Los Angeles

Subterms

    More stories

    • 150 Shares169 Views

      in Luxury

      Clippers Star Kawhi Leonard Faces a Loss on His Downtown L.A. Penthouse

      by

      After four years of ownership, Kawhi Leonard has decided to hoist his Downtown Los Angeles penthouse back on the market. And the two-time NBA champ apparently wants to get rid of the seasonal outpost pretty bad—per Realtor.com, he’s priced the swanky pad at $6.5 million, or around $200,000 less than he originally paid.

      Purchased by Leonard for a little over $6.7 million back in winter 2019, the same year the All-Star forward signed with the Clippers, the unit lies on the 43rd floor of The Ritz-Carlton Residences at L.A. Live, just steps from the Crypto.com Arena. Since the Gensler-designed structure first opened its doors in 2010, the exclusive building has housed celebs the likes of former Entertainment Tonight host Mary Hart, boxing legend Floyd Mayweather, Lakers guard Lonzo Ball and filmmaker Jason Blum, just to name a few.

      As for Leonard’s part-time dwelling, the place features three bedrooms and four baths in almost 4,300 square feet of “impeccably designed” living space adorned with a mix of hardwood and carpeted floors, two custom fireplaces and floor-to-ceiling walls of glass offering picturesque city lights views. There also are magnetic, wall-mounted iPads for controlling the window treatments, as well as Crestron and Lutron home-automation systems.

      A vestibule flows into a spacious living area displaying one of the aforementioned fireplaces, built-in shelving and plenty of room for a pool table, and an adjacent kitchen is outfitted with an eat-in island, top-tier stainless appliances and an accompanying dining area. There’s also a chic master retreat boasting a luxe bath equipped with dual vanities, a soaking tub and steam shower.

      Topping it all off are plenty of building amenities courtesy of a substantial $5,880 monthly HOA charge, including a dedicated concierge, heated rooftop pool, spa, fitness center, valet parking and 24-hour hotel room service. Two parking spots also come with Leonard’s penthouse.

      Lest his fans be worried, it doesn’t look as if Leonard is planning to leave L.A. anytime soon—especially since he signed a massive three-year, $152.4 million contract extension in January. According to Yardbarker, it more likely stems from the fact that the Clippers are planning a move into the Inglewood-based Intuit Dome for the 2024-25 season. On the real estate front, the 32-year-old Moreno Valley native also still maintains a hilltop mansion in L.A.’s Pacific Palisades neighborhood that he purchased for $17.1 million about three years ago. More

    • 138 Shares189 Views

      in Luxury

      Judd Apatow Drops $32 Million on a Sleek Beverly Hills Mansion

      by

      After recently selling their posh and longtime Los Angeles home for $27 million to heavyweight lawyer Brian Panish, records reveal Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann have now bought a smaller home, albeit an even more expensive one in an arguably even posher part of town. The empty nesters doled out nearly $32 million for their new place, a single-story stunner in the western reaches of Beverly Hills.

      Unfortunately for the seller—apparel mogul Maurice Marciano, cofounder of the Guess clothing brand—that sale price is roughly $3.6 million less than he paid for the house barely a year ago, when he bought it for a lofty $35.5 million.

      The single-level home features automated steel and glass walls and doors throughout.

      Mark Singer

      Originally built in the 1950s as a humble midcentury ranch-style structure, the house underwent a dramatic rebuild and expansion a few years ago. Today, invisible from the street behind locked gates and towering hedges, the glossy and decidedly bespoke showpiece is described as the “embodiment of architecture as art,” and features five bedrooms and seven bathrooms in a mansion-sized 9,300 square feet of living space. Set on nearly an acre of land near historic Greystone Manor, the trophy estate also features a dark-bottom swimming pool, grassy lawns and manicured gardens.

      Property highlights include a “floating” entryway seemingly cantilevered over moat-like water features, hand-combed limestone throughout, imported white oak floors, exotic marble slabs and a media room almost totally swaddled in cashmere. A recurring theme throughout the house is the dichotomy of its floorplan, which can be either cozy or totally open depending on the homeowner’s whims, with numerous walls of steel and glass that disappear and reappear at the touch of a button.

      The skylit kitchen offers two marble-topped island with plenty of storage space.

      Mark Singer

      All five of the property’s bedrooms feature ensuite bathrooms and their own “private gardens,” per the listing, and the primary suite additionally offers a sitting area and boutique-style dressing room. The kitchen is primed for grand-scale entertaining, with its dual marble islands and commercial-grade stainless appliances, and also on tap are a library, a gym and a formal dining room with silk ceilings and walls, plus its own temperature-controlled glass wine closet.

