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    A High Desert Compound Near Joshua Tree Offers Relaxation, Recreation, and Rental Revenue

    An artfully updated four-bedroom ranch house, plus a couple of guest casitas, arresting views of the Sawtooth Mountain Range from the infinity-edge pool, and a party barn inspired by a cult-favorite bar in Hollywood, not to mention the potential to rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual rental revenue, are just a few of the appealing features of the Know Where Ranch that sprawls over 2.5 acres in the historic High Desert community of Pioneertown, California. The compound, newly on the market at a sliver under $1.4 million, is listed with Shaun Alan-Lee of Carolwood Estates and Keith Markovitz and Clayton Baldwin at Compass.

    About 125 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, a 45-minute drive from Palm Springs, and a short hop to Joshua Tree, Pioneertown was established in the 1940s as an 1880s-themed town for use as a set for Western films and TV shows. It remains a working set. Gene Autry filmed his weekly show in Pioneertown in the 1950s, and in 2016, Cyndi Lauper shot her western-themed music video for Funnel of Love at the Pappy & Harriet’s, Pioneertown’s legendary roadhouse, barbeque restaurant, and music venue that has played host to a laundry list of performers, including Lucinda Williams, Paul McCartney, Lizzo, Neko Case, and Rufus Wainwright. 

    The 2,800-square-foot home features custom murals and artwork throughout.

    Will Edwards

    Record producer and DJ Aric Christopher acquired the property almost four years ago and has since transformed what was a perfectly ordinary four-bedroom ranch-style home and several unassuming outbuildings into an eclectic retreat for relaxation and recreation, a fashionably funky fusion of artistic élan, western allure, Hollywood glamour, and modern, low-key luxury.

    Beyond the cherry-red front door, animal skulls, cowboy hats, and reclaimed wood framing around the windows add rustic pizazz, while bespoke accents such as the dreamcatcher-like light fixture over the massive kitchen island, as well as custom murals and artworks by artists Penelope Misa and Ron The Killer, inject the house with a playful, one-of-a-kind High Desert bohemian vibe.

    The kitchen is configured around a huge island that will seat a dozen people.

    Will Edwards

    Other highlights include the kitchen, with its massive island that seats a dozen people on an array of vintage bar stools. Several more can gather around the built-in dining banquette in the adjoining breakfast nook. The spacious primary bedroom, dubbed The Roy Rogers Suite and clad in reclaimed wooden planks, includes a morning/evening bar, a claw-foot soaking tub that’s open to the bedroom, and a separate, marble-floored bathroom.

    Covered patios along the back of the house include one equipped with a large wall-mounted TV. Cool off in the infinity-edge pool, meditate or practice yoga on one of the poolside terraces, and watch the sunset while swaying gently in the hammocks hung around a gas fire pit. Elsewhere are a cowboy tub, a flat, raked area for bocce ball and cornhole, and a detached pool bath and outdoor shower. Considering the climate and location, the property includes a 4,500-gallon water storage tank and solar-powered exterior lighting.

    The party barn bar was inspired by the low-key Know Nothing Bar in Hollywood.

    Will Edwards

    In-the-know Angelenos may have already guessed that The Know Where Ranch takes its name from, and the bar inside the party barn takes its design cues from, The Know Where Bar, a beloved, under-the-radar but now shuttered Hollywood boîte that was long on laid-back charm and short on attitude, with sophisticated cocktails and yummy snacks. 

    And finally, the most enticing part of The Know Where Ranch, which has a dedicated Instagram with nearly 15,000 followers, just may be the potential to haul in hundreds of thousands of dollars in rental income. According to marketing materials, between private rental events and vacation rental income, The Know Where Ranch raked in more than $430,000 in total revenue in 2022, with a net income of almost $275,000.

    Click here for more photos of The Know Where Ranch.

