hudson valley

Sylvester Stallone and, later, Vogue food columnist and cookbook author Barbara Kafka once called this sun-filled modernist house in upstate New York home, and now it can be yours for $4.3 million. Located at 40 High Ridge Road in Garrison, New York, and built in 1969, the flat-roofed home was recently gut-renovated by the Brooklyn-based design firm Madderlake.

The “Rocky” star owned the river-view residence in the late 1980s, and Kafka picked it up in 1999 and lived there until 2015. The current owner is Shea Spencer, founder of the management agency Artist Commissions; she rents out the property for photoshoots with major brands, including Marc Jacobs and Bergdorf Goodman, among others. And it’s easy to see why.

Floor-to-ceiling walls of glass allow for an intimate relationship to the natural surroundings.

Houlihan Lawrence and Anne Day Photography

The 7,000-square-foot home is perched on a grassy hill with stunning 180-degree views of the Hudson River and the undulating landscape of the Hudson Valley. Though it’s more than five decades old, there’s little indication of the home’s original design: the four-bedroom and three-and-a-half-bath home has been remade into a minimalist haven with pared-back details, neutral colors, and natural materials that let the magnificent views take center stage. Every room is lined with oversized windows or sliding glass doors that flood the home with natural light and directly connect you with the lush surroundings.

The open-plan great room features a dining area and a serene, fireside lounge that connects to a wraparound terrace. The nearby kitchen is a chef’s dream, with flame maple cabinetry, butcher block counters, a vintage farmhouse-style sink, luxe fixtures, state-of-the-art appliances, and a pronounced oculus skylight that ensures light pours into the room all day long. Windows overlook the backyard, so you never feel too far from the outdoors. The bedrooms are filtered throughout three levels, and the tranquil primary suite has access to a private terrace overlooking the river.

The indoor pool is housed in a separate wing constructed of glass and concrete.

Houlihan Lawrence and Anne Day Photography

The lower level features a media room with terrazzo-style concrete floors and a wood-burning fireplace enhanced by a custom maple mantel; a hotel-like sauna and spa-inspired bathroom; and a flexible space that could easily be converted into a state-of-the-art home gym, movie theater, or hobby studio.

There’s also an office and a massive indoor pool that connects directly to the spacious backyard. Outside, there’s ample lawn space, a Zen-inspired garden and terraces dotted with built-in benches and sculpted plantings. Given its west-facing orientation and elevated perch, it’s easy to imagine the epic year-round sunsets that can seen from nearly every room in the house as well as from the exterior living and entertaining areas. 

Click here for more photos of Sylvester Stallone’s former home in upstate New York.

Houlihan Lawrence and Anne Day Photography More

In 1963, clinical psychologist and pioneering psychedelic drug proponent Timothy Leary rented a huge house on a vast estate in the historic Hudson Valley village of Millbrook, which dates to before the American Revolution and ranks as one of the wealthiest enclaves in the state of New York. The almost 2,100-acre property had recently been acquired by brothers Billy and Tommy Hitchcock, members of one of the United States’ wealthiest families. The LSD advocate stayed five years, during which the estate was reportedly the target of drug raids.

Still owned by the Hitchcock family, the storied property has recently come available with a price tag of $65 million. Should it go for anywhere near the asking price, it will totally obliterate the standing record as the highest residential sale in the Millbrook area, which currently stands at just under $19 million.

The Victorian mansion’s 38 rooms include a dining room wrapped in a gold jacquard wall covering.

RELATED: An Architect Transformed This Hudson Valley Home for Himself. Now It Can Be Yours For $2.5 Million.

Originally assembled over a period of almost 30 years beginning in 1889 from a handful of farms by German-born gas tycoon Charles F. Dieterich, a founder of Union Carbide, the vast property and its main house came to be known as Daheim. The estate was later owned by Standard Oil president and chairman Walter C. Teagle, who sold it in 1963 for a mere $500,000—nope, that’s not a typo, folks—to the Hitchcock brothers, heirs to the Mellon family oil and banking. Billy Hitchcock, who has long lived in Texas, told The Wall Street Journal that it was his sister Peggy who invited Leary to the Millbrook estate; he claimed she had a romantic relationship with Leary.