      In addition to garaging for up to five cars, the residence is fronted by a sizable cobblestone motorcourt. Out back, the park-like grounds encircle an outdoor fireplace flanked by its own lounge area, and there are multiple spaces dedicated to al fresco dining or sunbathing.

      Surrounded by mature trees, the park-like estate offers ample space for al fresco entertaining.

      Mark Singer

      Apatow, a super-prolific Hollywood director/producer (Bridesmaids, Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin) and Mann continue to maintain a $9 million condo in New York City’s leafy West Village neighborhood. More

    • 175 Shares199 Views

      in Luxury

      ‘District 9’ Star Sharlto Copley Doles Out $4.4 Million for a Stunning Lakefront Estate

      by

      Though most folks might know him best as main protagonist Wikus van de Merwe from the Oscar-nominated science-fiction film District 9, South African actor Sharlto Copley is now appearing as wealthy businessman Michael Fouchay in the 12th and final season of the HBO show Curb Your Enthusiasm. He’s also making his presence known on the Los Angeles real estate scene, having splashed out $4.4 million for a stunning spread tucked away in the picturesque hills between Westlake Village and Thousand Oaks, in an unincorporated area known as Lake Sherwood.

      Resting beyond a streetside two-car garage/artist studio and gated driveway, the French Country-style mansion is nestled amid almost one-third acres of land overlooking Lake Sherwood and the Santa Monica Mountains. Built back in 2003, the three-story home has four bedrooms and six baths in a little more than 6,600 square feet of living space.

      Double front doors open into a turreted entrance foyer displaying a curving staircase that heads down to a main level holding living and family rooms, each with fireplaces boasting hand-carved mantles. A formal dining room can seat up to 10, while the gourmet kitchen is outfitted with decorative wood cabinetry, a central island, breakfast bar, top-tier stainless appliances, a dumbwaiter and an accompanying breakfast room.

      Other highlights include a handsome bookshelf-lined office, plus a lower level flaunting a wet bar-equipped great room/movie theater, as well as a bespoke wine cellar that can accommodate up to 3,800 bottles. Upstairs, a sumptuous master retreat comes complete with a sitting area, fireplace, dual walk-in closets, and a spa-like bath offering dual vanities, a soaking tub and glass-encased shower.

      Four additional en-suite bedrooms and a secondary bedroom also can be found on the upper floor. But the undeniable star of the show are the eye-catching grounds, which host a stacked-stone fireplace, full kitchen bedecked with a built-in barbecue, sport court, and an infinity-edge pool and raised spa overlooking the lake. Also on the premises: a couple of vineyards, per the listing, along with an extra three-car garage.

      In addition to his newly acquired Lake Sherwood house, the 50-year-old actor—who also has appeared in The A-Team, Elysium and Chappie—maintains a smaller house in the Hollywood Dell area of L.A. that he acquired for $860,000 back in early 2013.

      The listing was held by Mark Tyoran of Keller Williams Westlake Village. More

    • 175 Shares199 Views

      in Luxury

      A Tech Entrepreneur Spent $13 Million on Late Architect Harry Gesner’s Unique Malibu Home

      by

      Famed Malibu architect Harry Gesner died in summer 2022, just weeks after his 97th birthday. To say Gesner led a colorful life would be putting it mildly; the word “epic” is probably be more apt. Born in Southern California to an engineer father and an artist mother, he was flying planes by age 14. At 19, he stormed the beach at Normandy; after the war, he first worked as a waterski instructor in Lake Arrowhead before turning down an invitation from Frank Lloyd Wright to study at Wright’s Taliesin architecture school in favor of being a tomb raider in Ecuador. Along the way, he famously dated numerous models and actresses, fraternized with Errol Flynn and Marlon Brando, collected fancy sports cars and surfed every day into his late eighties.

      Gesner designed many homes all over California, but his best-known works are found on the shores of his beloved and adopted hometown of Malibu. Among them are the iconic Wave House, designed for one of the architect’s surfing buddies with a copper-scale-topped roofline that resembles a series of cresting waves.

      Next door to Wave House is Gesner’s own longtime family abode, which he called Sandcastle. Completed in 1974, it is a testament to Gesner’s commitment to sustainable building practices. Among the salvaged materials used for its construction are old telephone poles, wall panels made from aqueduct pipes, birdseye maple from a high school gym, marble from public baths that were about to be demolished, old-growth redwood harvested in the 1800s, and windows and doors saved from one of Hollywood’s silent film theaters.

