>> i am sarah gordon and this is "open house" this. week we are check can't out a rental turned bachelor pad. and we go behind the doors of an elegant home on long island. plus, we talk design of a unique tree house home. and george is helping out a growing family. first we are in an enchanting estate in connecticut. >> just outside the family room is this wonderful sitting area with yet another custom fireplace, which is perfect for spring, summer and fall entertaining. [captioning made possible by nbc universal] >> welcome to "open house." today i am coming to you from an amazing did you plex overlooking union square park. this penthouse has private elevator access and a 2,000

square foot wrap-around landscaped terrace. now we go in a three-story shingle style home in connecticut. this place has 10,000 square feet, eight bedrooms, a home theater and a pool. >> hello, there. i am the interior designer for this beautiful turn of the century house in greenwich, connecticut. come on in. >> the original house was built in 1905, and it sits on 3.1 acres of land. the house offers 10,000 square feet of living space with eight bedrooms and 7 1/2 bathrooms. the central foyer sets the tone for the house, showing original

staircase, mowled can't and columns. the formal living room since offer the foyer and is perfect for entertaining. it features 10-feet high ceilings and windows on all three sides, letting in light throughout the day and a grand fireplace with amazing turn of the century detail, essential to the house. >> to the right of the foyer is this dining room which is welcome parties of 20. imagine yourself dining in here surrounding by original paneling and copper ceilings. my favorite part of this room is the 19th century map of paris, which we found at auction. welcome to the true heart of this hakem, the kitchen and family -- the home, the kitchen and family room. this keep features custom

ceilings, custom cabinetry and state of the art appliances. it you all naturally flows to the family room. it is a few short steps away from theeautiful outdoors. let's take a look. just outside the family room is this wonderful sitting area with yet another custom fireplace, which is per for spring, summer and fall entertaining. there is also a beautiful guest house on the property and expansive front porch. and here in the lower level there is truly something for everyone. a play area for the children. fantastic bar area and wine cellar for the adults and a 10-seat movie theater for everyone. this is the master bedroom suite, featuring trey ceilings, a large seating area with a tall bay window, french doors

leading to a private balcony. and there is of course his and hers walk-in closets with plenty of space. the master bathroom features flores, marble countertops, custom lights and cabinetry. thank you. and i hope you enjoyed the private visit of this gorgeous turn-of-the-century home. >> let us know what you think of the connecticut estate on twitter. stay right here for more design stay right here for more design tips, style and beautiful

>> welcome back to "open house." now we are in chicago with clean. she shows us how she turned a blind rental into a sophisticated bachelor pad. >> hi, i am an interior designer and the owner of

platinum plus designs. i am going to take you into one of my clients' spaces in downtown chicago and talk to you about how to decorate small spaces and rental apartments. my client has a love for 1960's vegas and the rat pack. so we came up with a theme to create a 60's style vegas hotel room. so many times in apartments there is a lack of light. the fist thing i did was assess the quality of light in the space. i made sure when you walked in you saw a great fixture that was reminiscent of the 1960's. entertaining is always a challenge when dealing with small spaces, and obviously rental apartments. the client was very specific in that he wanted a bar. i found the ideal location between the kitchen and the living room on a 26-in wide wall space. i located a 1960's vintage

acrylic bar cart that had a mid century nod to it that had casters on it. i also found sturdy shelves that we could house all the glass wear and bottles above it. so we created a vertical behalf located between the kitchen and the living space. >> typically when you move into an apartment or condo, you are faced with four beige walls. this apartment was no different. don't be afraid to step away from there additional paint. i used a faux wallpaperer as a backdrop in the living room. it added texture and dimension and had a masculine touch that the space needed. i wanted to make sure that the faux wall papi wasn't the only focal point. i found this great chair that added a level of interest to the other side of the room. so the wallpaper wasn't the

only focus. one of the best ways to address a situation with a small room is using smaller scale furent. i made sure that the bed that we found had a loe pro file. it sits lower in the space so it doesn't overwhelm everything. we found a very small end table and table lamp that fit perfectly against the side wall. the desk was just large enough for studies, and we utilized the wall space for additional storage and book storage. a convertible means there is no door separating the sleep space from the living space. in this case the client wanted a door for privacy purposes. it is a very easy solution. we added a header and put in a bi-fold door. when closed, the living space has a seamless wall. it looks like there is nothing on the other side. regardless of short >> term or long-term, it is

important that you put your signature style on your space and that you are able to call it home. >> up next, a home with its very own putting green. later, george helps one growing family prepare to get a little bigger.

