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    Tom Petty’s Widow Just Spent Millions on a 1920s Spanish-Style Hacienda in L.A.

    It’s hard to believe six years have passed since 66-year-old music legend Tom Petty unexpectedly died after slipping into unconsciousness at his Malibu home. Since then, Dana York — the Michigan native who was Petty’s wife for the last 16 years of his life — has continued living at the same Malibu estate, though it appears that residential situation could be changing. A trust linked to the Petty family recently paid $6.6 million for a luxury home in L.A.’sLittle Holmby neighborhood, an affluent enclave near UCLA and the bustling Wilshire Corridor.

    Originally built in the 1920s, the Spanish Colonial Revival-style home was recently renovated by its longtime owners, “Curb Your Enthusiasm” executive producer Alec Berg and his wife Michele Maika Berg. The Bergs put their stylish hacienda on the market for $6.25 million, and it appears York fell hard for the keys, as she paid $350,000 over the asking price.

    From the street, most of the roughly 4,600-square-foot house is hidden behind tall hedges and trees. But past a gated courtyard entryway, the five-bedroom, 6.5-bath stunner offers decorative tilework throughout, a wrought iron staircase, lustrous hardwood floors stained a deep brown, arched doorways, and antique French paned windows throughout. But the kitchen is all-new, featuring state-of-the-art luxury appliances and a big island, while the executive office boasts convenient garage access. Rounging out the main floor are a fireplace-equipped living room, a powder room and maid’s quarters.

    Upstairs are the four family bedrooms, the primary suite equipped with an original fireplace and dual bathrooms, plus a bonus room that could be another office or a gym. Views drink in the lush backyard, which is awash with tropically-inspired landscaping. Also out back is a convenient lap pool and a separate hot tub, plus plum and nectarine trees; an outdoor kitchen services a stone patio and multiple terra-cotta terraces.

    There’s also a state-of-the-art security system with multiple cameras monitoring the premises, a detached guesthouse and a full outdoor kitchen with a built-in barbecue center.

    It remains to be seen if York purchased this Little Holmby estate was purchased for her personal use or for her adult son Dylan Epperson, who was recently married. Epperson’s current main residence, also owned by York, is a significantly smaller bungalow in Pacific Palisades. As for York, her longtime main residence is a Mediterranean-style mansion directly overlooking Malibu’s bustling Pacific Coast Highway, originally purchased by Tom Petty way back in 1998. Earlier this year, York sold Petty’s separate Malibu “recording studio,” an oceanfront cottage on Escondido Beach, for $10.3 million to Canadian hotel mogul Salim Sayani. More

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    Michelle Pfeiffer Pays $10 Million for a Sophisticated L.A. Estate on the Palisades Riviera

    It’s no secret that Michelle Pfeiffer and her television producer husband David E. Kelley have a thing for the posh Westside of Los Angeles. The couple has bought and sold a number of homes there over the past few years, frequently at eye-popping prices. Two years ago, they inked a widely publicized deal to sell a Pacific Palisades mansion for $25 million to the ex-wife of a major TikTok investor. And way back in 2005, they sold a palatial Brentwood home for $18 million to its current owner—Disney CEO Bob Iger.

    Now the serial house flippers are at it again; records indicate they’ve ponied up $10.6 million to acquire a house located in a particularly prime pocket of the so-called Pacific Palisades Riviera. The 7,600-square-foot mansion happens to sit right next door to Bill Cosby’s longtime L.A. home, and it’s also sugar-borrowing distance from the lavish estates of Steven Spielberg, Sugar Ray Leonard and Dan Castellaneta.

    Built in 1993, the Mediterranean-inspired mansion last sold in 1995 for $2.8 million to legendary winemaker Al Scheid, who died in the house earlier this year. Kelley and Pfeiffer were eager to secure the keys to their very beige new castle, as they paid some $130,000 over the Scheid family’s initial asking price.

    The flat 0.38-acre lot is defined by the exceptionally tall trees that ring its perimeter; they dominate the front motorcourt, which is double-gated and features an attached three-car garage. Arched double front doors open into a grand formal entryway highlighted by a sweeping staircase. To the right of the foyer lies a fireplace-equipped living room brightened by multi-pane windows.

    Many of the other rooms are pleasingly luxurious ’90s decorative throwbacks, including the family room—with its granite-topped wet bar and burled hardwood floors—and the kitchen, which spills out into “an informal secondary family room,” per the listing. Upstairs are four of the home’s five bedrooms, all of them decked out in wall-to-wall carpeting. The supersized primary suite features a fireplace, dual closets, a sitting area and a private balcony overlooking the grassy yard.

