Los Angeles

Subterms

    More stories

    • 188 Shares199 Views

      in Luxury

      A Former Google CEO Just Bought Barron Hilton’s LA Estate at a $13.5 Million Discount

      by

      Just five months after it first popped up for sale with a blistering $75 million ask, L.A.’s so-called Jay Paley Residence—a historic 1930s manor designed by pioneering Black architect Paul R. Williams for the founder of CBS—has sold for a discounted but $61.5 million, a still eye-popping amount that ranks as 2021’s second-biggest California home sale thus far, behind only the $87 million paid by tech tycoon Jan Koum for his next-door neighbor’s Malibu home in February.

      Records confirm that the property’s mystery buyer is Eric Schmidt, the Silicon Valley-based multibillionaire ex-Google CEO and tech titan with a very well known proclivity for acquiring some of America’s finest trophy homes. Schmidt bought the 2.6-acre spread from the estate of hotel heir William Barron Hilton, who died of natural causes on the premises back in September 2019. Hilton lived in the mansion for nearly 60 years, having purchased it in the early 1960s at a reported cost of just $475,000; the New York Post notes that the house served as the setting for his granddaughter Paris Hilton’s 2000 Vanity Fair photoshoot, which she now refers to as “iconic” and instrumental to launching her career.

      One of several living rooms on the estate. 

      Photo: Courtesy of Hilton and Hyland

      Although the Jay Paley Residence is technically located in Holmby Hills, the house actually sits at a very desirable crossroads where the exclusive neighborhoods of Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Holmby Hills and Benedict Canyon all converge. Naturally, the vaguely AR-15-shaped mansion is not visible from the street, and the property is hidden behind iron gates, a hedge wall, and a notably long driveway that spills into a massive motor court ringed by liquid amber trees.
      The listing was held by Rick Hilton and Barron Hilton of Hilton & Hyland; Linda May, also of Hilton & Hyland, repped Schmidt.
      Described in the listing as a “rare and stellar interpretation of traditional English Georgian architecture,” the elegant mansion features dozens of rooms, including 13 bedrooms and 14.5 bathrooms. The property’s grounds include rigidly geometric expanses of lawn, formal gardens, and a forest’s worth of mature specimen trees.
      In addition to the main mansion, the estate includes attached staff and guest wings discreetly located out of view from the main entry; there’s also a separate motor court and driveway for staff and service vendors. All of the home’s public rooms are categorically grand, with elaborate decorative moldings. There’s a formal dining room with stunning parquet wood floors and wood-paneled walls, a fireplace-equipped step-down living room, a relatively intimate den, and a separate billiards room.

      Outdoor dining spaces once hosted Hilton’s fabulous parties. 

      Photo: Courtesy of Hilton and Hyland

      Somewhere lies a commercial-grade kitchen capable of catering gala-style events, and an 80-seat home theater is also part of the residential package. A sinuously curved staircase overlooked by a Kia-sized crystal chandelier leads to the upper level, where there are two master suites—each of them with a boutique-style closet, marble baths, and views of the lush grounds.
      In the backyard, al fresco dining loggias accented by delicately thin columns overlook the vast grounds, including the rectangular lawn that’s big enough for multiple croquet games. Perhaps the property’s most legendary feature is the colorful “Zodiac” swimming pool, original to the house, which incorporates all 12 signs of the zodiac into tiles arranged in a sunburst pattern. Elsewhere on the grounds are reflecting pools and a koi pond.
      There’s also a lighted tennis court with viewing pavilion. The lavish compound is surrounded by some of the priciest homes in California, just a quick skip up the road from the Jack Warner estate, purchased by Jeff Bezos last year for a record $165 million

      One of the relaxing public rooms with a fireplace. 

      Photo: Courtesy of Hilton and Hyland

      Astute real estate watchers will recall that it was only last summer when Eric Schmidt and his longtime wife Wendy dropped a whopping $30.8 million for one of Santa Barbara’s most extraordinary estates, the so-called “Villa Solana.”
      Some of Schmidt’s other homes in his vast array of trophy properties include a $20 million Montecito compound, purchased from Ellen DeGeneres in 2007; a $15 million Manhattan penthouse; a waterfront property on Miami Beach; and a spectacular mansion in Nantucket. But his primary residence has long been the posh Silicon Valley town of Atherton, Calif., where he owns a multi-structure compound worth tens of millions.
      Of course, it’s also worth noting that the Jay Paley Residence is not Schmidt’s only Holmby Hills estate; back in 2014, he paid the family of actor Gregory Peck $22 million for a French chateau-style mansion that has since undergone a renovation. More