    Will Edwards More

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    Sabrina Carpenter Snaps Up an Alluring Hollywood Hills Retreat for $4.4 Million

    Taylor Hahn and Amanda Leigh of House of Rolison are busy! The Los Angeles-based design/build duo just put their reimagined 1920s Spanish Mediterranean-style house in the Coldwater Canyon enclave of Beverly Hills up for sale, and they also just wrapped up a deal on a similarly renovated house deep in the Hollywood Hills.

    First listed at just under $4.8 million, the nearly 3,500-square-foot Hollywood home just sold for about $4.4 million to Sabrina Carpenter, the Disney actress-turned-pop star who’s lately been traveling the globe as she opens for Taylor Swift on the latter’s record-breaking Eras tour.

    Records show the House of Rolison team bought this particular project just nine months ago, paying $2.3 million; they subsequently injected chic modernity into the somewhat dated premises via the installation of top-quality materials. Now on tap are wide plank oak floors and vaulted oak ceilings, plus bespoke fixtures imported from Italy and vintage Spanish Revival-style lighting.

    The 1930s structure sits below street level, on a steeply sloped lot overlooking the surrounding hills.

    Google Earth

    Other highlights include arched windows with striking views of city lights, a sophisticated wet bar with seating for two, wrought iron detailing on the stair railings, four ensuite bedrooms, two sitting rooms and a decadent new kitchen with black marble countertops and custom oak cabinetry flown in from Europe. Perhaps the most beautiful space, however, is the intimate dining room, which sports floor-to-ceiling wood paneling painted a deep emerald green.

    The house is positioned on a full half-acre of land, a rare amount of property in these tightly-packed hills. Of course, the hillside lot means a significant portion of that land is steeply sloped and therefore difficult to use, but House of Rolison created a terraced garden laced with lush native plantings and young olive trees. Generous patios encircle the entire structure, and nearly every spot on the lot offers spectacular vistas. And while there’s no pool, the property does offer a notably huge fountain, complete with splashing water for a more Mediterranean vibe.

    Carpenter, who is also a social media sensation with more than 32 million followers on Instagram, first shot to fame in 2014 via her starring turn on the Disney Channel show Girl Meets World. Though she’s just 24 years old, the Pennsylvania native is already an experienced real estate investor—back in 2018, records reveal she shelled out $1.7 million for a mansion-sized house in the suburban L.A. community of Northridge, which she continues to own. More

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    Jared Goff Tosses Out $8.6 Million to Buy the House Next Door

    The Detroit Lions’ legendary roar has been more of a muted howl this football season, with a brutal loss to the Chicago Bears weighing heavily on all minds, but Jared Goff hasn’t let those troubles impede his real estate prowl. Records show the high-profile quarterback recently splashed out $8.6 million to buy the house next door to his off-season California residence.

    Originally built in 1952, the house underwent a big remodel in the early 1970s. Per tax records, the place last sold in 1976 for an almost unbelievable $105,000, meaning the sellers—the heirs of the recently deceased longtime owner—are now reaping the millions of benefits from a very fortuitous investment.

    Sited on a landlocked 10,000-square-foot lot, the house has likely not been significantly updated since the 1970s.

    Google Earth

    Because the property was never on the market, details are slim and photos nonexistent. But a poke through records reveals that the roughly 3,500-square-foot, L-shaped structure sits on a 10,000-square-foot lot—relatively generous for tightly-packed Manhattan Beach—and features four bedrooms and four baths scattered across two full floors of living space. The architecturally vague house also offers an attached two-car garage, plus a semi-detached accessory structure with another two-car garage and some sort of upstairs storage space or guest living quarters.

    While it’s not yet clear what Goff plans to do with his new real estate acquisition, the house is definitely dated and far from pretty. With its bleak, towering walls and acres of beige stucco, the place looks more akin to a gritty apartment building in a downtrodden part of a major city than an $8.6 million home in one of L.A.’s most desirable beach communities. Thus, it’s a virtual guarantee that Goff will either raze or radically remodel the entire home.