      First listed last year at $27.5 million, the oceanfront house has just sold for a heavily slashed $13.5 million. The discount-minded buyer is tech entrepreneur Jason Fried—co-founder and CEO of Basecamp, a multibillion-dollar project management firm, and a noted architecture enthusiast. Last year, Fried dropped $26 million on an especially glorious old estate in the California’s Carmel Highlands neighborhood.

      At the Sandcastle home’s entry is a library/lounge with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and ocean views. From here, one proceeds to the heart of the house, a commodious, window-wrapped living/dining room featuring massive spoke-like beams, wood-plank ceilings, and a vast brick fireplace at its hub. Modeled after the Hollywood Bowl, the fireplace and its large polished concrete hearth served as a stage for Gesner’s wife, actress Nan Martin.

      Echoing the cylindrical shape of the house itself, the kitchen wraps around a circular island and has tile countertops, stained glass lunettes fitted into the beams overhead, a fireplace, updated appliances, a breakfast bar, and a walk-in pantry. Adjacent to the dining area is a solarium with stained glass panels, beyond which lies the wraparound deck.

      The home’s main level also contains two en-suite bedrooms, one with built-ins making it suitable for use as an office. Upstairs is the primary suite tower, featuring lofty ceilings, a brick fireplace, eyebrow windows, a sitting area with ocean view, and a spiral staircase with handmade driftwood treads corkscrewing up to a studio/loft/meditation space.

      Additional structures on the .73-acre property include a “tree house” apartment with kitchenette, living room/dining area, bedroom, bath, and wraparound deck; a “boat house” with a full kitchen, ocean-view living/dining room with a built-in table and porthole windows; and another one-bedroom apartment “nest” with ocean view and stained glass above an indoor/outdoor cabana. There’s also a three-car garage with additional parking pad.

      Along with 122 feet of beachfront, exterior amenities include a covered deck, a brick patio, a lawn, an outdoor shower, surfboard and other storage areas, a staircase to the beach, and multiple vantage points from which to enjoy glorious sunset views. More

    • 113 Shares99 Views

      in Luxury

      Actress Miranda Otto Quickly Sells Her Chic SoCal Home

      by

      Back in winter 2017, Miranda Otto paid $2.2 million for a Spanish-style home on a prime street in the Beverly Grove/West Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles. Now the Aussie actress—probably best known for her turn as Éowyn in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, and most recently as a cult leader on the Disney+ drama series The Clearing—has decided to part ways with the place she’s owned for a little over six years, having already handed the keys over to the $2.7 million abode after a mere 10 days on the market.

      The sale might be due to a little something she revealed on a TV Reload podcast last spring, per the Daily Mail. Having missed spending time Down Under, Otto said she and her actor husband Peter O’Brien would like to return to their home land for a while now that their daughter has finished school in America.

      As for her L.A. premises, they were built in the late 1920s and have since been updated. The vine-covered structure has an eye-catching bright red front door and driveway tucked off to the side, and features three bedrooms and a matching number of bathrooms in just over 2,200 square feet of designer-done living space boasting dark hardwood floors, high ceilings, arched doorways, and French windows and doors. There also are indoor/outdoor speakers.

      Highlights include a fireside living room and formal dining room, plus a gourmet kitchen outfitted with top-tier Viking appliances and an adjacent breakfast nook/office space. There’s also a master retreat decked out with a fireplace and spacious walk-in closet, as well as a marble-clad bath equipped with dual vanities, a soaking tub and glass-encased shower; and outdoors the private and landscaped grounds span less than a quarter-acre, and host a swimming pool nestled alongside an al fresco dining area sporting a built-in barbecue.

      A Brisbane native, the 56-year-old veteran film and TV actress comes from a showbiz family that includes her acting parents Barry and Lindsay Otto, and her paternal half-sister Gracie Otto. She began her career at age 18 in various independent and major studio films in Australia, and went on to get her first leading role in Emma’s War. She also has appeared in The Thin Red Line, What Lies Beneath, War of the Worlds, The Starter Wife, The Clearing and Wellmania. But her most well-known role was as Éowyn in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings movie series, based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic fantasy novel of the same name.  

      The listing was held by Clifford Rowe and Pamela Rowe of Compass, with backup offers currently being accepted. More

    • 138 Shares99 Views

      in Luxury

      You Can Rent Josh Duhamel’s L.A. Home for $15,000 a Month

      by

      It was just over a month ago that actor Josh Duhamel and his wife, Audra Mari, welcomed their first child together, and now it appears the Transformers star is hoping to generate some additional income to support his growing family.  