    • 200 Shares199 Views

      in Luxury

      Chrissy Teigen and John Legend Just Gave Their Beverly Hills Mansion a $6 Million Price Cut

      by

      You may already recognize this house from Chrissy Teigen’s social media posts and her cooking demos. But you might not have seen the entire spectacular eight-bedroom, nine-bath home. The place is nothing short of a design masterpiece, with only the best finishes and incredible attention to detail. This all makes sense, considering it’s owned by such stylish stars: Teigen and her musician husband, John Legend.

      The property was originally developed in 1966, but that first house is long gone, replaced by a more contemporary structure built by a developer before Rihanna purchased the estate. When Legend and Teigen took it over in 2016, they redid every bit of the interior with the help of designer Don Stewart, never cutting corners and always opting for top-of-the-line finishes. Take the solid brass doors to the dining room, which echo the stunning brass surrounds used on the fireplaces in the living room and the primary bedroom suite. Then there’s the teak ceiling they imported from Thailand and the marble Teuco soaking tub brought in from Italy.

      When the couple originally put the house up for sale last fall—they needed a home with more space for their growing family—it was listed for $23.95 million. They’ve since dropped the price to $17.95 million. Now, says broker Marshall Peck with Douglas Elliman, “This is the best deal in Beverly Hills. The finishes are just mind-blowing. And people are also blown away by the ceiling heights—33 feet in the living room—and 22 feet high in the master bedroom on the second floor. That’s just unheard of.”

      Chrissy Teigen and John Legend’s former Beverly Hills home. 

      Photo: Anthony Barcelo/Douglas Elliman

      The kitchen, naturally, is a showpiece, as it served as Teigen’s studio, with its blond wood cabinetry and unique waterfall-style marble countertops (a design mimicked for the vanity countertops in the primary suite’s bathroom). The oak floors were given a ceruse treatment (essentially a lime wash that brings out the wood’s grain). The cinema room has an incredible sound system and projector, and its cozy style will make you want to stay for a double feature. A home gym, a safe room and a massive playroom with ocean views round out some of the other special spaces within the house, each lovingly designed.
      But perhaps the most special space of all is the primary bedroom suite, with pocket doors that open wide to a private balcony that looks over the pool as well as Coldwater Canyon, all the way to downtown Los Angeles. “The view of the sunset from the master and from the living room at night is just magical,” says Peck. While the bedroom feels like a serene but stylish oasis—that fireplace!—its extra rooms really put it over the top in a good way. The “glam room” is perfect for hair and makeup to get camera ready, and a lovely place to relax in the massage chair. The bathroom has that incredible black marble tub with a view as well as a spacious double shower. But the piece de resistance within this suite are the substantial dual closets with their glass doors and lit display shelves. They look better than those in a Rodeo Drive boutique and, according to Peck, they took many months to get just right.

      The grand entryway with Legend’s piano on display. 

      Photo: Anthony Barcelo/Douglas Elliman

      The outdoors got a similarly luxe treatment. The couple spared no expense in building the heated saltwater pool, hot tub and wood deck, as well as an outdoor kitchen with a stunning shaded pavilion draped with grapevines. “It feels like you’re in Napa Valley” when you’re out there, says Peck. Lush plantings add to the feeling of a sanctuary. Located at the end of a lane, gated with security, the entire 0.84-acre estate feels private and far from the bustle of LA and the commercial district of Beverly Hills, though it’s just minutes away.

      The living room. 

      Photo: Anthony Barcelo

      The formal dining room has dramatic finishes. 

      Photo: Anthony Barcelo/Douglas Elliman

      The remodeled kitchen that starred in Teigen’s cooking demos. 

      Photo: Anthony Barcelo/Douglas Elliman

      The TV room, just off the kitchen. 

      Photo: Anthony Barcelo/Douglas Elliman

      The primary bedroom with a brass-fronted fireplace. 

      Photo: Anthony Barcelo/Douglas Elliman

      The primary suite’s bathroom with the marble tub imported from Italy. 

      Photo: Anthony Barcelo

      The walk-in closet. 

      Photo: Anthony Barcelo/Douglas Elliman

      Plenty of room for shoes. 