>> welcome back to "open house." next we are in an elegant

five-bedroom home on long island. this custom colonial has some impressive outdoor amenities. >> hi. welcome to my home in new york. i am excited to show you around. come on in and take a look. >> are this house is 6,000 square feet located on two acres of property. we have four bedrooms and seven baths this. is our formal living room. we love this room for the high ceilings, the windows, the fireplace and of course the beautiful chandelier. this is the heart of our home. this is the kitchen-family room combination. this is where i cook dinner, the children do their homework or spend time watching tv. i enjoy this place because when i am cooking, i can interact with the children or whoever else is watching tv. we have doors out to the deck, high ceilings an arch way win do that brings a lot of light into the room.

>> this is why we fell in love with this home. it has a beautiful backyard with a great pool and jacuzzi. we love to grill and have people over. it is a fun place to be. but wait, there's more. if you want to practice your serve, this full-size tennis court is the place to do it. and you can even practice your jumpshot on our basketball hoop right here. if tennis isn't your thing, then come out to the putting green and practice your shot. clearly, i need a lot more practice. but the fun doesn't end here. this finished basement has a full bar. it has bumper pool, a full-size pull table. we have videogames, popcorn machine and a movie set with eight seats. it is a great place to watch movies.

at the end of the day after all this activity, this is a great place to come and relax. it has beautiful doors overlooking the deck. we have chairs out there to sit and relax or read a book. this is where i come to unwind at the end of the day. thanks for visiting our home. this has been a great place to live. it has something for everyone. >> still ahead, george is rescuing a growing family. up next, a home unlike any you have ever seen. >> "open house" is brought to you by --

>> welcome back to "open house." now we are going inside every

child's dream home. a tree house. we are with the mind behind this whimsical and unique design. >> hi. i am chris with rockefeller partners architects. welcome to our tree house here in blendwood, california. it was conceived as a gift from husband to wife. the husband came to us and asked us to design something that really appealed to her childhood affinity, which was tree houses. we had this very beautiful tree which had fallen over, and we wanted to make sure it didn't die during construction. there was a lot of effort to make sure that this important tree lived during construction. one of the other challenges during construction were the columns. not only do they support the tree house, but they allow

things like electricity and water to pass to and from the tree house. with regard to the tree house, it was important to make the tree house style seem something like the iconic tree house. while the tree house is mostly wood, it was important to us to incorpte as many low maintenance materials as possible. we have a metal roof, a concrete walk, concrete walls, stainless steel rails, all of which contribute as much as they can to what could be considered a higher maintenance project with all this wood. inside this 180-square-foot tree house, we have a lot of amenities. not only do we have a built-in book shelf, but we have a day bed that opens up so guests can sleep. here we have a fireplace so our guests can stay warm, as well as a working sink, water, fridge and hot plate, and a little bit of television if you

would like. but we have all glass around the upper area which gives us a lot of natural daylight inside. as we were designing the tree house interior, it was important that each function have some type of association to the outside. so our desk here, which is situated in the corner, it was important to open up this wall with glass so you felt as if he were sitting literally in the garden. likewise on the opposite side of this wall, which is solid, is our house, the main house on the prop. it was important to kind of turn our back on the main house. therefore, opening up this far end, which gives us the open beautiful views to the space beyond. one of our fun moves in this whimsical tree house is this portal we have created in the floor which lends a visual connection to the tree which runs directly underneath us.

so for someone like our clients, who are real art lovers, this piece of inhabittable art, which is a tree house is perfect. >> coming up after the break. >> three, two, one! >> wow!