      Duhamel, the star of the film Buddy Games and the host of its reality competition show spin-off, is looking for someone to rent his former home in Encino, California, for a cool $15,000 per month, according to Realtor.com. The actor shelled out just shy of $2.7 million for the ranch-style residence back in 2018, around the time he and his first wife, the pop star Fergie, split up. 

      The abode is positioned on a cul-de-sac and tucked behind a gate, kind of like a modern, monolithic fortress. Originally built in the 1960s, the residence is heavily inspired by the work of award-winning French architect Philippe Starck, notes the listing, which is held by Thomas Atamian of Compass.

      And what does fifteen grand get in one of L.A.’s most affluent San Fernando Valley neighborhoods? How about a light-filled great room with soaring high ceilings, hardwood floors, and wall-to-wall windows that offer up sweeping jetliner and mountain views. Nearby, the gourmet chef’s kitchen is decked out with a dramatic Caesarstone island, glossy white cabinetry, and top-of-the-line Thermador appliances. Altogether, the single-story spread comprises four bedrooms and four bathrooms in more than 3,280 square feet of living space.  

      The dwelling’s primary suite recently underwent a swanky renovation in 2023 at the hands of celebrity designer and former Bravo house flipper Jeff Lewis. In fact, fans might recognize the remodel from season two of Hollywood Houselift, Lewis’s reality series on Amazon Freevee. The bedroom, which has outdoor access, now features two spacious walk-in closets, and in the ensuite bath, you’ll find a stone-and-glass steam shower, a soaking tub, and a double vanity, which creates a serene, spa-like vibe. “The whole thing just turned out beautifully,” Duhamel said during the show. Outside, the grounds include a large swimming pool, a fire pit, and a wooden deck.  

      Back in September, Duhamel revealed to People that the couple had planned on relocating before the baby arrived. “We’re moving next month,” Duhamel told the magazine. “We’re moving out of the old bachelor pad into an actual home.” The couple’s new home, also in Encino and purchased last year for just over $5.9 million, has six bedrooms and seven baths in about 8,000 square feet.

      During a recent appearance on In Depth with Graham Bensinger, the 51-year-old actor and “doomsday prepper” shared additional details about his real estate portfolio, which includes a self-sustaining compound in Minnesota. The lakeside property, which spans 26 acres, includes two cabins and a sauna.

      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, dining, travel and topics…

      Read More More

    • 163 Shares169 Views

      in Luxury

      Emma Stone’s Charming L.A. Bungalow Sells in a Bidding War for $4.3 Million

      by

      In Los Angeles, Emma Stone has continued a winning streak that started when she nabbed a recent Golden Globe award for her performance in the movie Poor Things. Barely a month after she hoisted her Spanish-style bungalow in the Comstock Hills area of Westwood on the market for just under $4 million, the A-list actress has already handed the keys over the keys to a new owner.

      Records show Stone—who maintains a permanent residence in the Texas city of Austin—has sold the property long occupied by her mother to Marguerite Brokaw, the widow of legendary William Morris talent agent Norman Brokaw, for $4.3 million—or an impressive $2 million more than she paid for the relatively humble yet charming abode a little over four years ago, back in spring 2019.

      The entry foyer steps down to a living room warmed by a fireplace.

      Ryan Lahiff for Sotheby’s International Realty

      Resting beyond a brick walkway that opens into the original tiled courtyard via a sage-green door, the creamy stucco and terracotta-roof structure was built in the 1920s and extensively updated during Stone’s tenure. Inside, four bedrooms and four bathrooms are spread across a little more than 3,200 square feet of colorful living space boasting era-appropriate wood-beam ceilings and wide arched doorways.

      A cozy sitting room is accented with artwork and pops of color.

      Ryan Lahiff for Sotheby’s International Realty

      Highlights include an entry foyer displaying a curving iron-railed staircase, which flows to a sunken fireside living room sporting built-in shelving and French doors spilling outside. There’s also a formal dining area, plus a sitting room that connects to an eat-in kitchen outfitted with all-white wood cabinetry, a turquoise-hued range and farmhouse sink.

      A turquoise range serves as a focal point of the newly expanded kitchen.

      Ryan Lahiff for Sotheby’s International Realty

      Elsewhere is a primary bedroom that has a stylish bath equipped with a vanity holding a sink and dressing area, along with a vintage clawfoot soaking tub and separate walk-in shower; and topping it all off is a one-bedroom guesthouse with its own kitchen and living room, plus a gated driveway out front.