      Photo: Anthony Barcelo/Douglas Elliman

      Teigen’s walk-in closet. 

      Photo: Anthony Barcelo/Douglas Elliman

      The “glam” room for hair and makeup includes massage chairs. 

      Photo: Anthony Barcelo

      The kids’ playroom. 

      Photo: Anthony Barcelo/Douglas Elliman

      The screening room. 

      Photo: Anthony Barcelo/Douglas Elliman

      The personal fitness studio. 

      Photo: Anthony Barcelo/Douglas Elliman

      The outdoor terrace. 

      Photo: Anthony Barcelo/Douglas Elliman

      The pool. 

      Photo: Anthony Barcelo/Douglas Elliman More

    • 163 Shares169 Views

      in Luxury

      Twice KISS’d: Gene Simmons Just Relisted His Beverly Hills Mansion for $25 Million

      by

      Usually when a home is taken off the market and then relisted, the price gets a shave. Not in this case. Gene Simmons of KISS gave the asking price on his Beverly Hills mansion a $3 million hike, raising it from $22 million in October 2020 to $25 million this week.

      The property still has a house with over 13,000 square feet, seven bedrooms, nine bathrooms, formal and informal dining rooms, office, bar and bonus room. Plus, the full-sized tennis court, parking for 30 cars and a pool with a 60-foot waterslide. So what’s changed?

      The estate got a few upgrades over the winter months. “We didn’t want anyone to come in and complain,” Simmons tells Robb Report. So they replaced some of the electrical, added a new roof system to prevent leaves from clogging the gutters, changed some remaining wood parts of the home to poured concrete and added more foliage. The five lead-lined safety rooms dotted throughout the house were also made more secure and easier for residents to access. “If a bad guy breaks in,” Simmons says, “he’ll never find you.” The estate also sits on nearly two acres, with lush greenery helping to keep it private.

      The home has four levels on one side and three on the other, meeting in the middle at the gorgeous great room with those tall windows on each side. On the lower level, there’s a six-car garage, a billiards room and a wine cellar, though the musician doesn’t drink. While one wing was used for meeting and his KISS museum memorabilia, he decided against building a music or recording room, instead opting to keep the place as an escape.

      The patio and pool. 

      Photo: Christopher Amitrano and Marc Angeles

      While Simmons and his wife, model-actor Shannon Tweed, bought the property in 1987, it didn’t always look so spectacular, but it did have a storied past. The home that was originally on-site was a 3,500-square-foot wooden farmhouse. “We flattened it and brought in tons of soil, spent close to $11 million sprucing up the place,” Simmons says.
      They bought the acreage from Irving Azoff, who went on to manage Fleetwood Mac and the Eagles. “The Eagles were put together on the property,” Simmons says. And before that, Nicholas Schenk, one of the original Hollywood moguls, used to keep his mistress at the estate.

      A regulation-size tennis court is on site. 

      Photo: Christopher Amitrano and Marc Angeles

      The Simmonses gradually renovated it and completed the build on the estate’s current house in 2000. While the exterior of the home has plenty of drama with its enormous windows, dual staircases and multiple wings, inside, the vibe is less rockstar and more family-traditional, with a flair for comfort and simplicity (though admittedly on a grand scale) rather than excess. Much of which was showcased on their television show, Gene Simmons Family Jewels. 

      In October, when the couple first listed the Benedict Canyon place, it was said that they were moving to another residence they already owned in tax-free Washington state. But that is inaccurate—Simmons has never owned property there. And recently, there have been murmurings about Simmons and Tweed purchasing a house in a gated Malibu community, atop a secluded peak in the Santa Monica Mountains. Simmons is now setting the record straight—Tweed has purchased the house as a personal investment with her own money, but they do not plan to live there. She also bought a lakefront property in Whistler, Simmons says. The duo has apparently long kept their accounts, taxes, investments and business interests separate. “Good fences make good neighbors,” he says.

      The grand foyer. 

