and even throughout the country as the summer home of the Boston Symphony orchestra. It is now a destination for second home owners, looking for the peace and relaxation the Berkshires offer... more history and tour will begin on another day...in the meantime here is a link to a great local magazine...this should begin to give you the flavor and richness of berkshire county... http://www.berkshirelivingmag.com/