Decorative fountains that add a little extra something to the terrace that has everything

By Jennifer Laing | August 21, 2015 - 2:59PM

Place a fountain in an average backyard and it's a nice, if somewhat tacky, addition to the green space, but install one on a New York City terrace or at the rear of a townhouse garden and it instantly screams luxury. These burbling, cascading and streaming water features may not compare to the Trevi or even Bethesda fountains, but they do make for one very stylish and enviable amenity, especially in the heat of summer.

With four bedrooms, five baths, two powder rooms, a library, a family room and more, there are plenty of spaces to escape to for a little peace in quiet in this 13-room townhouse at 314 East 69th Street (on the market for $8.5 million). But if we lived here, we’d head straight for the bluestone-tiled garden and plant ourselves in in front of the soothing limestone fountain to regroup.

The two-story, 3,000-square-foot rooftop terrace of this penthouse condo atop the Laurel at 400 East 67th Street (yours for $19.75 million) features an outdoor kitchen, wooden pergola with built-in heating and a fireplace, large lawn (for bocce?) and a modern, in-ground fountain surrounded by planters.

This two-building property at 52 West 9th Street was originally a coachman’s house and a backyard stable. Today, it’s been reconfigured as two upper floor apartments, plus a two-story duplex with a loggia leading through a garden and into the library beyond (all this for $18 million). In a nod to its former existence, the Simon Verity-carved fountain in the garden features a horse stable theme.

Currently divided into five units, this 11,500 square foot Georgian mansion at 323 West 74th Street (asking price: $17.95 million) includes a three-story owner’s duplex with a burbling fountain on a landscaped terrace facing a dining room, making for peaceful view for those taking their meals within.

Listed on the National Registry of Historic Places, this five-story, limestone and brick home at 352 Riverside Drive (priced at $19.795 million) has everything you could ask for in a New York City mansion: nine bedrooms, six baths, eight wood-burning fireplaces, a Tiffany stained glass skylight, Juliet balconies, an original wood-paneled elevator and a ground floor planted patio and dining area that leads into a one of a kind backyard garden complete with—wait for it!—a lion's head fountain.

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