Home-as-a-refuge will never be more important to Meredith Viera while she completes the transition from ensemble member on the popular The View to the stratosphere of day time television as co-host of The Today Show. Tucked away in the Hudson River Valley, far enough away from Manhattan to provide a oriented home for her husband and three children, is a Italian style home that yields a comfortable elegance.
Contemplating a major expansion of her home, Viera seized the opportunity to redefine both the homes style and her own need to shift away from country-Tuscan to European elegance. The home is centered around a courtyard, and not a small one. Airy, roomy outdoors spaces perform a variety of functions. An outdoor covered kitchen and dining area provide a place for friends and family to taste the flavors of food and wine. A substantial fireplace anchors a comfortable open-air seating area. Authentic rough slate tiles and gray gravel provide the dramatic flooring backdrop for assorted pergolas, raised and at-grade gardens. Enclosed on several sides by the stucco two-story elevations with substantial wood doors, windows, shutters and topped with a red tile roof, you feel a million miles from New York City.
Interior rooms reflect the new attitude of Viera and husband, the writer Richard Cohen. With a mix of classical moldings and trim, random-width and standard hardwood floors, the color palette features creamy tones and masculine touches. An occasional design edge is featured through stunning furniture selections, finished with art from today and yesteryear. French doors with Juliette balconies peppered through the house bring the outside in. Just thinking about drapes blowing in the wind at Viera's home says refuge to me.
Mark Nash is the author of Fundamentals of Marketing for the Real Estate Professional, Starting & Succeeding in Real Estate, Reaching Out: The Financial Power of Niche Marketing, and 1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home. Mark is a contributing writer for: Realtor (R) Magazine Online, Broker Agent News, Real Estate Executive Magazine, Principal Broker, and Realty Times. He contributes residential real estate analysis to Business Week, CBS The Early Show, CNN, HGTVpro.com, The New York Times, and USA Today. View his books at http://www.1001RealEstateTips.com.
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