July 15th

July 15^th 2012

9119 Thrasher Ave

1.585 million, 2 bed, 2 bath, 1440 sqft on 7233 sqft lot. One story. No garage.

Its small. There is no way around it. And most Hollywood singles aren’t exactly into the whole living within means style. Enter into a hall, kitchen is ahead though walled off, living room is to the left and 2 beds and baths to the right. Small half carport thing leads to fountain entrance. It is nicely appointed, though only canyon views. Not much yard or pool space. Plans for a second story. Maybe a McMansion hill style in a few years, or someone’s second home, though the price is ambitious.

10084 and 10080 Valley Spring Lane

3.4 million 4 bed 3 bath in 5,312 sqft and 3.3 for 4 bed, 4.5 bath in 5011sqft, both on 9000 or so sqft lots.

I know many people hate the valley and yes, the travesty that is Van Nuys is in the valley, but parts of Studio City and Sherman Oaks and Toluca Lake exist and provide phenomenal homes you still can’t afford. These fraternal twin houses on the Lakeside Golf Club are just that. Fancy, McMansion flawed and totally unaffordable. 10080 Valley spring is somehow nicer, the layout is better but suffers some of that dark hall feeling that rooms in McMansions have. 10084 offers a courtyard, and a long hallway to get to any main rooms, plus tons of half levels and weird unusable spaces. Take your pick. Both are sort of Spanish, though done well. Both have pools and narrow rear yards.

13810 Mulholland Drive

Price not listed (around 6 million), 6 bed, 9 bath, 13500 sqft on 20000 sqft lot.

The Beverly hills name droppers and city say Beverly Hills. I say Sherman Oaks, either way this is an 80s party palace. Don’t want to imagine the amount of blow and hookers that came through that rather heinous driveway. Foyer has living dead ahead, dining to the left, stairs and library to the right. There is a circular bar room off the living room. Layout needs differentiation; all the rooms look and feel the same. Outside has a terrace and slide down to the pool below. And your neighbor. Get friendly, you now live on top of them. Upstairs has all the black bathrooms you can stand. White carpet abounds. Lower level is all grotto, filled with stone to make six flags look classy. And a three car garage down there. If you still think you’re Gordon Gecko, welcome home. 

July 1st 2012

1352 Miller Drive

4 bed, 4.5 bath and 5,186 sqft asking 3.995 million. It is actually well done, in spite of the small lot. The first floor has a garage, foyer and small office with bath. Stairs lead ot the main rooms, a large kitchen, living and curtained off family room and bar with their own stairs. Family room and gaming are have nice double height curving walls with skylights. Outer terrace has a small, raised deep pool. Nice views considering it is on the non view side of the street. Upstairs is well done, master is not too big. There are three other bedrooms with bathrooms. There is a roof terrace but no real yard.

1370 Miller Drive

Down the street is a world of difference. 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms in 2,825 sqft on a 23,518 sqft lot asking 2.795. Willing to bet there will be two large modern homes on this lot in a few years. Just saying. The main home is a dark 1920s Spanish that requires a certain mindset. Most people will see the large lot and views and proximity to the strip. Main house has foyer with dining ahead, living to the right and kitchen down hall to the left. Stairs and powder off the hall. Kitchen is small. Outside needs some work. Upstairs has odd master that doesn’t seem to have much clear space definition. Two bedrooms share a bath. Layout does not allow for much addition, so I rule out a compound. No pool.

1700 Queens Court

4 bed 5 bath three story 5,917 sqft home on 25,489 sqft lot asking 5.495 million. Enter up a driveway, past garage is a walkway that takes you past the somewhat anemic infinity pool to the house. Large 2 story foyer with stairs, living on left with study, kitchen and dining to the right. Downstairs has a dark bedroom, 3 car garage, game and media. Upstairs has a master bedroom with nice bath above living and two other bedrooms across the bridge. Design feels a bit worn. Not as nice views as its place in the universe suggests. Most beautiful sinks I’ve seen in a while.

