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    The House That ‘Grey’s’ Built: Shonda Rhimes Lists Her Los Angeles Mansion for $25 Million

    It was only 2.5 years ago, after an exhaustive and exhausting five-year renovation and restoration, that television titan Shonda Rhimes wrote in Architectural Digest that her three young daughters “will grow up” and “become women” while living in the Los Angeles mansion she scooped up in early 2014 for $8.8 million from sitcom star Patricia Heaton. Indeed, she said loved the house.

    Ms. Rhimes, who just inked a new five-year deal with Netflix — it’s reportedly valued at about $150 million with built-in bonuses that could push her haul into the $300 million-400 million range, has since developed other plans because the designer-done mansion, sitting on nearly 1.25-acres along on one of the most prestigious streets in the tony Hancock Park neighborhood, has come for sale with a price tag of $25 million. Should the “Private Practice,” “Scandal” and “Bridgerton” creator get anywhere near her sky-high asking price — and it this white-hot ultra-luxury market it just might, it will obliterate the current neighborhood record for the highest price ever paid for a single-family home set last year when Nickelodeon president Brian Robbins’ lavish spread traded in a covert off-market deal valued at $19 million.

    According to Rhimes in A.D., she didn’t even particularly like the 1923 Elmer Grey-designed mansion when she first looked at it. In fact, she called it “an ugly, wrong house” with a wonky “Santa Barbara mission façade” and a “distinctly Italian” backside. She bought it anyways. She soon engaged the services of architect Bill Baldwin, who discovered photos of the original exterior that revealed the front façade was originally, like the rear, designed by Grey as an elegant Italianate villa. With the necessary approvals of the Office of Historic Resources — the estate is in a Historic Preservation Zone, a Chicago stonemason was brought into re-create “every detail of the original front exterior.” The results are undeniably flawless.

    White House decorator Michael S. Smith was tapped to do up the interiors in his signature style that Rhimes described as “classic California—if a little bit romantic.” Listings held by Ed Solorzano at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California show the nearly 12,000-square-foot estate offers a total of seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms, plus four powder rooms.

    Cameron Carothers / Carothers Photo

    The effervescence of the bougainvillea that balloons over the estate’s low perimeter wall is in contrast to the foyer’s elegantly understated — and heated! — gray-and-white checkerboard marble floor. Like the stonework on the front of the house, the honeycomb coffered ceiling in the living room was painstakingly re-created from original photos of the house.

    Cameron Carothers / Carothers Photo

    Cameron Carothers / Carothers Photo

    Several more gathering spaces on the main floor include a library with corner fireplace — Rhimes stores her vintage record collection (as well as an Emmy) in there — and an airy and light-filled double-height salon that spills out to the backyard through a series of arched French doors embellished with curlicued iron filigree.

    Cameron Carothers / Carothers Photo

    Cameron Carothers / Carothers Photo

    Gilded Chinese lanterns hang over the lustrously polished table in the formal dining room that comfortably seats fourteen, while the spacious eat-in kitchen, which Rhimes called her “dream kitchen” in A.D., is configured around a huge center island with white marble counters, a gigantic 60-inch range and black-and-white custom floor tiles. Extensive service quarters include a deluxe laundry room and a home office/crafts room.

    Cameron Carothers / Carothers Photo

    Cameron Carothers / Carothers Photo

    Just off the kitchen there’s a comfortably appointed family room and, in the basement, there’s a children’s playroom and a professional home theater with plush seating and snack bar.

    Cameron Carothers / Carothers Photo

    Cameron Carothers / Carothers Photo

    Five guest and family bedrooms, each with a private bath, are joined on the second floor by a homeowner’s retreat that comprises a bedroom with vaulted ceiling, fireplace and sitting area, as well as a boutique-style dressing room and an over-sized bathroom.