Still owned by the Hitchcock family, the property’s mostly wooded acreage includes two lakes, one spanning 45 acres and the other 60, along with a 38-room Victorian mansion, a smaller (but still very spacious), single-story residence known as “the bungalow,” and numerous other residences and outbuildings.

The four-story Victorian, originally designed by James E. Ware in the late 1800s, was much expanded during Dieterich’s time and spans almost 15,000 square feet. The house fell into a state of neglect, but over the last few years it has seen numerous restoration efforts and upgrades overseen by a local historian. Today, the public rooms still showcase high ceilings and ornate fireplaces, elaborate wood paneling, a carved wooden staircase, and stained-glass windows. Among the ten bedrooms is a two-room suite connected by a shared sitting room. There are also staff quarters. 

The 2,100-acre estate’s secondary residence is a 10,000-square-foot bungalow designed by Addison Mizner.

RELATED: A Charming French-Style Chateau in New York’s Hudson Valley Hits the Market for $12.3 Million

The low-slung, elegantly proportioned bungalow measures about 10,000 square feet and sits on a slight rise above a swimming pool; it was commissioned by Dieterich and designed by famed architect Addison Mizner, who is best known for the Mediterranean mansions he designed in the early 20th century.

Other buildings sprinkled around the property include a bowling alley housed in a stone building; several Bavarian-style structures that include a gate house; a three-bedroom caretaker’s cottage; a carriage house with two apartments for guests or staff; and an extensive stone-built equestrian and farm complex. 

The listing is held by Heather Croner of Sotheby’s International Realty.

Click here for more photos of The Hitchcock Estate. More

If you’ve always wanted to live the life of a Hollywood power couple, this star-studded residence in New York‘s Hudson Valley could be just the ticket! As first reported by The Wall Street Journal, the picturesque 12-acre spread owned by married actors Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas has just popped up for sale in the coastal village of Irvington, asking $12 million. The listing is held by David Turner of Compass.

Records show Zeta-Jones herself paid $4.5 million back in 2019 for the pre-war estate, which is showcased by a four-story Georgian-style house boasting eight en-suite bedrooms and 12 baths in a little more than 11,600 square feet of four-level living space accented throughout with stylishly modern interiors warmed by numerous fireplaces.

This colorfully hued room is one of many seating areas filtered across the four-level home.

Daniel Milstein

Originally built in 1929—and previously occupied through the years by Tiffany & Co. founder Charles Lewis Tiffany and the Matthiessen family, wealthy sugar merchants—the stately brick and stone structure was extensively renovated during the couple’s tenure and features a handsome oak-paneled library that connects to a two-story library and a salon with its own bar. A lower level is outfitted with a recreation area, a gym, a kitchenette, and a 21-foot heated indoor pool resting alongside a trio of large arched windows.

Other highlights include formal living and dining rooms, a brick-lined kitchen sporting an eat-in island and high-end stainless appliances, and an adjoining family room. A posh primary suite flaunts a separate seating area, a showroom-style closet, and a luxe bath spotlighted by a marble-clad soaking tub; and outdoors, the park-like grounds host a 100-foot terrace with steps leading down to a grass and stone lounging spot and 130 feet of waterfront footage on the Hudson River. There’s also an attached four-car garage.

A spacious waterfront terrace spanning the rear of the house overlooks the Hudson River.

Daniel Milstein

Per WSJ, Zeta-Jones is selling because the couple’s son and daughter have both left the nest and work commitments are taking her overseas. “When I purchased our Irvington home I knew our family would share many happy times here, and we have,” she says, adding that they plan to spend more time in Bermuda and Europe.

The longtime showbiz pair—her probably best known for her Oscar-winning performance in Chicago, and he for his starring roles in the films Fatal Attraction and Wall Street, the latter of which earned him a best-actor Oscar—previously resided at a 20,000-square-foot mansion in the New York town of Bedford that Zeta-Jones sold for $20.5 million a few years ago. Douglas, who maintains his own real estate portfolio, listed their Central Park West apartment in Manhattan for $21.5 million a few years ago, but it’s since been removed from the market.

Click here for more photos of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas’s New York house.

Daniel Milstein More