8932 St Ives Drive

4 bedrooms, 8 bathrooms spread across three levels, 4,400 sqft on a 6,230 sqft street to street lot asking 4.595 million. This one was odd, looking way bigger on the outside than the inside. The main floor has a 2 car garage, foyer than kitchen from right to left. The kitchen was huge with dual islands. Downstairs has two master bedrooms. Below that has an awkward media room where the stairs let off. Bedroom to the left and gym to the right. Down more outside stairs is a small pool and deck with cabana and bathroom. And below that a garage on the other street. Very nice views but a lot of stairs and kind of smaller than size would suggest.

1567 Blue Jay Way

3 bed 3 bath 4,116 sqft on 17,650 sqft lot asking 4,599. Enter through a two story library foyer thing facing the pool, with views over a water tower and seeing the whole LA basin. Lovely. To the left is the kitchen, living and dining space with views from almost all directions. Kitchen is smaller, with a bedroom tucked off it. To the right, the garage is up with the media below. Then there is a bedroom and bath and then the master with nice size closet and bath. I hate all the bathrooms in this house, but the door handles were funky and Asian temple feeling. It is in an area of almost boring modern party houses but has character.

1510 Blue Jay Way

Down a long drive 4 beds, 4 baths in unknown sqft with a 18,817 sqft lot asking 4,995 million. The lisiting wants you to believe it is one of the updated mid century tract homes turned palace, so common in the area. Its closer to tract home. 3 car garage and foyer with kitchen to right. Kitchen leads to dining and then living with views and pool to the left, by the library. Four beds, one tucked behind the kitchen and the rest by the garage. Pool is rather mundane, there is a cool deck cantilevered over the hill though. Views are nice, but home in front is annoyingly in the way. Looks dated already.

1440 Davies Drive

5 beds and 4 bathrooms in 3,238 sqft on a 16,728 sqft lot asking 1,995. In Beverly Hills. Its kind of an enigma house, set up in the boonies of Beverly Hills surrounded by massive estates that share the same shitty roads down. I like the layout. Foyer with library on the left, large living straight ahead. Nice master to the left of that. Right of foyer is carport with office/bedroom and then large kitchen and stairs down. Downstairs has two beds and a large deck. No pool but views. They counted the office and library as bedrooms. Pretty good update high in the hills. 

June 3rd 2012

June 3^rd 2012

1680 Sunset Plaza Drive

Not my normal expensive bread and butter, at a tame 1.679 for 2,478 sqft on 5,650 sqft lot with 3 bedrooms. However this 70s home does have a very nice view that I think would be pretty hard to find at this price point. The home is small, you enter to a foyer. Kitchen off to the right, living and stairs with view and terrace in front, a small study and an odd master bedroom are to the right. Downstairs has a bed and a bath and the garage plus laundry. Home needs updating. Too many original details, though some are updated.

1575 Carla Ridge

There are many heinous modern homes in the Trousdale area. This isn’t one of them. If anything is beautiful and huge. Storage space abounds. You enter mid level, in an oddly large foyer. Upstairs brings a living are with a sunken living room, a dining room with outdoor dining and kitchen and breakfast. There is a 2 bedroom master suite with a colossal hers closet with a safe room. Her bath has orange marble and a small garden. There is another bedroom and a huge garage. Downstairs brings us to a large game and pool area. There is a swimming pool with a ramp and another bedroom. And ten zillion closets. Very big house, somewhat disjointed at times. Perfectly staged gorgeous materials, , 7,725 sqft on a 3,6155 sqft lot with some canyon views. 4 bedrooms, 6.5 bathrooms, asking 7.595.

9129 Robin Drive

Sitting on Robin Drive with no view is this rather forgettable home. The foyer opens to stairs with the kitchen to the left and living straight ahead. Living is big and looks back to pool and small guesthouse. Remember, no view here. Off of living is library, to the right of the foyer. The kitchen opens to the dining section of the massive living room. The kitchen has a maid’s room. Three bedrooms upstairs. It is rather forgettable and somewhat dull. Asking 19,000 per month or 3.5 outright for 4 bed, 4.5 bath, 3267 sqft on 19,530 sqft lot.