    Cameron Carothers / Carothers Photo

    Cameron Carothers / Carothers Photo

    Cameron Carothers / Carothers Photo

    A courtyard enveloped in greenery separates the main house from a detached three-car garage topped by additional living space decked out as a private hair and makeup salon…perfect for someone who’s always walking red carpets and having her picture taken for magazines.

    Cameron Carothers / Carothers Photo

    Cameron Carothers / Carothers Photo

    Stone terraces give way to great sweeps of lawn bordered by lush and carefully clipped foliage.

    Cameron Carothers / Carothers Photo

    Cameron Carothers / Carothers Photo

    The grounds additionally include a swimming pool with poolside cabana, a pickle ball court, a kitchen garden for growing herbs and vegetables, and a secret, boxwood-lined parterre garden with a fountain at its center.

    Cameron Carothers / Carothers Photo

    Cameron Carothers / Carothers Photo

    Cameron Carothers / Carothers Photo

    Rhimes, who 3.5-years ago paid $11.75 million for a two-bedroom penthouse pied-a-terre on New York City’s Park Avenue, has long made her home in and around Hancock Park where at one point she owned four homes.
    In 2010 she paid innovative indie musician Beck (Hansen) $5.6 million for an 8,200-square-foot manse she sold in 2019 for not quite $7.17 million to top L.A. real estate agent Matthew Altman, who now has the property for sale at a sliver under $9.2 million.
    Her neighborhood holdings still include a duplex she acquired 14 years ago for $1.66 million and a nearly 5,000-square-foot English Country manor house she scooped up in 2017 for a touch under $4.6 million. More

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    in Luxury

    You Can Now Rent Rihanna’s Swanky Beverly Hills Mansion for $80,000 a Month

    On top of Rihanna’s myriad other business endeavors—she sings, she’s a cosmetics mogul with her own Fenty Beauty brand, she’s a lingerie tycoon and fashion designer—the “Umbrella” crooner is also a budding real estate mogul, with five multimillion-dollar homes in Los Angeles alone. And if you’ve got an extra $80,000 burning a proverbial hole in your pocket, you could have the honor of calling Rihanna your landlord for a full month.

    With five bedrooms and seven bathrooms spread across 7,600 square feet of mansion-sized living space, the Coldwater Canyon mansion is the ideal place for any oligarch to recover from the COVID blues in style. Rihanna purchased the house late last year for $13.8 million, adding to her impressive cache of homes. She also owns the house right next door, picked up in March for $10 million, along with a $6.8 million Hollywood Hills estate, a high-floor condo along the Wilshire Corridor, and her longtime main residence—a $5.5 million penthouse in L.A.’s The Century skyscraper.

    A stunning sunset view of the home from the enclosed backyard. 

    Realtor.com

    The newly-listed rental estate is sited on a coveted cul-de-sac in the mountains above Beverly Hills, where the lucky new renter just might wind up rubbing elbows with high-profile nearby neighbors like Sir Paul McCartney. Originally built in the 1930s, the estate was long owned by novelist Mary Sheldon, daughter of “I Dream of Jeanie” creator Sidney Sheldon, who sold the dated house to entrepreneur and investor Daniel Starr; Starr demolished and rebuilt nearly every inch of the house before Rihanna swept into the real estate picture.
    David Parnes and James Harris of The Agency hold the listing.

    Views of the common areas throughout the home. 

    Realtor.com

    Securely hidden away from the street by soaring hedges and gates, the mansion is accessed via a sloping driveway that drops out at a detached two-car garage. A curved set of stairs leads up to the house, which sports a contemporary façade featuring white paint set against a black metal roof and black trim. Once inside, the modern yet traditional interiors give a nod to the trendy modern farmhouse via an open floorplan accented by French white oak hardwood floors.
    A glass front door pivots into the foyer overlooking a central courtyard replete with an al fresco terrace, pool and spa, cabana and firepit lounge area.

    Backyard seating centered between the main and guest houses. 

