More stories

  • in

    This $13 Million U.K. Country House Was Once Home to a British Movie Star

    Drummers Yard, formerly known as Birchens Spring, is among the U.K.’s most interesting country houses. Designed in 1938 by Arts and Crafts architect John Campbell, who lived in Germany for much of his career, the Grade II-listed property in Buckinghamshire graced the pages of Country Life before the once-glamorous estate fell into disrepair. Following years of neglect, the English manor notched another claim to fame when it was snapped up in 1960 by legendary British actor Dirk Bogarde, best known for his starring roles in Doctor in the House (1954), The Servant (1963), and The Night Porter (1974). 

    Modeled after the hillside villas of Italy combined with the stateliness of a Scottish castle, Bogarde remodeled Drummers Yard from top to bottom before offloading the place two years later to Peter Rogers, the producer of the wildly popular Carry On comedy film franchise, and his wife, Betty Box, who worked on the Doctor series that Bogarde appeared in. The sought-after spread traded hands once more in 1997 to the current owners, who, after nearly three decades in residence, have hoisted the property on the market for £10 million (or about $13 million). 

    A spacious reception room spills onto a large stone terrace.

    Knight Frank; Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images

    “Campbell intended for each room to have at least two garden elevations, ensuring the house is light, bright, and airy with exceptional views of the gardens,” notes the listing, which is being represented by Knight Frank. “Whilst appealing to architectural purists, the house will equally suit families looking for a comfortable, well-laid-out home.” 

    Set on a whopping 12 wooded acres near Beaconsfield, the house itself has been adapted to contemporary living by award-winning interior and architectural studio, Tollgard Design. There are seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms across the main house’s 10,000 square feet. On the ground floor, potential buyers are welcomed by a grand entrance hall topped with a dramatic brick and stone arched ceiling. A corridor brings you to a sunroom that overlooks the garden, a circular-shaped formal dining area, a drawing room with a fireplace, and a thoroughly modern Scandinavian-inspired kitchen by Sola. The bedrooms are located on the home’s upper levels. 

    The updated minimalist kitchen is by Swedish design brand Sola.

    Knight Frank; Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images

    Despite the many modern updates, rest assured you’ll find plenty of period details reminiscent of the Arts and Crafts movement, including its whitened brick arches and Cornish slate roof. In addition, the digs contain a private gym, complete with a sauna and a steam room, while the grounds are decked out with a two-car garage, a tennis court, and a separate two-bedroom cottage with its own entrance. 

    Click here to see more photos of Drummers Yard.

    Knight Frank; Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images

    Authors

    Abby Montanez

    Abigail Montanez is a staff writer at Robb Report. She has worked in both print and digital publishing for over half a decade, covering everything from real estate, entertainment, dining, travel to…

    Read More More

  • in

    Jenn Tran of ‘The Bachelorette’ Gave Away Her Final Rose at This Exotic Hawaiian Estate

    Always wanted to live out your fantasy of being on one of TV’s top reality dating shows? Now’s your chance, because the picturesque estate where Jenn Tran’s final rose ceremony took place in early September on the Season 21 finale of The Bachelorette has just popped up for sale on the Big Island of Hawaii, asking $3.75 million.

    And though things didn’t quite work out for Tran—her proposal to Devin Strader fell apart shortly after the pair left paradise—this magical locale certainly serves as a prime backdrop for conjuring up some romance. Currently operating as a family-owned wedding and special events venue known as Pa’ina Place, the listing is held by Carrie Nicholson and Coco Scherer of Hawai’i Life. 

    The three-acre site currently serves as a wedding and special events venue.

    360 Productions

    Sited in the Kaloko area amid a lush parcel of land spanning just over three acres, along the slopes of the Hualalai Mountains within “the only tropical cloud forest in the U.S.,” the property features two main structures and a guest cottage, all overlooking the Pacific.

    The first main structure includes a full kitchen, one bedroom and a bath, while the second main structure also has its own kitchen and living area, plus two bedrooms and one-and-a-half baths. There’s also the guest cottage, which comes with a kitchenette, a cozy studio setup with a bath, a tropical-inspired outdoor shower, and an ocean-view barbecue deck. 

    A modern bridal suite comes complete with its own dressing room.

    360 Productions

    Outdoors, the grounds are laced with landscaped gardens and citrus trees and host meandering pathways leading to a great lawn flanked by a gazebo. There’s also an event pavilion equipped with a cooking station and lighting and sound systems, as well as a detached bridal suite sporting a dressing room and a bath with an al fresco shower, an entire building devoted to restrooms, two fire pits, an upper viewing platform, and plenty of parking.

    A 26-year-old physician assistant student who lives in Miami, Tran began her journey on The Bachelorette back in July as the show’s first Asian-American female lead in the franchise. Out of 25 suitors, she wound up proposing to Strader at the end, only to have him become distant after they left Hawaii and eventually break off the engagement over a phone call. Most recently, she’s been competing with pro partner Sasha Farber on Dancing With the Stars.

    Click here for more photos of Pa’ina Place.