1451 Blue Jay Way

Might make sense on LSD. Since the house already looks to be on LSD, would LSD make it normal? Anyways, no two rooms match. There is soft wallpaper,  kiddy Astroturf, automated doors and odd colors. The layout is okay, nothing spectacular. The pool is very long, perfect for laps. In spite of the location there is no view whatsoever. The home is asking 3.995 for 3,028 sqft with 3 bed 3 bath on 11,950 lot.

1457 Blue Jay Way

Next to Stanley Kubrick’s sacrifice house (my name for it), there is potential. This home is currently a wreck but there is potential. There is a view and 6 beds and 7 baths in 5,500 sqft on a 28,870 sqft lot. Asking 4.396 for something that needs so much work is a tad high. The living room is huge and all the ceilings here are generous. Layout is hard to tell what is what with the current state of things. But there is potential here. The realtor told me how her psychic told her three dead bees would signal a change and she found dead bee number two here.

655 Sarbonne Way

This is a mogul house. Its old Hollywood glamour and perfect layout, with huge but still well sized rooms and its on the country club. It is the epitome of money and class, it had better be at 16.995. There are 7 beds and 12 baths in 14,00 sqft on a 36,820 sqft lot on the country club. You enter a foyer flanked by powder rooms. The main hall is large and two stories and opens onto the rear living room. The living room is huge and opens to a terrace that runs down to a path to the pool. The terrace is very Old Hollywood to me, with its nice shades. Foyer stairs are nice, no double spiral crap here. To the left is the dining room and the right presents a huge library. Perfection. The huge library has a swinging shelf that brings you to a study. Study has stairs and a powder before bringing you to a game room that opens onto the rear pool and cabana with beds, kitchen and tv. Game room goes to card room then back to living. Perfection. The dining room has a pantry to the massive kitchen. Kitchen island is the size of a mini. There is a craft room to the left of the kitchen and a family to the right, backs up on living room. Craft room brings us to more stairs and then maids quarters, Probably bigger than my room. There is a detached three car garage and a basketball court. I still prefer tennis. Upstairs has the biggest fucking master bathroom I’ve ever seen. The master is huge and has his and hers everything. Each bedroom ( I lost count) is huge and has a nice bathroom. The décor here is amazing too. The only thing I would change is a tennis court and dedicated gym. Perhaps more garage space. I WANT IT. 

May 20th 2-5

941 25^th Street

A pleasant surprise, as I rarely get out to Santa Monica. A new build Spanish style that actually manages to stay true to its roots, instead of delving into McMansion. Yes, it is large but the rooms are proportionate and the detailing is magnificent. There are two levels and a basement plus a detached three car garage on the alley. The lower level has a giant laundry room, media room with bar and powder and a frankly depressing bedroom. The main level has a sunken living room with a small terrace on the front yard, large foyer with sweeping stair, library, dining, panty with secondary staircase and the kitchen family room sprawl. None of the rooms are gargantuan, but good sized. The layout is very open and wraps around a small garden courtyard with a fountain. There are many nice details, such as the myriad of Juliet balconies, older windows and tiling. It is done well. The downside is a small yard with no pool and some rooms are very dark. Its 5 bedroom, 8 bath (you need that many) in 5,600 sqft on an 8,300 sqft lot asking 4.5 million.

1162 Sunset Hills Road

There are some spectacular modern homes above the sunset strip. This is just not one of them. It was anemic and a tad dull, plus is smelled funny. It has all the requisite Hollywood rooms, the main rooms plus the gym, sauna, spa and theatre. It just is done in such a cold fashion. The only room with a view is the double height kitchen/family room and that view is sidelong at best. This room seems to be the focus of the whole house. There are the lower entertainment levels opening to the boring pool and depressingly concrete yard. One word; Landscaping. There is a truly spectacular cabana though. All and all, too many things aren’t working here. 4 beds and 7 baths in 6,343 sqft on an 8,430 sqft lot asking 5.2 million.