      Photo: Christopher Amitrano and Marc Angeles

      That said, the couple still plans to leave LA for a quieter lifestyle and escape the celebrity map listings and tour buses. “We’ve always loved LA, but you do have to deal with fires every year, every once in a while the ground shakes, and those tourist buses. Everything has its time,” Simmons says. “The house is too big for us. It’s just Shannon and myself and four dogs. The empty nest thing is happening.” They’re headed for neighboring Nevada. “In Nevada, we’re close enough. The kids have their homes here in LA. It’s just an hour flight.”
      He’s already purchased a 12,000-square-foot home there with an indoor swimming pool with slides and is considering buying an adjacent 90-acre parcel. What’s with all the slides? “If you’re going to entertain, some folks want to sip coffee but others want to swing from the chandeliers,” he says. “A home shouldn’t just be a home, but a place where you have parties and enjoy yourself.”
      The Beverly Hills listing remains in the hands of Million Dollar Listing brokers Matt and Josh Altman of the Altman Brothers for Douglas Elliman.

      Wide-plank flooring and incredible woodwork elevate the living room. 

      Photo: Christopher Amitrano and Marc Angeles

      The home office. 

      Photo: Christopher Amitrano and Marc Angeles

      The dining room. 

      Photo: Christopher Amitrano and Marc Angeles

      The kitchen. 

      Photo: Christopher Amitrano and Marc Angeles

      Soaring windows let sunshine in, even to the upper floor. 

      Photo: Christopher Amitrano and Marc Angeles

      The primary bedroom suite. 

      Photo: Christopher Amitrano and Marc Angeles

      Simmons’ Beverly Hills estate. 

      Photo: Christopher Amitrano and Marc Angeles

      The mansion has seven bedrooms and nine baths. 

      Photo: Christopher Amitrano and Marc Angeles More

    • 150 Shares199 Views

      in Luxury

      Rihanna Snaps Up a Luxurious 1930s-Era Beverly Hills Mansion for $13.8 Million

      by

      Rihanna apparently caused a big stir by skipping the 2021 Grammy awards, leaving the spotlight to other music superstars like Beyoncé, Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift. Reports said the Barbadian singer’s absence was due to not being nominated—and then there’s the pesky fact that her much-anticipated upcoming album “R9” still has yet to surface, despite being years in the works. Of course, Rihanna’s also been busy with other things, too, like becoming a retail mogul. Sales of the burgeoning cosmetics tycoon’s Fenty Beauty makeup line have gone bonkers, and her Savage x Fenty lingerie brand is now reportedly valued at a whopping $1 billion.

      The Grammys skip might also have something to do with the fact that Rihanna recently found residential love in a not-so-hopeless place. The singer has just acquired a new house—a $13.8 million mansion, to be exact—and the property is located on a highly coveted cul-de-sac in the mountains above Beverly Hills. Neighbors include Sir Paul McCartney, and a few doors away lies a sumptuous estate that was leased for several years to Mariah Carey, and was more recently rented by Madonna during the Covid-19 pandemic.
      Originally built in the 1930s, the Rihanna estate was formerly owned by Mary Sheldon, the daughter of I Dream of Jeanie creator Sidney Sheldon. In 2016, Sheldon sold the dated house for $4.3 million to entrepreneur and investor Daniel Starr, whose acquisition of the property was chronicled on Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing.

      The mansion blends both contemporary and traditional elements. 

      Alexis Adam

      Starr subsequently spent millions to demolish and rebuild nearly every inch of the house (and he would later sue his contractors for those millions, alleging fraud and shoddy workmanship.) Last year, the property was put up for sale, asking $15 million. The transfer to Rihanna appears to have gone down off-market, but the Umbrella empress forked over $13.8 million for the premises, according to tax records.
      Invisible from the street behind tall hedges and big gates, the 7,600-square-foot mansion is approached a driveway that slopes up to meet the two-car attached garage. A curved flight of stairs ascends to the house, which sports a crisply contemporary look with white paint paired against a black metal roof and black trim. The mansion features a “sophisticated design” that “blends both contemporary and traditional elements,” per the listing, and the place pays clear homage to the trendy modern farmhouse look, with its French white oak hardwood floors and open floorplan.

      A glass front door pivots into the foyer, which is dominated by a giant black bull sculpture—grab life by the horns, if you will—and overlooks the proverbial heart of the property: an open-air central courtyard with an al fresco terrace, pool, spa, and firepit.

      The open-air central courtyard features a pool, spa, and firepit. 

