Raphael Stevens

More stories

  • 225 Shares189 Views

    in Luxury

    Jack London Penned Novels at This Idyllic Wine Country Estate. Now It Can Be Yours for $5 Million.

    Always wanted to live like a world-famous literary figure? Now’s your chance, because the picturesque Northern California lodge where the late author and journalist Jack London loved to blissfully while away his days has just popped up for sale. Dubbed Wake Robin and nestled amid a 3-acre parcel in the charming village of Glen Ellen in Sonoma County, tucked away in a narrow canyon between the Sonoma and Mayacamas mountains, this beguiling estate is now on the market for a speck under $5 million with Matt Sevenau of Compass.

    Particularly enamored by his editor Ninetta Eames’s niece Charmian Kittredge on his first trip to the property in summer 1902 with his then-wife Bessie and their two daughters, London returned the next year and later wed his soulmate and fellow writer Charmian after a highly publicized divorce. He subsequently made Wake Robin his home for some eight years, penning the bestselling novels White Fang and The Sea Wolf while concurrently buying seven neighboring parcels that he called the Beauty Ranch and today known as Jack London State Historic Park.

    A tree stump where Jack London is said to have sat and put pen to paper remains on the land.

    Jack Pier

    Originally part of a vast Mexican rancho and later a 160-acre ranch, Wake Robin rests beside the merging Sonoma and Graham creeks and was transformed into a lodge during the 1890s by Joshua Chauvet. The deed has changed hands numerous times in the years since, with Ann and Alexander Frick acquiring the place in the 1990s and giving it an extensive renovation before handing over the keys to current owners Malcolm Walter and Elizabeth Fisher in 2020.

    Spanning two stories and roughly 4,300 square feet, the modern three-bedroom, three-bath home is highlighted by an octagon-shaped living room that previously served as a lobby. Elsewhere is a fireside dining area that connects to a kitchen outfitted with Caesarstone countertops, an eat-in island, Dacor and Sub-Zero appliances, and a climate-controlled wine cellar with room for up to 500 bottles, as well as two offices, a bookshelf-clad library, a media room, and a screened porch. Another octagon-shaped room on the upper level houses a primary suite boasting a private deck and a walk-through closet that leads to a luxe bath spotlighted by a spa tub.

    An octagon-shaped living room with a floating staircase once served as the lodge lobby.

    SeaTimber Media

    Outdoors, the gated grounds are laced with oak trees and host a pool and spa, a firepit, and a fully equipped barbecue station. There’s also a barn that could be used as a garage, a gym, or a flex space, per the listing, along with a horseshoe pit and bocce court, a fruit orchard, raised garden beds, and covered carport parking for two vehicles. A tree stump where London would often sit and write also still graces the grounds.

    Water and Fisher, who themselves spent around $300,000 to upgrade the premises during their tenure, are moving because their work is mostly in Sonoma. “While we love living in Glen Ellen … We have found a home in Sonoma with many of the same amenities, but not the rich history that 4100 Wake Robin offers,” the couple said in a statement. “This is a bittersweet move.”

    Click here for more photos of Wake Robin.

    SeaTimber Media More

  • 150 Shares129 Views

    in Luxury

    A Sound Effects Pioneer’s Hudson River-View Manhattan Apartment Is Up for Grabs

    He might not be a household name, but if you happened to watch movies in the 1960s and beyond, you likely came across Elisha Birnbaum’s handiwork as a foley artist. Think of a trotting horse achieved via coconut shells striking against a carpeted floor and even a knife cutting through flesh, which he mimicked by buying the largest turkey he could find and then mutilating the massive fowl so much that his wife Zmira refused to cook it for dinner.

    He subsequently founded the New York City-based Sound One Corporation, which would go on to become a prominent East Coast post-production sound studio that worked with top producers and directors such as Martin Scorsese, Nora Ephron, Spike Lee, Ang Lee, and Woody Allen. And though he retired in 2000 after selling Sound One to Liberty Media, Birnbaum’s CineMontage obituary reports that he continued to watch as many movies as he could and picked up painting and digital art to fill his days.