    Realtor.com

    Among the main-level highlights: a living room with a fireplace and floor-to-ceiling Fleetwood glass sliding door that opens to the outdoors, plus a walk-in bar area that services an intimate family room/lounge/library space with another fireplace and built-in bookshelves.
    There’s also a gourmet marble-clad kitchen outfitted with dual islands, high-end appliances and a breakfast banquette boasting tufted black leather seating.

    The refined bar area equipped with a fireplace. 

    Realtor.com

    Heading upstairs, one will find a master retreat overlooking Coldwater Canyon, which is showcased by a custom walk-in closet with black lacquer cabinetry, and a spa-like bath encased in veined marble that opens to a private outdoor sitting area.
    The place also has its own gym and media room, along with a guesthouse.
    Check out more images of the mansion below.

    Realtor.com

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    in Luxury

    Home of the Week: Rock Legend Pete Townshend’s Historic London Mansion Hits the Market for $21 Million

    Rock ‘n Roll royalty has passed through the doors of this magnificent London mansion built in 1775—and probably all-too-often passed out on the floors.

    For a quarter-century, The Wick, as the house is known, has been home to legendary The Who lead guitarist and co-founder Pete Townshend.
    Perched on a hilltop in the leafy West London suburb of Richmond upon Thames, with jaw-dropping views of the River Thames below—the view is so special it’s protected by a 1902 British Act of Parliament—this four-story, six-bedroom mansion offers over 8,500-square-feet of interior space.

    The living room. 

    Photo: Courtesy of Tom St Aubyn for Perods.com

    Before Townshend bought it, it had been owned by Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood who had converted the home’s one-time billiards room into a recording studio.
    It was here where the likes of Clapton and Bowie, Jagger and Richard, Harrison and McCartney—entering through a discreet side-street door—frequently showed-up to jam.
    “We’d fall asleep on the studio floor and wake up to find a room full of musicians who hadn’t been there when we crashed,“ Wood wrote in his 2003 book Ronnie: The Autobiography.

    The Wick offers views of The Thames. 

    Photo: Courtesy of Tom St Aubyn for Perods.com

    But according to Perry Press, of London estate agents Pereds, that holds the coveted listing, an equally fascinating and star-studded part of the home’s history was when Ryan’s Daughter actor Sir John Mills owned The Wick.
    “He had lots of photos of The Queen Mother around when she visited  the house, and told us stories of Sir Laurence Olivier and Gone With The Wind’s Vivien Leigh acting out a scene from Romeo and Juliet in front of the drawing room fireplace,” he tells Robb Report.
    According to Press, Sir John bought the house in 1950, sold it in 1956, and bought it back again in 1964 before passing it on to Ronnie Wood in 1972.

    The regal bedroom. 

    Photo: Courtesy of Tom St Aubyn for Perods.com

    “Almost as soon as he sold it to Ronnie, he was calling us to see if it was possible to buy it back. Either he was sentimentally devoted to the place, or just couldn’t make up his mind,” says Press.
    The Rolling Stone guitarist, who recorded two solo albums at The Wick, would go on to sell the house in 1976 to music industry executive Derek “Dick” Leahy who produced George Michael, Donna Summer and Britain’s Bay City Rollers band.
    The Grade 1 listed Georgian-style mansion was designed in 1775 by eminent architect and engineer Robert Mylne for a Lady St. Aubyn. It was built on the site of the Bull’s Head tavern and was steps away from the then newly created 2,500-acre Richmond Park—still the largest royal park in London.

    The bathroom also has a home office. 

    Photo: Courtesy of Tom St Aubyn for Perods.com

    “The design is like a doll’s house and gives the illusion of being much more modest in size than it is. The home was Listed Grade 1 in 1950 for its architectural and historic interest,” says Pereds’ Press.
    Key features include stunning, oval-shaped living rooms with stately fireplaces, vaulted ceilings, an elegant drawing room with views of the river, a glass conservatory, a heated pool and pool house, a large storage cellar, plus secure parking for a dozen cars.
    As for that famous basement recording studio, little is left. One of the rooms was turned into a wood-paneled TV room, while the other is, according to Press, ripe for converting into a gym.