    360 Productions More

  • in

    Billionaire Heir to the Hyatt Hotel Fortune Lists Beverly Hills Home For $195 Million

    Exterior Listed with KURT RAPPAPORT (310) 995-3214 of westside estate agency inc. LOCATION: 1261 Angelo Drive, Beverly Hills, California SQUARE FOOTAGE: 50,000 BEDROOMS & BATHROOMS: 16 bedrooms & 27 bathrooms PRICE: $195,000,000 This modern mega home is owned by Anthony Pritzker, a member of the Pritzker family and an heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune. He […] More

  • in

    Billionaire Heir to the Hyatt Hotel Fortune Lists Bel Air Home For $195 Million

    Exterior Listed with KURT RAPPAPORT (310) 995-3214 of westside estate agency inc. LOCATION: 1261 Angelo Drive, Beverly Hills, California SQUARE FOOTAGE: 50,000 BEDROOMS & BATHROOMS: 16 bedrooms & 27 bathrooms PRICE: $195,000,000 This modern mega home is owned by Anthony Pritzker, a member of the Pritzker family and an heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune. He […] More

  • in

    Car Collector Magnus Walker Lists Downtown L.A. Live-Work Building for About $20 Million

    A 26,000-square-foot live-work warehouse building in downtown Los Angeles, owned for almost 25 years by bon vivant former fashion designer and inveterate car collector Magnus Walker—one of the largest collectors of Porsches in the world—has zoomed onto the market with an asking price of around $20 million.

    Walker initially housed his Serious Clothing company in the building—the brand was popular in the L.A. music scene and worn by everyone from Gwen Stefani to Alice Cooper and Madonna—but later converted it to a live-work space through an adaptive reuse program. It wasn’t long after acquiring the property that Walker fell into the film location business, and Walker told Robb Report that “Filming was a happy accident. We saw the opportunity to build something into a pretty lucrative film location business for the next 10-12 years.” Since then, the building has been the site of numerous films, commercials and videos for Kevin Costner, Mary J. Blige and The Eagles.

    RELATED: This 1998 Porsche 911 Is a Low-Miles Unicorn That’s up for Grabs

    The two-story brick building, which dates to 1903, occupies three parcels over two lots with multiple street frontages and a heavy-duty gate that opens to a courtyard parking area with room for up to a dozen cars. Indeed, Walker has filled the courtyard with a gleaming selection of his vast collection, including a vintage Rolls Royce and a couple of ‘70s-era Corvettes.

    Part of the building serves as a workshop and showroom for Magnus Walker’s classic car collection.

    Gavin Cater

    Raw and industrial, the cavernous and rambling interior spaces have exposed brick walls, patinated wood floors, a functioning freight elevator, soaring ceilings punctuated by skylights, and enormous south-facing casement windows that fill the upper level with sunlight.

    A massive roll-up door allows cars to be driven right into the building. In one section of the ground floor, a brilliant blue Pininfarina Battista is on display, while another area serves as a garage and workshop where Walker, famous for never selling a Porsche once it comes into his possession, keeps more than a dozen collectible versions of his favorite automotive brand.

    Making for an easy commute to his workshop and studio on the ground floor, the 11,200-square-foot upper level served as Walker’s bohemian residence, which he described as “a mini Hearst Castle/English stately home mixed with midcentury modernism and 60/70s furniture pieces.”

    RELATED: The 7 Best Air-Cooled Porsches We Saw at Luftgekühlt

    Huge casement windows on the upper-level living area frame city views.

    Gavin Cater

    In addition to an enclosed courtyard garden enveloped in lush greenery, flaming bougainvillea and fragrant night-blooming jasmine, the building’s prairie-sized rooftop offers 360-degree vistas over the city, including an up-close view of the downtown skyline.

    The number of bedrooms and bathrooms found throughout the massive structure is available by request via Tori Horowitz and Rinat Greenberg of Canyonhaus at Compass as well as through Geoff Anenberg at Normal Properties.

    Click here for more photos of Magnus Walker’s live/work building.

    Gavin Cater More

  • in

    David and Victoria Beckham Drop $80 Million on a Waterfront Mansion in Miami Beach

    They already own a $20 million condo in downtown Miami’s ultra-luxe One Thousand Museum tower. Now word on the street has it that A-list couple David and Victoria Beckham are spreading their real estate wings over to the South Florida coast, having doled out $80 million for an all-new modern mansion overlooking Biscayne Bay on Miami Beach’s exclusive North Bay Road.

    As first reported by The Real Deal, the Beckhams—he a retired soccer star-turned-co-owner of the MLS team Inter Miami, and she a fashion and beauty mogul who first gained popularity in the 1990s as a member of the pop group Spice Girls—are currently under contract to purchase the Choeff Levy Fischman-designed digs. The seller is Hamptons-based spec developer Niklas de la Motte, who picked up the property in 2018 for $10 million from the trust of the late Sir Edward Porter and his wife Lady Anna Lee, co-founders of Miami International Fine Arts College (now Miami International University of Art and Design). The listing is held by Dora Puig of Luxe Living Realty.