    Now, almost a year after he passed away at age 92, the Upper West Side apartment that he occupied for more than five decades has popped up for sale, asking $3.7 million. The listing is held by Jennifer Roberts of Coldwell Banker Warburg.

    The entrance gallery flows to a skyline-view living room warmed by a wood-burning fireplace.

    Gamut Photos/Coldwell Banker Warburg

    RELATED: Dick Ebersol and Susan Saint James’s N.Y.C. Pied-à-Terre Is Up for Grabs at $2.5 Million

    Sited within the 18-story Normandy residential building designed in the late ’30s by noted architect Emery Roth, Birnbaum’s former home rests on the 17th floor and has four bedrooms and three baths in roughly 2,400 square feet of living space spread across two combined units. The interiors are outfitted with herringbone-patterned hardwood floors, nine-foot beamed ceilings, wood-paneled walls, stained-glass accents, and large windows overlooking the picturesque skyline and the Hudson River.

    Highlights include a columned entrance gallery that leads to a living room boasting a wood-burning fireplace. On one side of the gallery is a spacious bookshelf-lined room holding a dining area that connects to a modern black-and-red kitchen equipped with an eat-in peninsula and an adjacent seating/breakfast nook.

    The bookshelf-lined dining area sits adjacent to an eye-catching red-and-black kitchen.

    Gamut Photos/Coldwell Banker Warburg

    Elsewhere is the primary bedroom, which hosts a private terrace and a swanky blue-tiled bath with a built-in soaking tub and a separate shower. Three additional bedrooms include one with its own entrance, plus a second terrace and a laundry room that previously served as an extra kitchen.

    A hefty $6,270 monthly common charge fee allows the new owner to take advantage of numerous amenities that encompass 24-hour doormen, a resident manager, a landscaped garden courtyard and rooftop deck, two fitness centers, a children’s playroom, and bike and storage space. An added bonus: The building is right across the street from Riverside Park and its scenic walking paths.

    Click here for more photos of Elisha Birnbaum’s longtime Manhattan home.

    Gamut Photos/Coldwell Banker Warburg More

  • 175 Shares169 Views

    in Luxury

    Late Comic Book Legend Stan Lee’s Last Home in L.A. Lists for $8.8 Million

    Back in late 2014, Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee doled out $4.4 million for a modern home perched in the coveted Birds Streets area of Los Angeles. The Spider-Man creator and his wife Joan—who have since passed away, he in 2018 and she in 2017, both at age 95—subsequently transferred the Hollywood Hills property high above the Sunset Strip to their daughter Joan Celia (“J.C.”) Lee. Now the residence is available for the first time in a decade, asking $8.8 million.

    Completed in the 1950s and renovated and expanded through the years, according to property records, the single-story abode occupies a half-acre parcel of land fronted by a gated driveway that empties out at an attached three-car garage tucked off to the side. Once inside, a total of three bedrooms and seven baths are sprawled across a little more than 5,200 square feet of living space boasting parquet floors and high ceilings.

    J.C. and Stan Lee pose for a photo in front of the home’s bar.

    Lee Estate Photo Archives

    RELATED: This Hollywood Hills Home Above L.A.’s Sunset Strip Was Custom-Designed For Absolute Privacy

    Especially standing out is an expansive entrance hallway, which flows to a fireside den sporting a seated bar and a large dining area that’s perfect for entertaining. A remodeled kitchen is outfitted with an eat-in island and stainless cabinetry and appliances, while the living room is highlighted by a fireplace, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a glass door spilling out to a hedge-lined backyard hosting a pool and spa nestled alongside an open-air cabana.

    Elsewhere is an office and an opulent movie theater with plenty of tiered seating, plus a spacious primary retreat that comes complete with a fireplace, a Juliette balcony, a sauna, and dual walk-in closets and baths. Per the listing held by Naomi Selick of Douglas Elliman, the home also has a brick-clad stage in the upper yard that’s been known to host its share of intimate concerts, as well as a trio of life-sized Spider-Man replicas that are available for purchase separately.

    Three life-sized Spider-Man replicas in the entrance hallway are available for purchase separately.