9140 St Ives Drive

A hop away from the aforementioned home is one full of character, view and all at a lower price. This home on Saint Ives is different in the best way, it sets itself apart from its neighbors but not in a grotesque way. The home is small from the street, but that is just deception. There is a very nice entry courtyard and then the main house. The main level features an open and very nice kitchen, dining and living. And it is very small. But I would actually buy the furnishings here too. The upper level has two bedrooms, both good sized with private bathrooms. The master is bigger with direct views. Both bathrooms are unique, thank god. Lower level is tall, great big ceilings. It’s sort of a game room with a bedroom of to one side. Outside there is a nice wood deck with a curving zero edge infinity pool with shelf and tub. It is different and gorgeous. There is a huge cabana with fireplace off to a side. On an even lower level, down a very narrow spiral staircase is a Moroccan themed gym and spa. Not digging it as much, but still nice. I really like this house, it is unique. The downside is that it is a touch small. 4 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms in 4,500 sqft on an 8,000 sqft lot or so. Asking 4.295.

1764 Viewmont Drive

This home is in a little gate community tucked above Sunset Plaza, stuffed in the hill between two terrifying retaining walls. The first thing you notice is the private street; it’s not a pothole minefield like most Hollywood streets. The home has three levels. Bottom level has garage, theatre and another bedroom that opens onto a very tiny yard. Mid level is entrance, with powder living room, dining room and kitchen. Rooms open onto a deck and small but infinity pool. Seriously nice views but a very steep drop down that giant retaining wall. Some nice touches, the home is a weird modern style. Top level has master and two bedrooms sharing a bath. It is a very slick home, but maybe a touch boring when compared other Hollywood Hills homes. Seriously, everything is looking the same now. Its 6,000 sqft with 4 bedrooms and 5.5 baths on top of a 8,593 sqft lot. Asking 5.995 though knowing Hollywood it will be on the market every few years or so. 

May 20, 2012 1 of 5

117 South Burlingame Ave.

It is sort of an overgrown Colonial styled manse. The rooms are huge, but for the most part every room is devoted to sitting. There are plenty of utterly purposeless rooms. The rear yard is small and features a small pool. The front yard is mostly dominated by a retaining wall that holds the driveway. The rooms all have the same generic wood floor, all the bathrooms have the same generic marble tile. It is boring. 7,600 square foot home with 6 bedrooms, 8 baths on a 20,000 lot asking almost 8 million.

More to Come

So here I am back and working.
Many more open houses are soon to follow, I've already been out scouring new material to post here to just hang tight.

How Much Is Too Much?

Read this article . I can promise it will be interesting. But it begs the question in terms of super mansions:

How much is too much?

Now I love big, fancy houses. I wouldn't be writing this blog if I didn't. But when you can be measuring your home in terms of acreage instead of square footage, your'e not in Kansas anymore.

Honestly looks like two homes mashed together. 

So I implore the super rich homebuilders, if your are going to do it so big, do it right. 

1. Hide it. 

Surprisingly the Manor cannot be seen from the street. 

Which is very good. 

Plantings in strategic areas can reduce the impact of a home. 

Also a basement for the garage and amenities can reduce the home's footprint while providing the same square footage. 

2. Mass it. 

Some homes are like certain people; going on forever but not really saying anything. 

In such a home it is important to proportion things out and create some sort of order to the design. 

Thats what separates a classy home that will be cherished from some billionaire's tacky crash pad in the eyes of the people. 

Similarly: room proportion and layout should make sense. You don't want to accidentally bump into guests from that party three days ago that never found their way out.

The Hearst Mansion. 

You're not going to mistake it for a smaller home, but strategic plantings and terraces help reduce the impact. Note the plantings. 

3. Let your lot match your ambition. 

Let me just say, I love Beverly Park. Big lots, big homes. 

Too big a home on too small a lot= Neighbors know where the secret entrance for the strippers is. 

Bad photo or somewhat tight lot? 

You decide. 

20,000 sqft on a 50,000 lot with a tennis court, outbuildings, and pool on St. Cloud Road. 

That dress is a bit tight on you, no?

Thats all folks. 

Hit me up with your opinions, dream mansions, etc. 

All photos credit to respective owners. 

Would You Rather?

Would you rather have a home with a view or a home on a larger lot?

Cause lets face it they don't come with both. 

Or if a view home has a large and useable lot the price is eye watering. 

I think with proper work, a small yard with a view can be an entertainers paradise. 

In that regard, I take the view. 

All photos credit to their respective owners. 

1000

Wow! 1000 page views! Thank you guys, I will keep it coming.