    As for Goff’s main residence next door, that Mediterranean-style mansion is unapologetically lavish in a way its neighbor is assuredly not. The 29-year-old paid $10.5 million for that residence, back in spring 2023. With the addition of the house next door, he now owns nearly half an acre of prime Manhattan Beach dirt, albeit landlocked dirt.

    In addition to his newly expanded Manhattan Beach compound, Goff also owns an ocean-view Hermosa Beach home, acquired a few years ago for nearly $6 million. He and soon-to-be-wife Christen Harper also maintain an estate in the posh Bloomfield Hills suburb of Detroit, for use during football season. More

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    Derek Jeter’s Former Manhattan Penthouse Swings Onto the Market for $16.5 Million

    Another day, another professional athlete’s home is up for grabs. First, it was the bonkers Orlando-area mansion of MLB legend Johnny Damon. Now, the former Manhattan penthouse of fellow retired New York Yankees player Derek Jeter has hit the market.

    Listed for $16.5 million with Gisela Vergara and Shawn Felker at Corcoran, the 5,380-square-foot aerie is perched atop 845 United Nations Plaza—also known as Trump World Tower. Mr. November splashed out a cool $12.7 million for the place back in 2001 and sold the condo in September 2012 for a hefty $15.5 million to Silvio Luiz Reichert, according to The New York Times. Reichert reportedly purchased the property through a limited liability company that’s linked to Anheuser-Busch.

    A Manhattan penthouse that was once owned by Derek Jeter has hit the market.

    Krisztina Crane/Evan Joseph Photography for Corcoran

    “It’s really breathtaking,” Vergara told Mansion Global. “You walk in its triple exposure, floor-to-ceiling windows. From every room you’re seeing landmarks. Every bedroom, the office, the kitchen—it’s truly outstanding.” 

    Since the shortstop moved out, the palatial pad has undergone a total renovation. Upon entering the home, you’re first greeted with striking views of the Empire State Building, Central Park, the George Washington Bridge, and One World Trade. A few of the apartment’s other standout features include its soaring 16-foot ceilings and massive slate fireplace. Elsewhere, the spread’s 79-foot frontage along East 47th Street connects the living, dining, and entertainment areas.

    The apartment has been totally renovated since Jeter sold it in 2012.

    Krisztina Crane/Evan Joseph Photography for Corcoran

    The eat-in chef’s kitchen has been decked out with custom cabinets and top-of-the-line appliances from Wolf and Sub-Zero. At the center is a large island that can accommodate all of your catering needs. The penthouse itself is broken into two wings. On one side, you have the primary bedroom, which faces out to the East River. The ensuite main bathroom adds to the sense of luxury and sports a free-standing soaking tub, a rain shower, white marble tile, and custom cabinetry. Meanwhile, the other half of the home holds a swanky wood-paneled office and an ensuite guest room.

    The aerie has 14-foot floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook New York City.

    Krisztina Crane/Evan Joseph Photography for Corcoran

    “This completely remodeled extraordinary property will take your breath away during the day or evening watching the most gorgeous sunset of Manhattan,” notes the listing. “Truly one of a kind, this is a rare offering opportunity to claim a residence that transcends the ordinary either for a private living or the most special entertainment alike.” 

    Click here to see all the photos of Derek Jeter’s Former Manhattan penthouse. 

    Krisztina Crane/Evan Joseph Photography for Corcoran More

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    English Poet Lord Byron’s Former London Townhouse Just Listed for $37.7 Million

    A London mansion that was once home to poet Lord Byron and banking heiress Baroness Catherine d’Erlanger has hit the market.

    Listed for a cool £29.5 million (or roughly $37.7 million), the palatial townhouse at 139 Piccadilly most recently served as an office building. However, the historic property is being sold with full planning permission to convert it back into a single-family house—one that listing brokerage Wetherell estimates would be worth a whopping £70 million (or about $87.9 million).

