The television show Full House featured the Tanner family living in a colorfully painted home across the street from Alamo Square Park in San Francisco. This area has numerous houses painted in three or more colors to highlight their architectural details and were first popularized in 1978 when California literary agents Elizabeth Pomada and Michael Larsen published Painted Ladies: San Francisco's Resplendent Victorians. Since then, the term has also been used to describe other such residences in other American cities such as Baltimore, St. Louis, New Orleans, Cincinnati, Toledo, and Cape May.
One of the areas in Westchester County that best radiates this tradition, and is a painter’s dream, is Katonah. The town is located in between state watershed areas, Muscoot Reservoir to the west and the Cross River Reservoir to the east. Bordered by Route 35 to the north, the central business district is on Katonah Avenue, which runs parallel to Bedford Road (Route 117). The commuter train takes about 70 minutes to reach Grand Central Station in New York.
Strict zoning ordinances and a strong sense of community, has resulted in many of the shops being independent, family owned businesses that have been around for generations; pictured above, Charles Department Store is six years away from its 100th anniversary at that location and the Blue Dolphin Diner (below) has been run by the same family for over a quarter century.
Route 117, more appropriately called Bedford Road here, is a large road with a grass island separating each direction of traffic with inviting benches to encourage leisurely enjoyment.
Beyond its wide-open spaces, old village charm, and stunning aesthetics, Katonah is noted for its cultural outlets, which include the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, the Katonah Museum of Art, and Muscoot Farm. The Katonah census designated place (CDP) has a population of about 1,700 and is more narrowly defined than its zip code, 10536, which serves Bedford, Lewisboro, and Somers and includes 10,800 residents.
The school district is Katonah-Lewisboro which has 3,600 students. John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, historic homestead is among the National Registers of Historic Places. The High School bearing his name matriculates between 90-95% of its students to four-year colleges each year.
Another educational option, albeit a private one, is the Harvey School. Famous residents include Martha Stewart, Ralph Lauren, and George Soros. Westchester Health Pediatrics ranks amongst the larger area businesses. According to ColdwellBanker.com, there are 103 homes listed in Katonah with a median price of $879K. Trulia.com cited 22 homes available with a median sales price of $722K. The differing prices is probably attributable to whether the area in consideration is the CDP, postal zip code or school zone. Notwithstanding those definitional distinctions, the main takeaway is that Katonah is a well-preserved, bucolic hamlet with historical, cultural, and educational attributes which makes it a desirable place to live.
One of our recent engagements for exterior home painting in Katonah is pictured above. This home did not have the multi-colored embellishments but did involve pressure washing, sanding and priming before we placed two finish coats to complete the job, which took almost two weeks from beginning to end.
Whether your needs are for interior painting, color consultation, deck staining, or cabinetry refinishing, call us at Genesis Pro Painting today for a free estimate and expert consultation.