    The studio where the Stones jammed is now a TV room. 

    Photo: Courtesy of Tom St Aubyn for Perods.com

    Why has Townshend, 76, decided to sell? According to Press, he and his composer wife Rachel Fuller came to the decision after spending over a year in Covid-19 lockdown at their Oxfordshire country home, Ashdown House. With a luxury apartment in Central London as well, seems The Wick has become what Press calls “surplus to requirements.”
    But don’t expect too much negotiation on price; Mr. Townshend is only accepting offers “in excess” of £15 million, or $20.8 million.
    As for kicking back on the home’s 200 feet of terracing with sweeping views of the Thames, and thinking of all the great music created in the basement below? Priceless.
    Check out more photos of the property below:

    The Wick 

    Photo: Courtesy of Tom St Aubyn for Perods.com

    The Wick 

    Photo: Courtesy of Tom St Aubyn for Perods.com

    The Wick
     

    Photo: Courtesy of Tom St Aubyn for Perods.com

    The Wick 

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    Britney Spears’s Malibu Beach House in ‘Sometimes’ Hits the Market for $44.5 Million

    “It’s not that I don’t wanna stay… but every time you come too close, I move away.” So croons Britney Spears in her hit sophomore single “Sometimes.” Now the owners of the Malibu estate where the pop ballad’s iconic music video was lensed are singing the same tune as they just put the pad on the market. While I’m sure it’s not that they don’t wanna stay, it definitely looks like they will be moving away soon!

    Released on May 6, 1999, “Sometimes” quickly became a “TRL” favorite. Director Nigel Dick, who helmed many of the pop princess’ star-making videos including her infamous “… Baby One More Time” debut, described the concept behind the shoot as such, “Britney’s sitting here and she’s looking through her telescope and she spies the cute young guy wandering on the beach—her man. Britney being the go-getting kind of girl that she is, she zips down the stairs onto the beach and races after him and, by accident, finds 20 people dressed in identical white outfits on the pier and does a fantastic fandango sort of dance ‘thang’ for him and, of course, he’s swept away.”

    The main house on the beach front property. 

    Chris Cortazzo

    Shot entirely on location in Malibu, “Sometimes” made large use of Paradise Cove and its picturesque pier, where Britney is seen performing the aforementioned fandango, winding up famously encircled in a heart formed by her gaggle of all-white-clad backup dancers. The house featured throughout the video, where the singer surreptitiously observes her love interest, played by model Chad Cole, can be found about eight miles up the road at 33800 Pacific Coast Hwy. (Please remember this is a private home. Do not trespass or bother the residents or the property in any way.)
    Situated on a towering bluff overlooking Nicholas Canyon and El Sol County beaches, the stunning “legacy property” is a sight to behold! Last sold in May 1986, the current listing marks the first time the place has been on the market in 35 years! Owning a piece of pop history doesn’t come cheap, though! The four-bedroom, five-bath pad, which is repped by prolific Malibu realtor Chris Cortazzo, sports a hefty $44,500,000 price tag!
    But you get what you pay for, as they say. Parked at the end of a 300-foot gated driveway, the extraordinary estate is sequestered on a whopping 1.9-acre lot that boasts an incredible 131 feet of ocean frontage!

    The spacious interior decked out in white with an ocean view. 

