populuxe

We just got back from our whirlwind tour of NJ and NY. We went house hunting this weekend and had so much fun exploring the areas around NYC. We saw 4 mid century modern homes. They were hard to find amidst all the colonials but we found them with the help of some really nice realtors.

Friday we took the train to Maplewood NJ and met Olga our realtor. She drove us up the mountains to Kinnelon NJ which is actually where I lived until I was 7. I always told Brian that NJ is very beautiful especially up in the mountains. All he had seen of NJ was Newark airport. We saw this really cute house which was right across the street from a lake. It had huge windows but the kitchen needed updating and the rooms were small.

more after the jump

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Next we ventured onward to the Metuchen train station where Heidi another realtor met us. She drove us to East Brunswick where we saw this really cool mid century modern house designed by architect Theodore Schultz. The lady who owns the house had lived there since the 60's. The house reminded me of a Cliff May design. It had original boomerang countertops in the kitchen and 50's tile in the bathrooms. The basement had a tiki bar and hidden rooms! Neato!

Saturday we took the train to Croton on Hudson NY. It was a beautiful ride along the Hudson river. We borrowed our friends Prius Hybrid car which drove great in the mountains. I was amazed, downhill it said we were getting 99.9 miles per gallon. What a cool car.

We drove from Croton to Tuxedo NY and met Fran our next realtor. She drove us to see a house in the mountains. We met the original owner a really nice lady who showed us around the house. I would say it had a 60s modern cabin feel. Had a beautiful view.

We then hopped back in the Prius and drove onward through the mountains to Warwick NY. We met Kate the realtor who took us to see a funky mid century modern home even further in the woods. We drove down a dirt road to get to it. Brian couldn't even get cell phone reception out there. The house was split in two with a catwalk between the two sides. It had a waterfall and a pool. Pretty amazing but too far away.

We made our way back to Croton and explored on our own. We really like the neighborhood in Croton. It is along the Hudson river in the mountains but it is close enough to the train to NYC. We would like to hook up with a realtor in Croton next time. The view along the Hudson is amazing.



Brian and Vanessa at viewpoint along the Hudson

Sunday we went to Montclair NJ. The trip out there was from hell! There is no direct train to Montclair on Sat and Sun so we had to take a train to Newark, then ride a sweltering hot bus full of people out to Montclair. We had no car so we walked up and down the hills exploring the town. We did go to an open house, the house was $1.3 million, a little out of our price range.

We took a break in front of the school.
We took a cab from Montclair to the Newark train station. It was $36 but worth it.

All in all, it was a great trip. We got to know the area a little and we are so excited about Brian's new job and moving up north.