    Adam Latham

    RELATED: Rocker Ronnie Radke Has Rolled Into a $9 Million Modern Barnhouse in L.A.

    “My father and I loved this house at first sight,” J.C. told the New York Post in a statement about the residence, which is reportedly the final estate purchased by Lee. “There were so many possibilities, we couldn’t wait to get started. This house was made for parties and entertaining with a sound system that extends to the showers, the theater, and the cabana designed to keep food hot for outdoor events.”

    Click here for more photos of J.C. Lee’s Hollywood Hills home.

    Adam Latham More

  • 150 Shares109 Views

    in Luxury

    This $3.2 Million Spanish-Style Home in L.A. Comes With a Midcentury Guesthouse

    Like a touch of midcentury modern with your Mission Revival? No worries! This hybrid residence tucked away in the La Crescenta foothills of Los Angeles just so happens to offer the best of both worlds. 

    After barely two years of ownership, the scion of a Hollywood actor has decided to part ways with his home in an unincorporated area near the city of Glendale. The professional musician is asking a speck under $3.2 million for the blended abode, which he acquired in 2022 for just over $2.3 million. 

    Originally built in the late 1940s by mission-adobe expert Paul Angel Verdugo, the property underwent an extensive renovation during the owner’s tenure and includes a three-bedroom, two-bath Mission Revival-style main home boasting a little more than 2,100 square feet of single-level living space adorned throughout with Saltillo tile floors, mosaic accents, and natural wood-beam ceilings. There’s also a newer midcentury pool house that clocks in at 475 square feet and was previously used by the owner as a music studio.

    The light-filled living room is spotlighted by a natural wood-beam ceiling and a corner fireplace.

    Gavin Cater

    RELATED: Flea Relists His Offbeat Compound North of Los Angeles for $7 Million

    Nestled amid a leafy parcel of land spanning nearly two-thirds of an acre, within the Briggs Terrace neighborhood near the Rosemont Preserve, the main adobe brick and terracotta-roof structure is secluded at the end of a private street and overlooks the San Gabriel Mountains. Once inside via a covered porch and hand-carved wood door, the step-down living room charms with a large picture window and an arched fireplace nestled alongside a built-in bench.

    A cozy family room connects to the gourmet kitchen, which is outfitted with Carrara marble countertops, an eat-in bar topped with honed black granite, a pricey AGA range, and a built-in Thermador refrigerator. Other highlights include an office space, plus an inviting primary suite sporting a walk-in closet and a fireside bath equipped with dual vanities, a freestanding soaking tub, and a steam shower.

    The owner used the midcentury pool house as a music studio.

    Gavin Cater

    In addition to several alfresco lounging and entertaining spots, the grounds are laced with redwood, pine, and fruit trees. There’s also a sundeck-encased swimming pool, a firepit, and a sports court in the backyard, as well as an attached two-car garage out front. 

    Click here for more photos of 2315 Los Amigos Street.

    Gavin Cater More

  • 113 Shares129 Views

    in Luxury

    36,000 Square Foot Mega Home In Doha, Qatar (PHOTOS)

    Listed with Zhanna Yerkozhanova of Sotheby’s Realty LOCATION: Doha, Qatar SQUARE FOOTAGE: 36,597 BEDROOMS & BATHROOMS: 9 bedrooms & 12 bathrooms PRICE: Available Upon Request This grand home is located in Doha, Qatar and is situated on 1.6 acres of land. It features over 36,000 square feet of living space with 9 bedrooms, 7 full […] More

  • 213 Shares99 Views

    in Luxury

    Star Moves: George Clooney and Melanie Griffith Sell L.A. Estates, While Bhad Bhabie Lists on Both Coasts

    This week in celebrity real estate transactions, George Clooney sold his longtime estate to Olivia Culpo and Christian McCaffrey, Melanie Griffith parted ways with a Spanish-style villa she’s owned since 2019, and Bhad Bhabie has two homes up for grabs.

