Living Large: Spectacular Gilded Age Victorian In Upper Nyack
UPPER NYACK, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- More than a century ago, an extraordinary home was a jewel in the crown of a small Rockland County village.
Today, a multimillion dollar renovation has revived its status as a local masterpiece. CBS2's Natalie Duddridge recently got a look inside for this week's Living Large.
The details of the Upper Nyack home are impeccable. Inside and out, the Queen Anne Victorian has been lovingly restored to her former glory.
"It was built in 1887, kind of during the Gilded Age period," said Richard Ellis of Sotheby's International Realty.
Ellis showed off the extraordinary features of the 7,000 square-foot home.
"The current owners started working on the house about 14 years ago and they took every single wall down with one exception, in the entry vestibule," Ellis said.
It's like stepping back in time. The intricate embossed plaster on the walls and ceilings is all original. The colors of the stained glass were chosen as an homage to the original owners ties to Colombia. And one particular fireplace, like the seven others in the home, has also been painstakingly restored.
"Always a lot less expensive to build a new house than restore an old house," Ellis said.
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But it's apparent everywhere you look that the $4 million spent on renovations here was all put to good use.
From the grace of the formal living room with period decor, to the warm and inviting dining room, no aspect of 1800s authenticity has been overlooked.
"What's unusual with this room, all the shutters on the window, they actually go up for privacy," Ellis said.
There's also a family room and over-sized chef's kitchen on the first level, plus a porch with access to the the acre and half that takes you to the shores of the Hudson River. Then it's up the fully restored stairs to the master.
Four of the original bedrooms were combined to create one suite.
"There's also a great porch that overlooks the river," Ellis said.
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Still more bedrooms were transformed into a massive closet, complete with yet another fireplace.
On the lower level, no 132-year-old home would be complete without a screening room and a game room.
"The owners dug out about about a foot and a half to create eight-foot high ceilings," Ellis said.
The stone-and-brick walls are original to the house, with more of the 1880s brick re-purposed to create the expansive outdoor patio.
To live large in Upper Nyack will cost you $5 million.
The home was so architecturally significant when it first built in 1887 that it made the front page of the local Rockland County newspaper.