      The primary bathroom hosts an inviting clawfoot soaking tub.

      Ryan Lahiff for Sotheby’s International Realty

      In addition to her just-sold Westwood house and Texas mansion, Stone also maintains a posh New York City apartment. In 2022, she sold a midcentury ranch-style house directly overlooking Malibu’s Las Tunas Beach to David Cooley—longtime owner of The Abbey Food & Bar in West Hollywood—for $4.4 million, or nearly $1.2 million more than The Curse and Cruella star acquired the place for in 2018.

      The listing was held by Eric Lavey of Sotheby’s International Realty–Beverly Hills Brokerage; Guy Levy and Linda May of Carolwood Estates repped the buyer. More

    • 163 Shares129 Views

      in Luxury

      The Groovy L.A. House That Wilt Built Finally Sells to a Crypto Celebrity

      by

      After several years on and off the market, a custom-built Los Angeles spread once owned by the late Lakers basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain has finally traded hands for a bounce under $9.7 million. And though that’s far less than the nearly $19 million current owner Dmitri Novikov originally wanted, it’s still around $3 million more than the Russian-born investor paid TV writers George Meyer and Maria Semple for the place back in early 2008.

      Records indicate the discount-minded buyer who acquired the brutalist-style spread in an off-market deal is well-known crypto entrepreneur Erik Voorhees. The bitcoin pioneer founded BitInstant in 2011, and then went on to launch and serve as CEO of ShapeShift, a cryptocurrency exchange that allows its 1 million-plus users to swap between different cryptocurrencies without having to create an account. Per BitKan, his net worth as of August 2023 was estimated at $30 million.

      The gated property is perched atop a sprawling promontory laced with picturesque gardens. 

      Ryan Lahiff

      As for Voorhees’s new digs, they were built over five decades ago by Chamberlain—affectionately known to his fans as the “Big Dipper”—who purchased a $150,000 plot of land in the rugged mountains above Bel Air and then enlisted noted architect David Tenneson Rich to design an extravagant $1.5 million bachelor pad known as “Ursa Major.” The 1970s premises subsequently underwent an extensive remodel in 2008 at the hands of Novikov, which included sprucing up the kitchen, as well as modifying the lower level with a screening room and guest bedrooms.

      Resting amid a secluded cul-de-sac—on a gated, 2.5-acre hilltop parcel that served as a Nike anti-aircraft missile site during the Cold War—the redwood, glass and stone structure contains five bedrooms and eight bathrooms in almost 9,400 square feet of living space. In addition to the aforementioned screening room, other glitzy amenities include a billiard room, sauna-equipped gym, and walls of glass providing sweeping mountain, ocean and reservoir views.

      A five-story great room boasts a cathedral ceiling, walls of windows, tree-like columns and Bouquet Canyon flagstone.

      Ryan Lahiff

      Guests are greeted by a stone walkway that passes over a water feature before emptying out at the massive 2,000-pound front door. From there, a soaring great room holds court beneath a 40-foot-tall cathedral ceiling, and displays a sunken conversation pit warmed by a wood-burning fireplace sporting a stone chimney. There’s also a sleekly designed gourmet kitchen outfitted with high-end stainless appliances and an accompanying breakfast nook.

      A “floating” staircase heads upstairs, where the master retreat spans the entire second floor; and outdoors, the lushly landscaped grounds hold a large pool that “wraps the house creating an impression that it is floating in a lake,” per the listing. Rounding it all out: numerous spots ideal for al fresco lounging and entertaining, plus garages and a motorcourt that can accommodate more than 10 vehicles, and a detached, climate-controlled storage building. 

      There is plenty of outdoor space for entertaining amid the scenic vistas.

      Ryan Lahiff

      Chamberlain played for the L.A. Lakers for five seasons during the ’60s and ’70s, and was an essential part of their ’71-’72 team, which is considered one of the best in NBA history. He was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978, and was later named to the NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team. Chamberlain died of heart failure at his Bel Air home in 1999 at age 63. As for Voorhees, he also owns a 1-acre plot of land in the Colorado town of Dillon that he paid $260,000 for way back in late 1985.

      The listing was held by Bobby Syed of Coldwell Banker Realty; Thomas Freedman of Sunset Lending and Realty repped the buyer.

      Click here for more photos of Wilt Chamberlain’s house.

      Ryan Lahiff More