    Chris Cortazzo

    Featuring a sleek façade with clean lines and walls of glass, the dwelling was originally designed in 1949 by Cliff May, the architect largely considered the father of California’s ubiquitous ranch architecture. Of the style, May told The New York Times, “The ranch house was everything a California house should be—it had cross-ventilation, the floor was level with the ground, and with its courtyard and the exterior corridor, it was about sunshine and informal outdoor living.” While 33800 Pacific Coast Hwy isn’t what most would typically consider ranch architecture, with its open floorplan and focus on indoor/outdoor spaces, Cliff’s words are a perfect descriptor of the place.
    As initially constructed, the pad was a single-story dwelling. Building permits show that the second level was installed in 1977 by none other than famed modernist architect Harry Gesner! So not only does the home represent a significant piece of music history, but an architectural one, as well, having been designed by two of the industry’s greats!
    A meandering entrance path that zigzags across a rock-lined waterway leads to the spacious main house, a bright open structure consisting of 4,210 square feet with virtually every room offering views of the Pacific. Though the decor is seemingly all white on white on white, set against the pristine blue backdrop of the tide below, the schematic works quite well.

    Steps leading down to the ocean where parts of the ‘Sometimes’ filming took place. 

    Chris Cortazzo

    Living spaces include a combination sitting/dining/great room complete with a fireplace and French doors that open to the backyard, a kitchen with a two-tier island, a breakfast bar and a four-foot by four-foot tiled refrigerator, and a billiards/entertainment/media room featuring a wet bar. Picture windows, beamed ceilings, and stone and hardwood flooring are featured throughout. Additional amenities include a full attic and an office with a built-in desk and shelving.
    Upstairs, the massive 1,300-square-foot owners’ suite is capped by a soaring cathedral ceiling, adorned with a fireplace that the listing notes features a “whole tree mantel” and lined with French doors leading out to a deck that spans the entire rear of the house.

    The attached bath is marked by extensive marble work, a sunken tub and an oversized shower.
    Outside on the expansive lot is a rolling lawn, multiple gardens, a hot tub, a lounging patio and an outbuilding with a sauna and a bathroom. The property also boasts two guest houses, the first with a kitchenette, a half bath and adjoining stairs leading down to the beach, and the second with a kitchenette, a three-quarter bath and a loft bedroom.

    The luxe bathroom with marble detailing and a glass-door shower. 

    Chris Cortazzo

    There’s also a plethora of parking on the premises including a two-car garage, an additional four-car garage and a red storage barn that the listing notes can be used as yet another two-car garage!
    Though “Sometimes” was shot early in Britney’s career, when the then 17-year-old was still on the cusp of superstardom, it is easy to see why 33800 PCH was pegged to play her home in the video. The place is certainly befitting of a pop princess!
    The property was featured extensively throughout “Sometimes,” as well as in “Time Out with Britney Spears,” which documented the making of the video. In speaking about the shoot in an interivew for “Time Out,” Nigel Dick said, “We’ve described this concept as the ‘Britney’s beach house video,’” to which Spears chimes in saying, “My beautiful beach house!”’
    To accomplish Nigel’s vision of Britney zipping from the pad down to the shoreline below to meet “her man,” the production team was tasked with finding a residence situated on a bluff with steps leading to the sand. 33800 Pacific Coast Hwy fit the bill perfectly. The steep set of stairs Spears traverses in the video (which are very reminiscent of the ones Jennifer Grey dances upon in “Dirty Dancing”) are still intact, though they are no longer painted white.

    A video still from Spears’ 1999 music video on the property. 

    Jive Records

    Britney is also shown pondering her relationship, pink beach ball in hand, on a glass-walled rooftop deck situated on top of one of the property’s guest houses. As evidenced in the MLS photos, that deck is no longer there – or perhaps never was, possibly just a set piece that was installed solely for the shoot.

    The effect was rather stunning, though, and should be considered by the new buyers as a potential upgrade!

    The glistening ocean view from the quaint patio. 

    Chris Cortazzo

    Otherwise, the estate still looks much the same today as it did when “Sometimes” was shot over two decades ago, offering the new owners plenty of spots to re-create the famed segment, should they be so inclined.
    Check out more images from the property below.