      Alexis Adam

      Public spaces of note include a fireplace-equipped living room with walls of Fleetwood glass sliders opening to the outdoors, while the luxe wet bar area goes for a more masculine look with its moody splash of dark gray hues. The bar services an intimate family room/lounge/library with another fireplace, plus floor-to-ceiling built-in bookshelves.
      The listing describes the kitchen as “stunningly executed.” Indeed, nearly every surface is slathered in marble, and there are not one but two islands, both with brass fixtures. Top-of-the-line stainless appliances service a breakfast banquette that goes way glam with tufted black leather seating.
      Upstairs, the master suite looks as though it just stepped out of a Bali resort travel guide, with a five-star bedroom that overlooks Coldwater Canyon, and a custom closet with black lacquer cabinetry. Decked out in a unique, thickly-veined marble, the spa-esque master bath opens to an al fresco lounge area.

      The estate offers plenty of privacy for the star. 

      Alexis Adam

      The half-acre property is steeply sloped, so tall retaining walls encircle the house and yard, providing security plus privacy—ideal for a big celebrity.
      In case anyone didn’t know, Rihanna is a real estate mogul in the making who owns at least four other multimillion-dollar homes, including a $6.8 million Hollywood Hills estate, a vacation retreat in her native Barbados, and a high-floor condo along LA’s Wilshire Corridor. The 33-year-old’s current main residence, however, is a $5.5 million penthouse in Century City’s coveted The Century skyscraper, where residents have 24/7 concierge and doorman services, plus gym, spa, and in-house restaurant facilities. Some of the high-profile neighbors in that building include Candy Spelling, Matthew Perry, and celeb chef Nobu Matsuhisa.

      Check out more photos below:

      Alexis Adam

      Alexis Adam

      Alexis Adam

      ‘

      Alexis Adam

      Alexis Adam

      Alexis Adam

      Alexis Adam More

    • 163 Shares159 Views

      in Luxury

      Adam Levine Shells Out $22.7 Million for a Lush, Century-Old Estate in Montecito

      by

      The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has sent Hollywood celebrities like Katy Perry, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Meghan Markle flocking north to the seaside town of Montecito, joining longtime area residents like Oprah, Ellen DeGeneres, and Rob Lowe in a slower-paced environment where homeowners have some breathing room, not to mention loads more privacy. The latest high-profile folks to join the herd are Adam Levine and his wife, Victoria’s Secret model Behati Prinsloo—records reveal the pair have shelled out a whopping $22.7 million for a century-old estate that spans nearly 5.2 acres, all of them set near the proverbial heart of town.

      Designed in 1923 by venerated architect George Washington Smith, the stately mansion was built for attorney John A. Jameson, one of Montecito’s founding godfathers, if you will. It subsequently passed to a number of non-famous owners and more recently had been on and off the market for years, initially at a $29.5 million ask, before along came Levine.
      Behind tall gates, a long driveway is shaded by mature oaks. The road winds up through the property’s own mini-forest and past its “seemingly endless expanses of manicured lawns,” as per the listing, before arriving at the Mediterranean villa-style main house. Of course, this is a bonafide classic Montecito compound, with at least four separate structures on the property that include a detached five-car garage with additional staff quarters, a two-bedroom guesthouse, and a so-called “garden cottage” with another spare bedroom. Join those with the main mansion’s five bedrooms, and altogether there are nine bedrooms and a total of 11 full baths on the premises.
      The home was designed in 1923 by venerated architect George Washington Smith.  Realtor.com

      The listing gently hints that the main mansion’s interiors, while well-maintained, could use a decorative refresh. Renderings included with online marketing materials suggest the new owners may want to paint the home’s heavy-handed wood trim a bright white, and replace the tile floors with a medium-toned hardwood, as is the current style.
      Still, the wood and other current details look to be in great condition. An arched front door opens into a step-down foyer; beyond lies a grandly scaled living room with a stone fireplace and multiple sets of arched windows and French doors. The chef’s kitchen has handsome—if somewhat old-fashioned—wooden cabinetry, plus expensive stainless appliances and a boxcar-sized island. The huge upstairs master suite has views of the property’s grounds and ocean glimpses via a private terrace, and somewhere in the 12,000-square-foot main house are a movie theater and wine cellar.