    After nearly three decades of ownership, George Clooney has officially offloaded the Los Angeles estate he acquired in 1995 for $2.2 million shortly after nabbing a starring role in the TV show ER. According to online reports, the buyers are model Olivia Culpo and her San Francisco 49ers husband Christian McCaffrey, who picked up the nearly 3.2-acre spread for $14.5 million. Formerly occupied by Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks and extensively remodeled by the actor during his tenure, the couple’s new digs in Studio City‘s lush Fryman Canyon neighborhood feature a 7,000-square-foot main home with six bedrooms, plus several guesthouses, a pool, and a tennis court. Clooney, who is currently starring in the film Wolfs alongside Brad Pitt, and his wife Amal still own homes in New York, Italy, and France, while Culpo maintains a $3.5 million mansion in L.A.’s Encino enclave.

    Meanwhile, over in Hollywood Hills, Melanie Griffith has quietly let go of her Spanish-style villa near the Sunset Strip in an off-market deal for $4.7 million. Purchased by the Oscar-nominated actress in spring 2019 for $3.7 million and owned at one time by TMZ’s Harvey Levin, the gated two-story abode has almost 3,000 square feet highlighted by a step-down living room sporting a stone fireplace, a kitchen equipped with Viking appliances, and a primary suite with a spa-like bath. Sliding glass doors open the family and formal dining rooms to the private backyard, which contains a pool and spa. Griffith does not appear to be leaving L.A.; records show she recently dropped $4.3 million on a vintage Spanish Colonial-Revival home in a famously celeb-packed locale in the foothills above Hollywood.

    Bhad Bhabie has multimillion-dollar homes in both California and Florida (above) up for sale.

    Daniel Petroni

    And on the heels of listing a contemporary mansion in her home state of Florida for $7.4 million, multimillionaire rapper and internet celeb Bhad Bhabie—born Danielle Bregoli—is also hoping to cash out on her part-time residence in L.A’s suburban San Fernando Valley, hoisting it up for sale at a speck under $3.5 million. The ranch-style spread in Woodland Hills offers about 3,700 square feet boasting a luxe fireside primary suite and an open-concept great room with a living/dining area connected to a kitchen. Far more impressive, though, is the 21-year-old OnlyFans phenom’s 9,300-square-foot all-white mansion in Palm Beach County’s Boca Raton community, which comes complete with a media room, a resort-style pool and spa, and a separate guesthouse. More

  • 163 Shares189 Views

    in Luxury

    YouTube Star Philip DeFranco Lists His Hacienda-Style Home in L.A. for $6.5 Million

    It’s been almost five years since Philip DeFranco picked up a Los Angeles residence in the San Fernando Valley community of Encino. Now the YouTube star—known to his 6 million-plus fans as “PhillyD”—is looking to hand over the keys to the hacienda-style home for $6.5 million after previously floating the place on the market as a rental for $25,000 per month. The listing is held by Jennifer Brookley of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties.

    Purchased by DiFranco and his wife Lindsay in winter 2019 for $4.1 million, the single-story stucco and terracotta-roof structure was built in the late 1930s and rests amid an acre-plus parcel of land fronted by an interior courtyard bolstered by a fountain that’s been transformed into a planter. Inside, four bedrooms and five baths are spread across nearly 6,000 square feet of updated living space, which is adorned throughout with a mix of hardwood and stone floors, arched doorways, and high wood-beam ceilings dotted with skylights.

    A glass-lined family room overlooking the backyard steps up to a dining area and kitchen.

    Photography by Akram Soliman, courtesy of Jennifer Brookley/Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties

    RELATED: An Instagram Celeb Lists His South Florida House for $4.2 Million

    Highlights include a formal living room sporting a wood-burning fireplace and two sets of French doors spilling outside. A gourmet kitchen outfitted with bright green cabinetry, an eat-in island, and top-tier Viking appliances connects to a chandelier-topped dining area flanked by both butler’s and walk-in pantries on one side and a sunken family room on the other.

    Elsewhere is an office space and an ornate movie theater with plush red recliners, as well as a secluded primary suite that has a fireside seating area, French doors opening to a private patio, a custom closet, and a spa-inspired bath equipped with dual vanities, a window-topped soaking tub, and a glass-encased steam shower.

    The acre-plus property features a tennis court sitting next to an open-air pavilion.

    Photography by Akram Soliman, courtesy of Jennifer Brookley/Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties

    Heading outdoors, one will find a lighted tennis court nestled alongside a covered entertaining spot, a heated saltwater pool surrounded by a sundeck, an open-air cabana, and a standalone sauna. There is also a poolside structure holding changing rooms and two spaces currently set up as a gym and a soundproof recording studio, along with a detached one-bedroom, one-bath guesthouse with its own living/dining area and kitchen.

    New York-born DeFranco, 38, is a longtime YouTuber who was one of the first creators to hit it big on the platform, initially with his channel “sxephil.” Since then, he’s grown and maintained a cult following through his news show/pop culture commentary series The Philip DeFranco Show. Per a post on Lindsay’s Instagram page, the couple is moving to Atlanta to be closer to their extended family on the East Coast.

    Click here for more photos of Philip DeFranco’s Encino home.

    Photography by Akram Soliman, courtesy of Jennifer Brookley/Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties More

  • 200 Shares199 Views

    in Luxury

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

    He’s putting a nail in his Atlanta property! After more than a decade of ownership, Bernard “Bernie” Marcus has decided to let go of his Atlanta home in Buckhead’s Park Avenue high-rise residential tower near the Phipps Plaza and Lenox Square shopping malls. The Home Depot co-founder and staunch philanthropist is asking $5 million for the condo, which is listed by Nicholas Brown of Compass Georgia.

    Records show Marcus and his wife Billi paid $3 million for the unit on the 37th floor of the 44-story structure in December 2010. The couple previously owned another smaller unit in the same building that they purchased in summer 2010 for $2 million and sold four years later for a speck under $1.4 million.

    The Park Avenue luxury high-rise building is sited at the intersection of Wieuca Road and Park Avenue in the sought-after Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta.

    Josh Vick/Home Tour America

    As for this particular dwelling, it has three bedrooms and five baths spread across roughly 5,700 square feet of living space overlooking sweeping views stretching from the Downtown Atlanta skyline to Stone Mountain and Kennesaw Mountain beyond. Highlights include a grand salon, which is “an entertainer’s dream” per the listing, and holds a full bar, a card-playing area, and access to a wraparound terrace via sliding walls of glass. A circular formal dining room is topped by a domed ceiling adorned with a custom hand-blown glass chandelier and a gourmet kitchen boasts top-tier appliances and a climate-controlled wine room.

    There’s also a sumptuous primary suite outfitted with floor-to-ceiling windows, a seating area, a luxe bath, and ample closet space. Elsewhere is an executive office and a wood-paneled library/study with a private balcony, as well as a guest bedroom and a self-contained suite for live-in staff that has its own kitchen, living room, and bath.

    Accessible to a wraparound terrace, the grand salon hosts a lounge, full bar, and card-playing area.

    Josh Vick/Home Tour America

    The gated building also comes with numerous amenities courtesy of a hefty $4,071 monthly HOA fee, including valet and concierge service, a swimming pool and fitness center, a landscaped garden, a clubroom, a catering kitchen, wine storage, guest suites, and two reserved parking spaces.

    After graduating from Rutgers University in his hometown of New Jersey in 1954, Marcus began his career as a drugstore pharmacist and later worked his way up the ranks at several retail businesses before founding The Home Depot in 1978 with now-Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United owner Arthur Blank. Marcus retired in 2002 and has since focused much of his energy on philanthropy, having donated more than $2 billion to nonprofits via The Marcus Foundation. The 95-year-old also plans to leave 90 percent of his currently estimated $11 billion fortune to the foundation upon his death.

    “Atlanta holds a special place in my heart—it’s the city where we started The Home Depot back in 1978 and built it into one of the world’s greatest companies,” said Marcus, who also owns a home on the shores of Lake Toxaway in North Carolina. “This city will always be part of me and my commitment to its growth, well-being, and success will continue on.”

    Click here for more photos of Bernie Marcus’s Buckhead residence.

    Josh Vick/Home Tour America More