    Out back, a vine-draped loggia hosts an outdoor dining patio, while terracotta tile steps lead down to rectangular swimming pool shaded by manicured hedgerows and multiple palm trees.

    Pfeiffer and Kelley also have ties to this smaller Palisades home, currently for sale at $7.4 million.

    Open House Foto

    Records also indicate that this is not the only Pacific Palisades property Pfeiffer and Kelley currently own. They’ve also got a far smaller and older house elsewhere in the neighborhood, which happens to be currently up for grabs at $7.4 million. The couple quietly bought that 1940s place in late 2021, paying $6.9 million. More

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    Fashion Designer Gigi Caruso Spends $9.5 Million on a Dreamy California Home

    She’s just 23 years old, but Gianna “Gigi” Caruso is already the CEO and founder of a successful clothing company with the sort of finger-on-the-collective-pulse clout many more established apparel moguls would kill to have. Founded in 2017, Caruso’s Gigi C swimwear line is a pricey hit, with her $200 bikini sets having racked up a host of celebrity fans that include Eva Longoria, January Jones, Selma Blair and Elizabeth Banks. And it’s no wonder that the brand’s continued growth, coupled with its owner’s chic personal style, has turned Caruso a popular social media influencer.

    Of course, it’s also worth noting that Caruso is the only daughter of Rick Caruso, the high-profile real estate developer and onetime L.A. mayoral candidate who has built and owns some of the country’s most successful shopping malls. The elder Caruso’s personal net worth tops $5.3 billion, per Forbes.

    So it’s hardly a surprise that Gigi Caruso can afford some very nice things. The recent USC grad recently forked out $9.5 million for a stunningly refined house in prime Pacific Palisades, the seaside neighborhood well known for the upscale, and Rick Caruso-developed, Palisades Village outdoor shopping area.

    The 100-year-old heritage olive trees arguably upstage the elegant house itself.

    Built in 2007 but extensively renovated in 2019, the contemporary quasi-Spanish-Mediterranean villa was in demand, with Caruso ponying up $30,000 over the asking price just to secure the keys. Gnarled, century-old olive tees line the long private driveway, which is guarded by an electronic gate and butts up against an attached two-car garage. Also on tap outside are tranquil gardens and a private studio space ideal for the at-home artist.

    Inside, the long and narrow house packs a generous seven bedrooms and seven baths into nearly 6,000 square feet of sun-drenched living space. Medium brown hardwood floors neatly contrast against the pale decor, a neutral palette filled mostly with whites and some pops of light gray.

    The main floor features numerous sets of French doors and multiple fireplaces.

    On the main floor are dual fireplaces and a dizzying number of open living and dining areas, plus two guest bedrooms and a fashionably updated chef’s kitchen. Upstairs is the primary suite, where a private balcony overlooks the lush backyard, along with four additional family bedrooms.

    Out back, the 0.33-acre lot is defined by its oversized swimming pool, which neatly connects the main house to a detached casita. Guests will enjoy dining al fresco amid the manicured gardens, along with a built-in bbq center and a separate lounge area with a fire pit overlooking impressive canyon views.

    Privately surrounded by hedges and eucalyptus trees, the backyard is a resort-style sanctuary.

    Records reveal the seller home’s was James Barker, a trucking mogul and private equity veteran who recently paid $16.5 million to upgrade into a significantly larger and more lavish estate elsewhere in the Palisades. As for Caruso, she’s certainly not new to the area. Her parents have long owned one of the largest properties in L.A.’s Brentwood Park community; Vanity Fair recently described the palatial Caruso family estate as “a creamy Italianate compound of rolling grasses, waterfalls, a pond, a rowboat, a tennis court, and an outdoor bar.” More

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    An MTV Founder Snaps Up a Stunning 1970s Time Capsule in Santa Monica for $8 Million

    Looking for a real estate throwback? Check out this fun and funky—but still remarkably luxurious and searingly expensive—house on the Westside of Los Angeles. Situated mid-block on what has long been considered one of Santa Monica‘s most prestigious streets, the property boasts panoramic views that sweep from the mountains to the sea. Neighbors include Paul Attanasio, The Simpsons creator Matt Groening, and Steve Jobs’s sister Mona Simpson.

    The well-positioned house just sold for $7.9 million to John Sykes, a veteran entertainment industry executive who co-founded MTV and has been iHeartMedia’s president of entertainment enterprises for over a decade. Sykes, 68, is also the former president of VH1 and the current chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation.

