The 234 Apartment

By Jean Cherni, Special to the Register Published 4:08 pm, Friday, August 18, 2017 This has been, and continues to be, one of the most pleasant summers in my memory. Because I am now living in an apartment building without the previously accustomed instant access to the outdoors via a porch or patio, I make a special effort on weekends to spend as much time as possible outside in the fresh air. Since I am no longer able to take long walks, ride a bike or spend hours at the beach, I have searched out and enjoy restaurants offering dinning that is “ en plein air ” as the French would call it. We are fortunate to have quite a few local places that offer outdoor dining during the summer months, and I would encourage you to enjoy some of them before this fast-moving month is over. • BRANFORD: One of the oldest and best-known outdoor venues is Lenny’s. Clam chowder and franks with an outdoor deck; reasonable but noisy and crowded. A more-extensive menu with well-priced specials for senio...

KATHLEEN KINNEY Last updated 14:23, August 16 2017 level penthouse apartment on Manhattan's 5th Avenue near Central Park? It'll set you back US$100k ..." title="" src="https://resources.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/l/0/k/n/u/image.related.StuffLandscapeSixteenByNine.620x349.1l0ism.png/1502850240399.jpg" class="photoborder" /> CORCORAN GROUP Want to rent this two- level penthouse apartment on Manhattan's 5th Avenue near Central Park? It'll set you back US$100k per month. Manhattan's Central Park is surrounded by opulent apartment buildings , and 988 Fifth Avenue is known as one of the Upper East Side 's most exclusive addresses. In fact, actress-turned- princess Grace Kelly called the building home for a few years. The 1925 14-floor building was designed in an Italian Renaissance -palazzo-style and had just one apartment per floor. But decades later,  Italian businessman Pier Guerci created a new, two- level penthou...

SEATTLE — And now, A Western folk ode to some newish Western folks : OH, GIVE ME A HOME … The first space Steven Rinella and Katie Finch shared didn ’t have much space at all: an 800-square-foot apartment in Brooklyn, outfitted with “hand-me-down furniture, from stoop sales,” Finch says. Her job with Amazon blazed their trail West, where they initially rented a Tudor in Madison Park before discovering a new, unmistakably modern option in Magnolia. “We had never thought about a modern home,” Finch says. Once they did, Rinella says, “I was opposed to it.” The vista is spectacular, though, and with three levels, 3,400 square feet and four bedrooms, there’s plenty of wide-open territory for a family (they have three kids, ages 2, 4 and 7). They staked their claim, then mapped out a plan to balance the modern aesthetic with “warm and cozy” furnishings, materials and finishes. Step One: They hired interior designer Joy Rondello of J+Studio, whom they met through the national, customized ...