    Chris Cortazzo

    Jive Records

    Chris Cortazzo

    Jive Records

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    Jive Records

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    Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner’s Encino Mansion Lists for a Cool $16.75 Million

    Last summer, amid the Covid-19 lockdowns and around the time they added a baby to their growing family, boy band royal and budding actor Joe Jonas and 2019 Emmy nominated Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner hoisted their 3,000-square-foot three-bedroom and three-bath condo in downtown Manhattan’s trendy Nolita neighborhood on the market at $6.5 million. The price was soon and considerably chopped to $5.9 million and, at the tail end of the year, slashed again to $5.4 million, a notable but presumably weatherable bit below the slightly more than $5.6 million the pecuniarily blessed couple paid in March 2018.

    Now, with a Manhattan condo that no one seems to want, at least at a price they’re willing to accept, the Turner-Joneses have taken it off the market and, as was first tittered about by the property gossips at The Wall Street Journal, tossed their fashionably appointed mansion in LA’s ever more popular and expensive Encino community up for sale at an attention getting $16.75 million.

    Redfin

    The sky-high asking price makes it not only the most expensive house currently available on the open market in Encino, it also represents a hefty bump above the $14.1 million the couple shelled out for the then newly built estate only about 1.5 years ago, shortly after their two weddings, the first an under-the-radar affair in Las Vegas and the other a more elegant, star-studded event at the Le Château de Tourreau near the Provençal town of Avignon in the south of France.
    Set on almost an acre of groomed grounds, secured behind high gates and fortified by a comprehensive security system, the roughly 15,000-square-foot home was designed by Jae Omar Design with a sophisticated blend of natural woods and imported stone used in a contemporary manner. According to listings held by Carl Gambino of Compass, there are nine bedrooms and eight bathrooms, plus three powder rooms, between the sprawling L-shaped main house and the two-story entertainment pavilion/guest house,

    Redfin

    Pared back and modern with familiar architectural shapes, the tri-gabled front of the house is accented with vertical wood planks, while a pair of stone foo dogs guard the solid wood front door that floats in a two-story wall of glass held in place between whitewashed brick volumes.

    Lustrous, variegated walnut floorboards in the huge double-height entrance gallery run throughout most of the house; The flannel-grey marble fireplace in the formal sitting room is enhanced by a pair olive-colored velvet sofas; And a floor-to-ceiling wall of glass is all that separates the formal dining room from a climate-controlled walk-in wine vault.
    In the family room, a book-matched grey-marble fireplace column stands between floor-to-ceiling wood storage boxes, and full-height panels of glass vanish into the walls to merge indoor and outdoor living and entertainment spaces.
    The main kitchen is open over a long island where a single plank of polished wood with a raw edge serves as a seven-seat snack bar. There’s also a second prep kitchen for larger scale events as well as an informal dining space that spills out to an outdoor dining area through disappearing walls of glass.

    Redfin

    A second family room on the upper floor includes a fireplace and direct access to a large terrace that overlooks the swimming pool.
    Some of the guest and family bedrooms in the main house open to balconies and all off them, per marketing materials, have deluxe private bathrooms.
    The master bedroom feels like a five-star treehouse with leafy views into the surrounding treetops through huge expanses of windows that slip in the walls. A fireplace anchors the sitting area, the custom-fitted walk-in closet and dressing room is perfect for a couple of red carpet regulars, and the spa-style bath is bathed in earth tone stone tile work with a huge open shower space and a freestanding soaking tub.
    The main house also includes a well-equipped gym that opens to the backyard and a plush screening room. 

    Redfin

    The ground floor of the two-story entertaining and guest pavilion has been transformed into a pub-like lounge complete with red brick walls, a vintage bar and a pool table. There’s also a humidor, a fog machine, disco lights and a hidden DJ station. Upstairs contains guest quarters.

    Shielded by tall fences and mature landscaping with an ancient oak tree that arches over the swimming pool and spa, the resort-style backyard has a couple of comfortably furnished lounging areas, an outdoor kitchen, lots of evergreen faux-grass that incorporates a putting green, and an outdoor projector for al fresco movie nights.
    Check out more images of the mansion below.

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