    “The provenance of this Piccadilly mansion building overlooking Green Park is outstanding,” Peter Wetherell, founder and chairman of Wetherell, said in a press statement. “It was once the London home of poet Lord Byron, and during the 1920s and 1930s, it was the Mayfair private palace of French heiress Baroness Catherine d’Erlanger, one of the richest women in Europe at the time. Now a buyer has the opportunity to close the circle and bring this landmark building back to life.”

    An 18th-century London mansion formerly owned by Lord Byron is up for sale.

    Casa E Progetti/Tony Murray

    The Grade II-listed building offers up an impressive 15,339 square feet of living space and still retains tons of period details. Think tall sash windows, ornate ceilings, original fireplaces, and stone staircases.

    As a single-family residence, the mansion would include a stately entrance hall, seven grand reception rooms, and eight ensuite bedrooms. There’s also an elevator and a brand-new rooftop garden. Down below, the double basement could accommodate a recreation complex equipped with a movie theater, game room, swimming pool, and a wellness center that sports a sauna, steam room, and gym.

    Dating back to the 18th century, the abode was originally built sometime between 1760 and 1764. After it was renovated in 1815, it became the home of the British poet Lord Byron and his wife. According to the listing, Byron wrote Parsinia and The Seige of Corinth in the study of this home. However, he was forced to leave the home in April 1816 after his divorce, which involved an alleged infidelity scandal. The property was later scooped up in 1910 by the Baron and Baroness d’Erlanger.

    The British poet penned two poems inside the home’s library.

    Casa E Progetti/Tony Murray

    “This magnificent period building is one of the few surviving private palaces in Mayfair providing a discerning buyer with the opportunity to regenerate and transform it into a single palatial family home, an Embassy, private member’s club, new offices or a flagship retail boutique,” says Robert Britten, sales Director at Wetherell. “Buildings of this scale and importance and in such an ultra-prime Green Park location rarely come up for sale in Mayfair.”

    Click here to see all the photos of 139 Piccadilly.

    Casa E Progetti/Tony Murray More

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    A Vitamin Mogul Spills Out $22 Million on an Ultra-Contemporary Santa Monica Home

    Up in the rarefied air of the ultra-high-end real estate segment, the market slowdown has hit with a major thud. And particularly so in Los Angeles, where numerous eight-figure homes continue to languish on the market. To get deals done, sellers have become creative in their strategies, and all-cash buyers have been scoring some impressive discounts.

    Back in September, this breezy contemporary mansion came to market with a $33 million price tag. Located on one of Santa Monica‘s poshest streets, the property is certainly impressive, spanning more than half an acre and featuring a glass-walled house with six bedrooms and seven baths in 9,300 square feet of living space.

    But with no takers, the home’s ask was slashed to $29 million in October. Earlier this month, the place closed escrow at $22.5 million—roughly 32% under the original list. According to a source close to the deal, the sellers agreed to the lowball offer because of the terms: a very short two-week escrow, all cash and with no contingencies, plus a free two-month leaseback term for them.

    The 1980s modern home sits behind ancient trees on one of Santa Monica’s most prestigious streets.

    CLOUT. REAL ESTATE

    Delaram Rivani of Carolwood Estates represented both the sellers and the buyer, though she declined to identify either party. But according to public records, the sellers are Lebanese asset manager Ahmed Tayeb and his wife Cherine Magrabi Tayeb, both well-known art collectors. The discount-hunting buyer is Andrew Lessman, a vitamin mogul widely known for his numerous appearances on the Home Shopping Network (HSN).

    Built in 1981 and crafted by the acclaimed late architect Peter Choate, the freshly updated house sits behind gates and manicured hedges. Though somewhat forbidding from the street, the place is cheerfully sun-filled inside, with enormous skylights, vaulted ceilings and abundant wall space ripe for a major-league art collection. Highlights include a vast great room with various living and dining areas, a renovated marble kitchen with premium appliances, and a master retreat equipped with views over the  Riviera Country Club golf course and Santa Monica Mountains.