      The swimming pool is privately tucked away from the main house.  Realtor.com

      Outside, the fairytale-like grounds provide numerous outlets for chic recreation, including a putting green, a full-size tennis court with viewing pavilion, and a swimming pool that’s privately tucked well away from the main house, discreetly sited behind hedges and lemon trees. Elsewhere are meandering pathways through the trees, a manmade pond/creek, numerous loggias and patios for al fresco entertaining, and gurgling stone fountains.
      Besides his new Montecito vacation digs, Levine once owned a Tudor-style Beverly Hills mansion that was sold in 2019 for $42.5 million to Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi. (That house is currently back on the market, asking a hefty $53.5 million.) But the Maroon 5 frontman and Prinsloo now primarily bunk up in LA’s posh Pacific Palisades part of town, in a palatial property they bought for $32 million from now-divorced Tinseltowners Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck in 2018.
      Riskin Partners Group at Village Properties repped both sides of the Montecito deal.
      Check out more photos of the property below:
      Realtor.com

      Realtor.com

      Realtor.com

      Realtor.com

      Realtor.com

      Realtor.com

      Realtor.com

      Realtor.com

      Realtor.com More

    • 113 Shares119 Views

      in Luxury

      Pamela Anderson’s Modernist Malibu Hideaway Lists for $15 Million

      by

      It may not be the largest house in Malibu, but it’s owned by one of the beach town’s most famous longtime residents, actor and former Playboy model Pamela Anderson, who recently married her former bodyguard Dan Hayhurst and moved to Vancouver, Canada.
      But some might appreciate that Anderson’s four-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bath home is on the modest side for Malibu, especially since the price tag is way below the $50 million mark that many of the area’s villas list for. These 5,500-square-foot digs are listed with Tomer Fridman of thefridmangroup.com for $14.9 million.

      Anderson made a name for herself in the seaside enclave while playing an ocean lifeguard on the popular Baywatch TV series in the 1990s, which was filmed at Malibu’s Zuma Beach, just a short hop up the coast from where she later bought this home. She purchased the place in 2000 for $1.8 million after her fame had led to lookie-loos wandering onto a former property that was on the ocean, hoping for a star sighting. That led to a push for privacy with tall hedges and walls, which this home has, a plus for any buyers who crave the same kind of at-home seclusion.
      The modern kitchen is also warm and cozy.  Photo: Shade Degges

      Located in the gated and much-coveted Malibu Colony community, the house backs up to a scenic lagoon with many egrets and other seabirds. Anderson replaced the original structure with the main house and added a one-bedroom guest cottage. Between them sits a terrace with a pool. The home was sustainably built with teak imported from non-conflict areas. It has its own irrigated vegetable gardens and solar power.
      Anderson told The Wall Street Journal that she was inspired by modernist architecture with its wide-open spaces and glass walls when building the home. Glass pocket doors and teak pivot doors open the house to the outdoors. Inside, the sleek white kitchen with its stone countertops is warmed by wood floors. The primary bedroom suite has its own balcony and a sauna. There’s also a rooftop with beautiful views. She says she put an additional $8 million into designing and building the home.
      A floating staircase leads from the great room to the second level.  Photo: The Luxury Level

      Listing broker Tomer Fridman told Robb Report, “The most dramatic and compelling aspect of the house is the design and its organic nature.” He’s most drawn to “the indoor-outdoor combination” and its “flow toward the guest house, which anchors he backyard and adds to the bold aesthetic.”

      Anderson is already living back in her native Canada, renovating a place that belonged to her grandmother.
      The primary bedroom.  Photo: The Luxury Level

      The sauna.  Photo: Shade Degges

      The soaking tub in the primary suite.  Photo: Shade Degges

      The firepit and hot tub.  Photo: The Luxury Level

      The roofdeck.  Photo: The Luxury Level

      The street view of the home.  Photo: The Luxury Level More

    • 163 Shares169 Views

      in Luxury

      Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet’s Former Venice Beach Compound Lists for $7.8 Million

      by

      Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet met at a New Edition concert in the 1980s and married in November of 1987. Then, just before Christmas of that year, they purchased a two-lot artist’s compound in LA’s Venice Beach. Zoë Kravitz spent her earliest years in the house. While the marriage lasted only six years, they hung on to the property until 2000. The current owners are another artistically minded couple who have been using the on-site artist’s space as a painting atelier. Now the 5,424-square-foot home and studio are up for grabs again for $7,795,000.

      The creative vibe that infuses the four-bedroom, three-bath residence has been there since the early ’80s. Before Bonet and Kravitz lived there, it was owned by sculptor Guy Dill, renown for his massive and monolithic sculptures that can be found in museums such as the Guggenheim, the Museum of Modern Art and the Smithsonian, among scores of others around the world. The main home, a midcentury bungalow style, was built in 1949. Dill commissioned LA architect Steven Ehrlich to design an adjacent modern artist’s studio in 1980, which remains mostly in its original design, with a handful of renovations in the last few years. Ehrlich went on to become an architectural star and a founding partner of Ehrlich Yanai Chaney Rhee, a preeminent firm known internationally for its contemporary vision.
      The two-story artist’s studio and loft  Photo: Anthony Barcelo

      In 2019, the interior of the house was redone with a focus on new flooring, bathrooms and kitchen, featuring new high-end touches such as Grohe fixtures, a Sub-Zero fridge and a Wolf range and double oven. The two-level studio, with its soaring 30-foot ceilings, was renovated in 2014. At that time, an apartment dubbed the Treehouse was built, along with an additional bathroom and a second home office added to the original office in the loft, and more square footage was added to both the house and the studio. There’s also a large deck off of the office loft and apartment on the studio’s second floor, with a view to the Pacific.
      The home leans green, as it’s powered by solar panels and has a whole-house water-purification system. Outside, the landscaping is lush, incorporating plants and trees from around the world that thrive in the LA sun and coastal breezes. Accessible through a private gate, the property is extremely secluded; you’d never know that a distinguished bungalow and huge artist’s studio reside behind that wall. It’s also just a short walk to Venice’s famous shopping and dining district on Abbot Kinney.

      The renovated kitchen in the main house  Photo: Anthony Barcelo

      While Kravitz and Bonet no longer share real estate, they remain friends. Kravitz has reportedly bonded with Bonet’s current husband, Aquaman actor Jason Momoa, and their two children, making one big, happy, blended family. As Kravitz has become embedded in the design world, he’s gone on to invest in real estate around the world, from a Beverly Hills mansion to a residence in Brazil and another in Paris, where Zoë Kravitz was married in 2019.
      Benjamin Leeds broker Anastasia Bowen holds the listing for the Venice Beach bungalow.
      The media room  Photo: Anthony Barcelo

      The living room  Photo: Anthony Barcelo

      One of four bedrooms in the home.  Photo: Anthony Barcelo

      All new flooring was added in 2019.  Photo: Anthony Barcelo

      The office loft above the studio  Photo: Anthony Barcelo

      The second office space  Photo: Anthony Barcelo

      The apartment above the art studio  Photo: Anthony Barcelo

      The games room  Photo: Anthony Barcelo

      The roof-deck has a view of the ocean.  Photo: Anthony Barcelo

      The patio looking out to the studio, with its spiral staircase  Photo: Anthony Barcelo

      Lush plantings from around the world grace the gardens.  Photo: Anthony Barcelo

      The bungalow-style home  Photo: Anthony Barcelo More

    • 188 Shares179 Views

      in Luxury

      Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi List Their Sprawling Beverly Hills Estate for $53.5 Million

      by

      Buckle up, buttercups, because they’re at it again … officially. Last year rumors ran rampant in Platinum Triangle real estate circles that veteran daytime chat show host Ellen DeGeneres and Arrested Development actor Portia de Rossi, two of showbiz’s most prolific buyers and sellers of high-end homes, were willing to discreetly show their 1933 English Tudor mansion in Beverly Hills to prequalified buyers undeterred by an asking price widely whispered to have been in the neighborhood of $58 million.

      Apparently there were no takers at that by-every-standard prodigious price because the elegantly proportioned and newly rehabbed manse is now on the open market with Kurt Rappaport of Westside Estate Agency with a considerably lower but still jaw-dropping $53.5 million price tag. Not counting carrying costs, improvement expenses and real estate fees, the house-flipping Hollywood power couple hopes to haul in an eight-figure profit on the deluxe estate they picked up not quite two years ago for $42.5 million from Maroon 5 front man Adam Levine and fashion model Behati Prinsloo.
      Set behind gates on just over an acre of park-like grounds, the sprawling manse has had an illustrious string of owners over the last couple of decades. In 2008 tennis icon Pete Sampras sold the estate for not quite $17 million — more than twice the $8.3 million he paid in 2002 — to “Will & Grace” co-creator Max Mutchnick and entertainment attorney Erik Hyman. The whole shebang was subjected to a sophisticated overhaul and photographed for Elle Décor before it was sold on to Levine and Prinsloo in a 2018 off-market deal valued at a tad more than $33.9 million. So the scuttlebutt goes, Levine and Prinsloo almost immediately caught an incurable case of real estate fickle. They quickly arranged a profitable off-market deal and sold to DeGeneres and de Rossi, for $42.5 million, in favor of an even more expansive compound in Pacific Palisades that they picked up for nearly $32 million from divorced Tinseltowners Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck.
      Listings indicate the lavish house was comprehensively renovated by DeGeneres and de Rossi and unsurprisingly incorporates state-of-the-art security, lighting and A/V systems. Between the three-story main house and detached guesthouse that is nipped away behind the kitchen and service wing atop the three-car garage with a huge private terrace overlooking the park-like grounds, there are a total of five bedrooms and nine bathrooms throughout its more than 10,300 square feet.

      Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi’s Beverly Hills mansion 

      A double-gated drive curves up to the front of the imposing, ivy-encrusted residence where an elevated porch and steel-trimmed leaded glass door lead to a fully paneled double-height foyer painted an eye-searing bright white that is, thankfully, offset by dark-brown reclaimed wood floorboards laid in an ever-classy chevron pattern.
      Realtor.com

      The living room stretches to fifty feet long and, like the foyer, employs bright white walls as a neutral backdrop for the home’s collection of artworks and designer furnishings. Steel-trimmed windows on opposite walls off the ballroom-sized space ensure plenty of light at all hours of the day, and the simple fireplace overmounted by a recessed flat-screen TV makes the room functional for both formal and casual entertaining.
      Realtor.com

      The capacious dining hall, also painted white, features unusually minimalistic lighting and includes a large niche with wet bar, while a more intimately scaled libray/office features jet-black paneled walls and an angled fireplace trimmed in copper.
      Realtor.com

      The family kitchen is spacious, modern and expensively up to date with bespoke flat-fronted wood cabinetry, a commercial-grade walk-in fridge and an industrial-sized range surrounded in shimmery stainless steel. A casual adjoining dining area overlooks the motor court.
      Realtor.com

      A wide doorway allows for a relaxed relationship between the family kitchen and a cozily scaled TV lounge that flows through another wide doorway into a sunroom wrapped in floor-to-ceiling windows.
      Realtor.com

      Extensive service quarters behind the kitchen connect to the garage and include a separate, stainless-steel catering kitchen accented by white tile backsplashes.
      Realtor.com

      Tucked down on the lower level, where it opens to the stone patio that surrounds the pool, a plush screening room is done up in a monochromatic steel-grey color scheme and offers a sumptuous, deep-cushioned sectional sofa, plus a separate concession area complete with lounge and powder room.
      Realtor.com

      Guest bedrooms are all en suite, and the primary suite privately occupies an entire wing of the upper level with two enviably big dressing rooms, a huge terrace and a spa-worthy bathroom. Brass and glass doors connect the main bath’s dressing area to a huge circular shower and bathing space housed in a whitewashed brick turret that overlooks the backyard.

      Realtor.com

      A picturesquely lighted stone plaza outside the kitchen and sunroom includes an outdoor kitchen complete with pizza oven and a tree-shaded fire pit carved from a solid block of stone.
      Realtor.com

      A graveled outdoor dining area framed by a quartet of carefully pruned, lollipop-like trees overlooks a lower patio with a classic Old Hollywood style oval-shaped swimming pool.
      Realtor.com

      Thick hedges and mature plantings help to obscure the sunken tennis court that boasts lights for night-time matches and a raised pavilion for spectators. The grounds additionally include a tree-shaded glade with rolling lawns and lush gardens.
      Realtor.com

      DeGeneres and de Rossi are world famous for their frequent buying and selling of ultra-expensive real estate — often in and around the Montecito area, as well as in the more expensive zip codes across Los Angeles — and they rarely hang on to a home for more than a year or two. So, it’s not at all a surprise to property gossips that the perennially itchy-footed couple have chosen to sell their pristine Beverly Hills estate so soon after they bought it. It’s just what they do.
      Last year alone they made a heady handful of deals. They sold a historic Tudor home in the heart of Montecito to Ariana Grande for $6.75 million, nearly twice the $3.6 million they paid less than five months earlier; they flipped a $29 million Tuscan-style estate at a $2 million profit after less than a month of ownership; and they sold an ultra-luxe Bali-inspired compound for $33.3 million, a small fortune above the $27 million they paid not quite two years prior. Along the way they made a not-so-clandestine $49 million off-market deal to acquire a vast Montecito estate from Saturday Night Live alum turned multimedia host and conservative political commentator Dennis Miller, though few think they’ll hang on to it for long. We shall see. Stay tuned. More