Ellen Ruby Blog's: Historic Nyack, NY, Home Featured in the Movie ‘Stepmom’ Available for $3.5M

Monday, 13 July 2020

Historic Nyack, NY, Home Featured in the Movie ‘Stepmom’ Available for $3.5M

A Victorian estate with a cinematic past is on the market in Nyack, NY.

Glenholme is the official name of the stately waterfront residence on the market for $3,495,000, but locals have another name for it.

“It was the setting for the movie ‘Stepmom,’” says the listing agent, David Sanders, “so people call it the ‘Stepmom’ house.”

The 1998 tearjerker stared Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon, and Ed Harris. It was the house where the character Jackie, played by Sarandon, lived with her two children.

Roberts played Isabel, who married Harris’ character Luke and became the two kids’ stepmother. We won’t spoil the entire plot, but make sure to have tissues handy.

Exterior of house in Nyack, NY
Christie's International Real Estate

Staircase
Christie's International Real Estate

The home’s exterior, grounds, and staircase play a big part in the movie, especially in a scene where Sarandon and the two kids sing “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” which brings a little levity to a particularly sad part of the film.

“It has the most amazing and unique staircase,” Sanders says, noting that the stairs lead up to a seating nook and fireplace.

He says he understands that the reason the house has such a unique configuration is that it was originally two houses, which were put together at some point.

“That makes for a really interesting staircase,” he says, “really beautiful and different. It was prominent in the movie.”

In a plot twist that occurred after the movie, life imitated art. In scenes that were filmed on a soundstage, rather than in the house, the home in the film was shown with a gorgeous kitchen.

“The kitchen in the Nyack house didn’t look like that,” Sanders explains. After the filming was over, he says, the couple who owned the house were so inspired, “they renovated their kitchen to make it look like the one in the film.”

The eat-in kitchen is now ready for a close-up. It’s fully equipped, with three Dacor ovens, two Miele dishwashers, two Sub-Zero refrigerators, a wine cooler, and two sinks.

Kitchen
Christie's International Real Estate

“Stepmom” wasn’t this home’s only brush with fame. Its exterior served as a bed and breakfast called “Cupid’s Cabin” in the 2010 movie “The Bounty Hunter,” starring Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler.

Sanders told us that Horton Foote, the Pulitzer Prize- and Academy Award-winning playwright and screenwriter, lived in the house for a time. Foote is best known for writing the 1962 screenplay for “To Kill a Mockingbird,” as well as the 1983 film “Tender Mercies.”

Sanders added that although tax deeds show that a home has been on this 1.5-acre lot since 1857, this 5,239-square-foot house was built in 1897.

The six-bedroom, 3.5-bathroom residence has undergone extensive renovation over the past few years.

“It’s done so immaculately, you would never know it wasn’t always like this. It’s very true to the original integrity of the house,” Sanders says. “It’s the most meticulous restoration I’ve ever seen.”

Part of the renovation work included adding smart home technology throughout the house.

The house has a total of seven fireplaces, some wood-burning, like the one in the living room, and others with gas, including the one in the dining room.

Interior
Christie's International Real Estate

Bedroom
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“The dining room also has a very beautiful and unique feature. It’s like the bow of a ship, with a wall of curved windows, maybe six or seven windows,” Sanders explains.

He notes that all the other windows in the home have been rebuilt or recast so that they open and close perfectly.

A porch wraps around three sides of the home, and an outdoor area with its own kitchen takes advantage of the Hudson River views.

A brook including a series of waterfalls runs through the property and into the river.

“When there has been a big rain, it’s just a wonderful sound of waterfalls all around the house. You open the windows, and you hear it. And sitting on that porch, it’s just magic, real magic,” Sanders says.

Dining room
Christie's International Real Estate

Brook
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Porch
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The home has garnered lots of interest, especially now that buyers are looking to move outside urban areas like New York City, which is about an hour’s commute away.

Sanders says he believes the buyers are likely to be “a younger couple with a love of history. That’s the activity I’m seeing at the moment.”