9555 Heather Road

So yesterday there was an 8 figure open house at 1005 Laurel Way. I could not be there. So while I bang my head on a wall (figuratively of course), here is a look at 9555 Heather Road.

Keep the crazies out when 2012 strikes. 

Anyways, the home is asking 100,000 a month. 1.2 Million a year, or a nice home in the Valley. But this is your neighbor. Its located off Coldwater Canyon, but with a traffic light at the intersection so driving isn't a total pain.

Tennis court. 

I would definitely go beyond calling this a mansion, this is an estate. Sedate design? Check. Tennis court? Check. Pool? Check. More bedrooms than OctoMom could ever possibly use? No. There are only 9. So sad.

We are definitely checking all the amenity boxes here. 

Main house is nearly 10,000 sqft with 7 of those 9 bedrooms. There is a lower floor game room and such. There is also a guest house and pool house.

Yawn inducing pool. Not terrible, just boring. 

Allegedly there is a bowling alley, though I haven't found any pictures of it. I don't know why a private bowling alley feels tacky. A gym I can understand but are you really going to bowl that much?


All photos credit to their respective owners.

Unreal Estate Review

The real estate world of Los Angeles was in a tizzy at the release of Michael Gross's newest book, Unreal Estate, which promised to chronicle the most expensive homes in Beverly Hills, Beverly Park, Bel Air and Brentwood.

And after waiting seemingly forever for the book to come in at the library, I finally got my grubby paws on Unreal Estate and devoured it. I had quite high hopes, having loved 740 Park. 

I can honestly say I was not dissapointed. Gross goes into (somewhat excruciating) detail about the homes and their overly ambitious owners, billionaires (or frauds) who seem unable to keep it in their wallets or pants. In fact you could argue there is too much detail with some skimping on the homes. Most homes described are old, really nothing new or current. 

Hopefully there will be a lovely website for this book as was for the last... 

Overall its definitely worth a read if you are a real estate junkie. 

All photos credit to their respective owners. 

GTA V

Confession time: I am not the biggest gamer. In fact, it could be argued that I really don't care one iota. 

But I do have a somewhat weakness for open world games and the GTA series is a very good example. 

Its been confirmed that the latest in the very long and complex video games will take place in Los Angeles or be a carbon copy of LA with a different name. Anyways.. there is a certain joy to driving through a video game like a psychopath and going "I know that place!".

But me being me, I thought about the real estate. In previous GTA games you could buy homes (no, I could not bring myself to say 'cribs'. Cribs are for babies). Hopefully this one will offer a huge selection. How about a cliffside home in Malibu? A chateau on the Los Angeles Country Club? A mansion in Beverly Park? Are you listening Rockstar? Please capture the complexity of the city, don't give us a shrunken grey caricature of a city like in GTA 4. 

What do you think?

All photos credit to respective owners. 

Home Theaters

I was just thinking about designing a house. Well, I think about that a lot.
My home would have to be a manageable size; measured in square feet, not acres.
And of course the home theater.

It would have to have steps. Probably would be in the basement by the gym and game area. 

Maybe I would have a separate TV room off of the family room? 

Or if space was a concern, go for the big living room with a drop down screen. 

An outdoor screen like 9362 Nightingale Drive has is undeniably cool, but what about when it gets cold?

The home has an indoor theatre too. 

 A little dull looking or maybe just a bad picture? 

What about you? What's your dream home theatre? 

All photos credit to respective owners. 

On Bel Air

Went to Bel-Air for an open house that got canceled. Twas a great pity. However, Bel Air seems to be quite nice though rather dark from the fact that everyone has absurdly high hedges. 

Saw a Bar Mitzvah at Hotel Bel Air and more old people in tiny, tight shorts than I would care to admit to.

Drove up Nimes Road, past Leo DiCaprio's home that ate its neighbors. Quite nice though. 

Then uber mansion row. 

The completed on was made by Mohammed Hadid and is 38,000 sqft with 9 beds and 14 baths. It sold for 50 million. Yes, 50. Not shown, is the massive retaining wall on the other side of the house. 

That construction is now finished, the home looks like it belongs in Miami. I don't hate either of these homes, but they could both use some land. 