>> welcome back to "open house." next, george helps one growing family make some much-needed changes to their home. >> i am kate, and i am ben. we love in new jersey with two kids and one on the way. george is 5, and luiza is 3, and we are expecting another little boy in about a month who is as yet nameless. >> sharky the kids call it. don't know why. >> it? him. i work at a non-profit charter school network in harlem in new york. >> and i am a stay-at-home dad. i stay home with the kids, send

them off to school in the morning, pick them up from school, hang out with the moms, play dates, do the laundry, cooking. that suits me because i am a writer and i can be home, and i can work. it's a small house to begin with, and my office is now the new baby's room. the desk was moved out and the crip moved in. -- and the crib moved in. >> i wrote to george to help ben be rescued, to give ben his space back and create some space for our kids as well to really play and enjoy this great house and this great space. >> what's up? how are you? >> i am great. thank you. whoo! oh, my gosh. >> you guys are being rescued.

>> no way! >> what's up, ben? how are you doing? >> oh. wow. >> this is like the best day of my life right now. >> well, next to having our children. >> well, yes. >> well, put. >> we are tackling this on all fronts. we have our contractor here, our designer, and taking care of the landscaping are our guys. ready to start? >> absolutely. >> important to protect your eyes, ears and lungs, so we have 3-m gear here, everything we need to turn an unlivable old garage into a play room and office. you start taking care of the landscaping, and we will meet in the middle. >> all right. let's go.

>> so much stuff in there. >> aahh! i am getting my work out, joe. >> i would have picked that one up, but i didn't want to show off. [laughter] >> now are we going to rip out all this brick and throw it away or refurbish it? >> we are going to reuse it. we are going to power wash it and use it. you can't get this brick anymore. >> this is a simple thing that will help anybody when building. you can see where to shoot your nail. you can fill it in easy enough, but if this is hidden, you are mitting the wood on the inside. line it up in the middle, boom.

>> now we are good to go. >> these are going in. the next thing up is the face frame and the doors, which will make everything gotten. when he is ready, he should throw it in quickly. >> out of sight, out of mind. >> exactly. >> let's get this up. >> you know what? i think we are going to need some more gum balls. >> stop eating them. >> keep your eyes down. keep your eyes down. >> yeah. >> i can only imagine it must have been very difficult not to look, but i appreciate you guys sticking with us for the surprise and letting us tape up your windows. you guys obviously had are hands full with the little one. but the day has come to see what we have done. are you ready? >> ready. >> three, two, one. >> wow!

guys, check this out! >> oh, my gosh. >> you guys are good. >> we try. >> you guys are good. when you don't have your own space, it is hard to take your work seriously. when you are pulling up on the couch and kids are running around you, it is hard to think like ok, i am a writer. it is very hard to keep that in your head. to have a space dedicated to that for me, i feel like i am really going to be able to kick it up a notch and get a lot of stuff done, actually start churning some work out. i feel like this is the start of some big things. >> do you think? >> i definitely think they

approve. >> that's all for this week's episode of "open house." join us next week for more of america's top properties and design. if you missed smk on today's show or want to see more of these amazing homes, head to openhousetv.com. you can join our facebook family or follow us on twitter. thanks for dropping in. i am sarah gordon. i will see you next week on "open house." [ mom ] hi, we're the pearsons, and we love chex cereal. so we made our own commercial to tell you why. first, chex makes lots of gluten free flavors. which is a huge thing for us. and there's seven to choose from. like cinnamon, honey nut, and chocolate. i tell them "you guys are gonna turn into chocolate chex!" i like cinnamon, greg is a honey nut nut. when you find something this good, you want to spread the word. [ all ] we're the pearsons, and we love chex!

good morning. brutally cold. a massic arctic blast now bearing down on a dozen states and bringing with it record-breaking temperatures that haven't been seen in decades. and on its heels, yet another snowstorm dumping up to a foot of snow in the midwest. miracle on the highway. a scenicp takes a dangerous turn when a small plane takes an emergency landing in the middle of a busy new york highway. the three onboardwalk away with barely a scratch. fantastic finish. talk about an unbelievable end to this wild card play-off game. indianapolis colts, quite a comeback, kept the fans on the edge of their seats. saints make history with a win over the eagles. >>