    The central living area features a book-matched stone fireplace.

    CLOUT. REAL ESTATE

    Out back, the lush grounds frame a sparkling lap pool and spa. For those prone to grand-scale entertaining, there’s a fire-pit and multiple al fresco dining areas, plus an indoor movie theater and a wet bar serviced by an 800-bottle wine storage space.

    Lessman, 66, has lived in the Santa Monica area for years. And he’s certainly not new to high-end real estate; back in 2012, he bought a $13 million Malibu home atop Paradise Cove that was sold just five years later for $38.5 million to Richard and Laurie Stark, the owners of Chrome Hearts.

    Click here for more photos of 2121 La Mesa Drive.

    CLOUT. REAL ESTATE More

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

    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.

    Christian Klugmann More

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    After Buying Elton John’s Condo, an Art Collector Lists His Spectacular Atlanta Mansion

    Seven years ago, this particularly lavish Atlanta residence fetched the highest sales price ever in the desirable in-town Ansley Park neighborhood when it traded hands in a $5.4 million deal. Now it’s up for sale again, and this time the asking price is a speck under $8 million, which would mark another milestone in the area if it were to go for anywhere near that amount.

    Though the listing brokerage declined to disclose the seller’s identity, property records show the current owner of the home is Scott Westervelt. Records also indicate that the local art collector and Presbyterian minister, whose longtime wife Josephine Robinson Westervelt passed away in June 2020, was also the mystery buyer who recently paid $7.2 million for Elton John’s condo in Buckhead’s 40-story Park Place high-rise residential tower.

    Records indicate that art collector Scott Westervelt paid just over $7 million for Elton John’s Buckhead condo in November.

    Bartolotti Media/Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty

    Hidden away behind walls and a canopy of trees, on a double lot overlooking the 10-acre Winn Park, the Ansley Park estate up for sale is secluded amid nearly an acre of land dotted with sculpture. Built way back in 1910, transformed under the direction of local architect James Choate in 2004 and extensively renovated by Westervelt during his tenure, the multi-level structure has five bedrooms and six baths in a little more than 9,300 square feet of living space laced with hand-picked oak floors from France, cathedral ceilings, arched doorways, and naturally, more than enough wall space to accommodate a vast assemblage of art.

    Standing out on the main level are formal living and dining rooms, and a fireside family room sporting a circular vaulted ceiling with dormer windows and floor-to-ceiling walls of glass. An adjacent kitchen is outfitted with granite countertops, a farmhouse sink, an eat-in island, top-tier stainless appliances and a breakfast nook embellished with an elegant matchstick chandelier.

    A spacious fireside family room flaunts a circular vaulted ceiling with dormer windows and floor-to-ceiling walls of glass.

    Chris Nelms/Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty

    Elsewhere is a sunroom warmed by a fireplace and bookshelf-lined library, as well as a sumptuous upstairs master retreat decked out with a fireplace, sitting area, access to a roof terrace overlooking the city, and a luxe bath equipped with dual vanities, a dressing area and large glass-encased shower; and a stone-clad lower level is spotlighted by a wine cellar, wet bar-equipped lounge area, gym, and per the listing, a giant aquarium that has a viewing window into the property’s pool.

    Outdoors, the manicured grounds are truly a sight to behold with the aforementioned heated saltwater pool boasting underwater speakers and an accompanying spa, along with an extravagant sculpture garden holding the Jim Dine heart, among several other pieces, and numerous spots ideal for al fresco lounging and entertaining while overlooking the city skyline. There’s also a separate carriage house and detached two-car garage.

    The listing is held by Betsy Akers of Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International.

    Click here for more photos of Scott Westervelt’s Ansley Park house.

    Chris Nelms/Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty More