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    Imagine Dragons Bassist Ben McKee Hangs a $1.3 Million Price Tag on His Longtime Bay Area Retreat

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    Almost 10 years ago, Ben McKee acquired a Tuscan-inspired home at the end of a secluded road in the hilly Montclair Village area of Oakland and proceeded to create “some pretty incredible memories.” The bass player for the Grammy-winning rock band Imagine Dragons composed music as a gentle breeze blew in from the open doors, celebrated the marriage to his wife Mary with a photo session in the beautifully terraced garden, and invited friends over for numerous game nights and dinner parties. The culinary enthusiast also recorded segments for his YouTube cooking show, whipping up meals in the “professional quality kitchen” alongside the likes of Ming Tsai and Paris Hilton.

    But the moment this Sonoma County native enjoyed the most? “Simply to sit outside on the front porch and watch the sun set behind the San Francisco skyline as the red-tail hawks left their perches for the day and were replaced by the great-horned owls that call to each other into the night,” he said in a statement.

    A pair of decks offer picturesque views over San Francisco Bay.

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    Now, more than a decade and a lot of fond recollections later, the 39-year-old musician is ready to part with his longtime home and is putting the property up for sale, asking a speck under $1.3 million, around $145,000 more than he paid for the place back in summer 2014. But the premises have been extensively renovated during his tenure, most notably with an expansion that included the addition of two decks, a lower-level bedroom and bath with its own entrance, and central air-conditioning.

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    Built back in the early 1990s, the brown wood-shingled structure is tucked away on a terraced and garden-laced parcel of land spanning almost one-third of an acre within the affluent Montclair Village neighborhood pocket. Inside, three bedrooms and an equal number of bathrooms are spread across nearly 2,700 square feet of multi-level living space, which is adorned throughout with blonde hardwood floors and soaring ceilings dotted with wood beams and skylights.

    A combined living and dining area opens to an expansive deck that’s ideal for al fresco lounging and entertaining.

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    Especially standing out is a spacious living and dining area flanked by built-in seating and boasting sliding glass doors spilling out to an expansive wraparound deck overlooking sweeping views of San Francisco Bay. An adjacent kitchen has been updated and outfitted with a butcher block-topped island, high-end stainless appliances, and a walk-in pantry. Elsewhere is a primary suite flaunting a private deck and easy access to an outdoor hot tub, as well as a walk-in closet and a spa-like bath equipped with dual vanities, a spa tub, and an open rainfall shower.

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    “It is a very special place and I will never forget the time that we spent there,” McKee told listing agent Sharon Ho of Compass. “I’ve never lived in a place like it and I know that I will never find another place like it. From the thrill of watching the Blue Angels buzz the house for Fleet Week to counting the stars from the hot tub after a long day, our time there and all of the memories we’ve made will be something that we treasure for the rest of our lives.”

    Click here for more photos of Ben McKee’s Oakland Hills house.

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      Dave Brubeck’s Former Oakland Treehouse Hits the Market for the First Time in Nearly 50 Years

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      Back in the late 1940s, Dave Brubeck used a matured $1,000 war bond his father had given him and $100 from his own savings to purchase a 50-by-100-foot lot in Oakland’s Montclair neighborhood that “amounted to one huge rock.” A few years later, the then-burgeoning jazz musician enlisted Case Study architect Beverley D. Thorne to design him and his wife Iola a treehouse-like structure teetering on five steel beams, resting amid a heavily wood parcel overlooking sweeping views of the San Francisco Bay.

      Completed in the early ’50s after the “Ambassador of Cool” had achieved success—and last sold by the Brubecks to its current owners in ’74 for less than $100,000, per tax records— the notable property has now returned to the market 50 years later, asking exactly $3 million. The listing, at 6630 Heartwood Drive, is being offered by Emma Morris of Red Oak Realty.

      A boulder rising from the floor of the dining/music room holds a glass-paneled desk where Brubeck worked on many of his popular tunes.

      Christian Klugmann

      Nestled on a steep hillside piece of land spanning almost a third of an acre, the four-bedroom, four-bath structure is fronted by a curving driveway that empties out at a carport topped with a view deck. A trio of steps leads up to the yellow-hued front door, which opens into a little more than 2,600 square feet of living space on two levels rife with multi-colored brick floors and post-and-beam ceilings, plus vast expanses of glass incorporating head-on views of the towering pines gracing the grounds.

      Among the main-level highlights is a dining/music room marked by a large boulder sporting a glass panel that served as the actual desk where Brubeck worked on songs like Take Five and Blue Rondo à la Turk. An adjacent living room has a wood-burning fireplace stretching to the ceiling and large picture windows, and around the corner is a wood-clad kitchen outfitted with an eat-in island, stainless appliances, a freestanding wood stove and breakfast nook spilling out to a balcony.

      A segment of “The Ed Sullivan Show” was once filmed in the living room, which hosts a brick-clad fireplace and large picture windows.

      Christian Klugmann

      A lengthy hallway off the kitchen heads to a cantilevered wing sporting three bedrooms, including a primary suite on the end that reportedly has an escape hatch in the floor, as well as a dressing area and bath. A small gym, laundry room and bath also can be found on this floor, while the lower holds an en-suite bedroom and an office space with its own bath.

      Upon building the house, Brubeck remarked, “As a musician, I feel that if inspiration can come from good surroundings, I’ll find it here.” He wasn’t wrong. The Dave Brubeck Quartet went on to release the acclaimed album Time Out, which became the first jazz LP to sell more than a million copies, and also led to him gracing the cover of Time magazine and filming an episode of The Ed Sullivan Show in his Oakland living room. The composer and pianist died of heart failure in 2012 right before his 92nd birthday.

      Click here for more photos of Dave Brubeck’s former Oakland house.

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