10 Great Rooms with Greater Style
While living rooms are often formal, and family rooms more relaxed, the great room is a space that understands every possible assignment. Whether it’s about the hearty fireplace, the soaring ceilings, generous square footage, or all of the above, the great room is the hero of indoor recreation, often making it the most popular room of the house.
With options including an architect’s own California mid-century modern, a reclaimed Hudson Valley barn, extravagance in Ontario’s Cottage Country, and sunny Caribbean splendor in the British Virgin Islands, these 10 great rooms prove that sometimes it really is all in a name.
Grab your favorite pumpkin-spiced drink and comment on Instagram which room you think is greatest of all!
Holy mid-century modern, Batman! This absolutely stunning 1965 house was built by famed Santa Rosa architect Thomas M. Tomasi for his own family and featured multiple times in Sunset Magazine. The great room looks like a centerfold come to life, with its elemental walls: one made almost entirely of rock and serving as the frame to the room’s fireplace, one made of glass that looks out onto the patio, one of wood paneling, and enclosing the interior end, a wall of built-in shelving and cabinets.
Listed By: Laura Hall of Corcoran Icon Properties.
There are multiple great rooms in this gorgeous estate in the heart of Davidson, including a classic, majestic living space with breathtaking floor-to-ceiling windows and a huge fireplace that leads into a billiards room or ballroom. Designed by architect Harry Schrader, built by Kingswood Custom Homes, and with interiors by Grace Thomas, this estate is essentially a private resort with its own vineyard, a professional-grade putting green, and a saltwater pool with multiple fire features.
Listed By: Josh Tucker and Joey Adams of Corcoran HM Properties.
A theatrical black-and-white floor, a curving staircase, and two columns set the stage for this great room with three Juliet balconies overlooking the seating area — the perfect space for a toast from the host(ess) with the most(ess) or an impromptu soliloquy — as well as a double-height fireplace and three rows of curved windows. There’s actually plenty of other gathering spaces here as well, including a family room with a fireplace, a movie theater, and a game room, too, checking off everything on an entertainer’s wish list.
Listed By: Julia Bonanno of Corcoran Reverie.
A triplex penthouse, designed by architect Michael Haverland, ensconced in a 1865 Greek Revival townhouse, is accessed via a private elevator. Step inside the double-height living room with its wall of windows, a fireplace, a built-in bar, and walnut paneling that feels like the ideal blend of tradition and modernity. The apartment also includes one of the most coveted New York City perks ever: your very own key to Gramercy Park.
Listed By: Julia F. Cahill and Julia King of Corcoran’s East Side Office.
Sweeping, panoramic views of Peconic Bay gives this great room a constantly changing view that no cinematographer could ever match. Outside, the grounds include an infinity-edge pool with spa, a dining area with a retractable awning, and rolling lawns that leads to 228 feet of private bay frontage. And if you want to experience the view with all five of your senses? Just walk down the custom stairway to the pristine beach below.
Listed By: Susan Breitenbach and Cutter Koster of Corcoran’s Sag Harbor Office.
Built in 2008, this modern farmhouse was actually built around one very old structure as its heart and soul: The property’s great room is a c. 1754 Dutch barn that was dismantled from upstate New York, moved to Ancramdale, and transformed into a wide-open rustic living space with 34-feet ceilings, a brick fireplace, and French doors that open to frame a view that could be mistaken for a Hudson River School painting. The 203-acre property was placed in the Dutchess Land Conservancy, guaranteeing the pastoral state of the surrounding land far into the future.
Listed By: Paula Redmond of Corcoran Country Living.
This ornate living room is great and grand, boasting detailed Venetian plaster wall moulding and ceiling medallions, a fabulous chandelier, dramatic floor-to-ceiling windows, an intricately carved fireplace, wall sconces, herringbone floors, and a curved entryway. The rest of the house is equally spectacular, with a truly must-be-seen-to-be-believed swimming pool, a billiards room, an indoor bar, and a home sauna.
Listed By: Roi Klipper of Corcoran Infinity Properties.
The expansive great room in this almost-10,000-square-foot penthouse feels like it’s floating in the middle of Miami Beach, with its views of the ocean, bay, and city skyline. There’s also a 2,500+-square-feet private rooftop with a pool, kitchen, and living area when you feel like taking the party outside. Palazzo Della Luna on Fisher Island offers exclusive resort amenities to its residents, including a golf course and a marina.
Listed By: Sam Gaita of Corcoran’s Surfside / Bal Harbor Office
Topped with a windowed cupola that serves as a skylight, Bella Beach Villa’s great room is awash in natural light and offers a view of the sparkling ocean waters. Walk out of the sliding glass doors onto a generous veranda with an infinity pool, dedicated sunbathing and shaded lounging areas, a grill and an outdoor dining table. This is a space that showcases both the Great Indoors and the Great Outdoors with a seamless transition between the two.
Listed By: Roz Colthart of Corcoran BVI.
Dubbed “The Picasso,” this castle is Muskoka living at its finest, The residence was designed by Ferris Rafauli, the visionary behind the iconic residences of many Canadian celebrities, including the homes of Drake and Wayne Gretzky. The cathedral-ceilinged great room is worthy of reverence all by itself, with a custom-designed and hand-assembled 40-foot chandelier imported from Italy, a full bar, a fireplace, and most spectacularly, floor-to-ceiling windows that look out onto the placid waters of Lake Rosseau.
Listed By: Claudine Montano of Corcoran Horizon Realty.