    Built in 1941 and expanded in the late 1940s, the offbeat traditional-style house sold in 1972 for just $150,000. Those lucky buyers held onto the property for 50 years, selling it last fall for exactly $9 million to a non-famous L.A. family. But unfortunately for them, that family appears to have had a change of heart — nine months later, the house was back on the market, asking $9.5 million. After a big price reduction, Sykes came along and negotiated an even deeper discount.

    The 1970s-throwback interiors will have you hooked on a feeling.

    Inside, there are five bedrooms and five baths in just under 4,000 square feet. And nearly every inch of those square feet is a 1970s time capsule, with wood paneling galore, groovy wet bars, charmingly outdated wallpaper and a smattering of pastel colors setting the beat. Dozens of oversized windows scattered throughout the house flood the place with natural light, while sliding glass doors allow ocean breezes to waft inside and back out.

    Speaking of outside, the backyard definitely dates to a bygone era but is remarkably well maintained — much like the home itself. The generous half-acre lot includes grassy lawns, mature palm trees, a towering hedge wall for privacy, and a large swimming pool encircled by a patio sure to delight sunbathers and entertainers alike. Also on tap are rose gardens, flowering bunches of bougainvillea and an attached two-car garage.

    Per the listing, “the property yearns for one to bring it back to all of its glory or reimagine the lot,” so it seems likely the estate will be altered considerably in the coming months and years.

    No word yet regarding what exactly Sykes and his wife Laurie plan to do with their new West Coast outpost, or whether they plan to eventually make the spread their main residence, but records reveal the couple has long owned a compound that sits less than 50 yards from the beach in New York’s posh East Hampton neighborhood.

    Click here for more photos of John Sykes’s new Santa Monica house. More

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    Julia Roberts Just Sold Her Charming San Francisco Home in a Flash

    Back in the earliest days of 2020, just a month or two before the Covid-19 pandemic threw the entire world into chaos, Julia Roberts paid $8.3 million for a house in San Francisco, long one of her favorite haunts. Sited in the charming Presidio Heights neighborhood, the 1912 Victorian had languished on the market for nearly a full year, and endured a series of price chops before Roberts came calling.

    Nearly four years later, the Oscar-winning actress has sold the classically lovable house – and it appears she had the magic touch. After hitting the market in early October, the place sold in just 18 days for an impressive $11.3 million, about $500,000 under Roberts’ asking price but still $3 million more than she had paid. The all-cash buyer, shielded behind a mysterious LLC with a Silicon Valley address, has not yet been publicly identified.

    Behind gates, a brick walkway leads to the home’s column-ringed entry; inside are five full levels with a total of five bedrooms and five bathrooms in a generous 6,300 square feet of living space. Guests are greeted by a stately foyer with a grand staircase holding court near a light-flooded, fireplace-equipped living room.

    While the 111-year-old house has clearly been extensively modified over the years – and the interiors are distinctly contemporary, albeit in a relaxed and casual manner – the place is livable and unmistakably charming. And interesting or original features abound: the dining room features intricate coffered ceilings, there’s a nifty sunroom in one of the bedrooms, and the robin’s egg blue kitchen has stunning views of the Golden Gate Bridge, plus premium Sub-Zero appliances and a convenient wet bar.

    Four of the home’s bedrooms are located on the second floor, while the primary suite takes up nearly all of the structure’s top floor. There are also two semi-subterranean lower levels – a primary lower level that includes a media room, mud room and the attached two-car tandem garage, and a “lower lower” level with a big bonus room. 

    Both lower levels have direct access to the backyard garden, which is compact but includes serene olive trees, romantic sitting areas and what appears to be a covered hot tub.

    Roberts, 56, still maintains many other homes. Among them are a penthouse in New York City’s West Village, a sprawling New Mexico ranch and an estate on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. But for many years, her primary residence has been a blufftop mansion on Malibu’s Point Dume. More

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    Freshly Rehabbed, Architect Ray Kappe’s First Ever House Is Quintessential California Modernism

    Widely considered one of California’s most influential modernist architects, Ray Kappe’s career spanned decades and inspired countless members of the current generation of architects and designers. And as a pioneer of the distinctive post-and-beam style that would come to define the architectural bent that became SoCal modernism, Kappe infused each of the numerous custom residences he designed with textures and materials he drew from L.A.’s natural landscape.

    That design sensibility that married Kappe’s homes with their natural surroundings is especially displayed in this suburban L.A. home, which happens to be his very first residential project ever completed. Built circa 1954 in the Glendale hills and surrounded by thick groves of native oak trees, the redwood-sided structure is locally known as the Gordon & Hildred Goetschel House after its original owners.