    Lighted steps lead to the front door, which opens into 12,500 square feet of open-concept living space.

    Choeff Levy Fischman

    Nestled amid a gated parcel spanning over a half-acre, the Bart Reines-built abode that currently stands in the stead of a former 1920s Mediterranean-style house offers nine bedrooms and 13 baths in a little more than 12,500 square feet of living space on two levels. Stylish interiors by Antrobus Design Collective are adorned throughout with Ipe wood, Perlato marble, metal accents, and doors and windows framed in dark bronze, while posh amenities include an office, a movie theater, a gym and spa, and a rooftop deck providing bay and city skyline views, as well as a three-car garage with lifts and a private dock resting along 124 feet of waterfront footage.

    Among the other standout features is a dramatic entryway boasting a pair of reflecting pools and a cascading waterfall, plus a central courtyard donning yet another reflecting pool complemented by a two-story living green wall. There’s also a spacious living room sporting a linear fireplace and floor-to-ceiling pocketing glass doors spilling outside, along with a formal dining room, a sleek gourmet kitchen with a trio of islands and a commercial-grade walk-in refrigerator, and an opulent primary suite decked out with a luxe bath flaunting dual vanities and a soaking tub.

    Sitting out front are a duo of glassy reflecting pools and an attached three-car garage with lifts.

    Choeff Levy Fischman

    Rounding it all out are the palm-laced grounds, which host a lengthy infinity-edge pool abutting a marble-clad terrace spotlighted by a covered al fresco entertaining area with an outdoor kitchen.

    In addition to their new Miami Beach home and their $20 million condo at downtown Miami’s Zaha Hadid-designed One Thousand Museum residential high-rise, the Beckhams also lay claim to a $40 million townhouse in London and a $15 million country estate in the Cotswolds. More

  • in

    An Atlanta Mansion That Starred in ‘The Accountant’ With Ben Affleck Can Be Yours for $10 Million

    Around a year and a half after it first hit the market with an impressive $15 million price tag, a sprawling lakefront estate on the outskirts of Atlanta has popped up for sale again with a discounted ask. But you’ll still need a considerable sum of cash to pick up the keys to the modern mansion, which is now listed for exactly $10 million.

    Hidden away beyond a lengthy gated driveway in the suburban enclave of Sandy Springs, amid a nearly four-acre parcel bordered by a lake and a 30-acre nature preserve, the limestone-clad structure was custom-built by Cablik Enterprises and the architecture firm Dencity. Records show the current owners are Florida-based couple Mike Kohlsdorf, president of Francisco Partners, and Shelly Justice, founder and chair of Senegal Software, who paid $562,000 for the property back in 2003.

    And if you’re thinking this particular abode looks a tad familiar, that might be due to its starring role in The Accountant, a 2016 action/thriller film starring Ben Affleck. On screen, the glitzy spread portrayed the residence of principal villain Lamar Blackburn played by John Lithgow. It also was a recipient of the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association’s OBIE Award for “Best New Home” in 2012.

    The main living area’s two-way fireplace opens on the other side to a cantilevered deck.

    BMedia

    RELATED: Kenny Rogers’s Chateau-Style Mansion in Georgia Is Up for Grabs at $2.5 Million

    Per the listing held by Katie McGuirk and Kelley Day of Ansley Real Estate Christie’s International, the property features a main home and a recently added guesthouse with its own family room and kitchen—for a total of five bedrooms and nine baths in a little more than 12,200 square feet of tri-level living space, all of it inspired by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright.

    A walkway spanning a water feature leads to the glassy front doors, which flow to an open-concept great room featuring a living area accented by a two-way fireplace and walls of glass spilling out to a cantilevered deck. There’s also a formal dining room adorned with glossy black tiled walls and a Swarovski crystal chandelier that sits adjacent to a gourmet kitchen outfitted with a bespoke glass backsplash, lighted quartz countertops, and top-tier appliances. A posh primary suite has a fireside seating area, a private terrace, a showroom-style closet, and a luxe bath sporting a soaking tub and a steam shower.

    An infinity-edge pool with a Baja shelf and spa overlooks the lake.

    BMedia

    RELATED: Home Depot Co-Founder Bernie Marcus Just Put His Atlanta Condo on the Market for $5 Million

    Elsewhere is a glass elevator, an office, a climate-controlled wine cellar, a wet bar-equipped golf simulator room, a media room with a full kitchen, a gym, a shooting range/safe room, and garage space for up to five vehicles. Rounding it all out are the fully fenced and landscaped grounds, which host an infinity-edge pool with a Baja shelf and spa, two built-in grilling stations, and a fire pit lounge, along with a dock, a boathouse, and even a teak boat.

    This is not Kohlsdorf and Justice’s only home. Back in summer 2022, the couple paid an entity tied to New York hedge funder Mendy Haas $14.5 million for a 4,500-square-foot waterfront property in the Bay Point neighborhood of Miami.

    Click here for more photos of the Georgia home.

    BMedia More