    Kappe’s first project is also the latest project by HabHouse, the L.A. based design firm that has built its reputation upon sensitive rehabilitations of architectural properties. In this instance, HabHouse reinstated or refurbished much of the home’s original detailing and also completely renovated the Kappe-designed swimming pool with modern-day equipment, plaster, tile and new coping. 

    The living room offers a floor-to-ceiling fireplace and walls of glass.

    if the HabHouse name sounds particularly familiar, it’s likely because this same crew was also responsible for a 1950 modernist gem in Brentwood, which recently sold in a bidding war to “Euphoria” actress Hunter Schafer. This property was also in high demand – the Glendale house sold before officially hitting the market, for about $2.6 million in an all-cash deal. Records indicate the buyer is a Salt Lake City-based woman who was once married to a wealthy tech entrepreneur.

    Framed by a wall of unpainted masonry block, the glass-walled pavilion is exquisite in its simplicity. Inside, natural light floods every corner of the hillside home, with the ancient trees casting shadows that stealthily move and grow throughout the day. 

    Other highlights include a fully redone kitchen with a distinctly retro vibe, an attached two-car garage and an 8,400-square-foot lot with backyard views of the Verdugo mountains. Back inside, there are three bedrooms and two bathrooms in a relatively cozy 1,700 square feet of living space.

    The backyard has mountain views framed by the treetops of ancient oaks.

    Kappe, who died at age 92 in 2019, designed 100 custom residences throughout his lifetime. He also founded the Southern California Institute for Architecture, widely regarded as one of the nation’s top architecture schools.

    Matt Adamo of Christie’s AKG held the listing; Nate Cole of Modern California House and Joseph Kiralla of Sotheby’s International Realty repped the buyer.

    Click here for more photos of 272 Mesa Lila, Glendale. More

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    ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Screenwriter Scores Hilltop L.A. Home With Panoramic Views

    Perched atop a knoll high above L.A.’s trendy and expensive Silver Lake neighborhood, this stylish Spanish Colonial Revival-esque home may appear to be a classic 1920s example, but it was actually built in the early 2000s. Although initially designed as a Tuscan-style villa, the roughly 4,000 square foot house underwent a dramatic refresh circa 2020 by its second owner, filmmaker/musician Robert Schwartzman, a member of Hollywood’s famed Coppola family.

    Schwartzman and his wife Zooey bought the house in 2019, paying $2.3 million, but their modifications caused the property’s value to soar. Over the summer, they flipped the place for a hefty $4.3 million to Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Peter Craig and his third wife, educator Cristina Esposito. 

    But it’s not hard to see the home’s attraction. Set high up and far back on its relatively generous 9,300-square-foot lot, the house lies completely out of sight from public view, shielded behind a detached two-car garage and a dense canopy of oak and eucalyptus trees. Behind a locked gate, several short flights of stairs lead up to a flat patio with a grassy lawn and dozens of native plantings.

    The formal dining room harkens back to the glory days of Old Hollywood, albeit with some chicly modern-day wallpaper.

    Inside the double-height foyer, the home’s Old Hollywood feel is especially pronounced – there are intricate iron details and terracotta tile floors that blend surprisingly well with the dark brown hardwood floors found on the staircase and throughout the rest of the home. From the foyer, an arched passageway leads directly under the staircase to the great room, which packs in a fireplace, casual dining space and an open kitchen with premium appliances and two islands, plus several sets of French doors leading to various outdoor patios.

    Other stylish home highlights include a bonus room/studio and a wine cellar, plus a formal dining room that connects via an arched doorway to a fountain-equipped terrace. All three of the residence’s bedrooms lie upstairs, where two guest rooms share a single bathroom; the primary bedroom features a sumptuous bath, two walk-in closets and a private, covered balcony with stunning city lights views.

    The house gets the full benefit of L.A.’s famous sunsets.

    Those vistas continue throughout the backyard, where various patios and terraces drink in unobstructed sightlines of Griffith Observatory, the Hollywood Sign and the Downtown L.A. skyline. And while the property does not currently sport a swimming pool, the watery beauty of Silver Lake Reservoir is just a short jog away.

    Craig, 53, is the eldest son of Oscar-winning actress Sally Field. Originally a novelist, he made his screenwriting debut with the 2010 crime thriller The Town , which garnered critical acclaim. In 2022, he co-wrote the screenplays for both The Batman and Top Gun: Maverick, both major box office successes; the latter project earned him an Academy Award nomination.

    Click here for more photos of Peter Craig’s Silver Lake house. More