All photos credit to their respective owners. 

Open Housing January 7 of 7

And so we end our glorious Sunday in January with this house:

631 N Arden Dr.

It even smells old. 

This is the kind of house that little children protest going into. It feels like your WASPy grandma lives there. It even smells very old. But the layout is very solid and low key, though grand.  It needs a renovation, big time. The lot is very large and if it is not torn down to put two homes there, future WASPs could love this house. But 6 million is a lot for the amount of work needed in a house without a pool.

Huge living room, office and family room are off to the right. 

Hopefully it wont be torn down and made into two 'classy' Mediterranean villas with more stone than common sense. 

All photos credit to their respective owners. 

Open Housing January 6 of 7

617 N Camden Drive 

Not shown, you are living on your neighbors. 

No tour would be complete without that house. You know the one. The one so ugly you don’t even know how to react. This home is the epitome of best-laid plans gone wrong. 

You better take the picture at night, in the day that yard is very tiny and unfinished. 

 I don't get it. In the Valley we get McMansions of 4,000 sqft on a 5,000 sqft lot. But in Beverly Hills, they are not contented with just that so we end up with...McMansion Super sized! This 11,000 sqft McMansion on steroids decimates a 13,000 sqft lot in the Beverly Hills flats. 

To make matters worse, it feels like they forgot stuff. Very important stuff. Like how to finish the yard or add a garage for goodness sake. If you want ten million bucks for this McMansion, do you expect people to park on the street? There is a basement, which may have seemed like a good idea at the time but turned out very cold and full of entertaining rooms that only manage to appear depressing. In lieu of thought, they added stonework. Lots of stonework. Nothing worked, not even the acres of lit stone and parquet floors. Stay away. 

Lit stone looks cool, but cannot compensate. 

What has been seen cannot be unseen. 

All photos credit to respective owners. 

Open Housing January 5 of 7

Never heard of Bowmont Estates? Me neither but it was my loss. Bowmont Estates is a very small gated community with very large homes and very big views right off of Mulholland. It would be very easy to access Studio City or Beverly Hills. There is no guard but it is still quite private and in my opinion that makes things less ostentatious.

 This house was utterly stunning. Situated on the ridge with lush gardens, you feel as if you have no neighbors. This house is like the smart jock everyone hated, the one who does is all and actually does it well.

Um, yes please. 

I had to search my brain to find flaws. Sure, Mediterranean is not everyone’s cup of tea. And the layout does not surprise, it only affirms where everything ought to be with a few quirks. But I couldn’t argue with the amazing open living room that flowed into the large yard with sexy, curving infinity pool and cabanas or the guesthouse that connected to the real gym and theatre/ game room.

This looks better in person. Like, a lot better. 

Not shown, the amazing view out those windows. 

But lets talk about that pool. It curves with the hill, a black pebble infinity pool that makes one want to swim naked for days and take in your views. You have views of either Beverly Park or Beverly Ridge, I’m not sure which but it is quite fun to survey the mansions in the distance. 

(Note: On later survey, thats Beverly Ridge with Beverly Park in the distance.) 

There is a huge USEABLE yard, an amazing view; the house isn’t ugly, SOLD. It actually feels like 13 million bucks. 

 

Facade is okay. Quality doesn't show in these pictures. 

Yes, that is a two car garage. The other 2 car garage is attached to the guesthouse further down the driveway. 

All photos credit to their respective owners. 

Open Housing January 4 of 7

581 Chalette Drive

Okay, confession time. The Trousdale Estates, in spite of some phenomenal views and renovated homes, just doesn't do it for me. It doesn't feel like Beverly Hills, more like a more conservative Hollywood with bigger yards to me. But what do I know?

Entry. Yes, that would be a carport to your left in a nearly 8 million dollar home. 

That brings us to the heart of the problem. Regardless of my tastes, the price is high. It’s a nice house. It really is. Just not worth 8 million bucks of nice. That is a very optimistic price for a home that has a carport. 


Not included: the weird hipsters outside posing with a motorcycle. 

Layout is pretty solid. Dual living rooms open onto a terrace and pool with debatably clearer (though less expansive) views than the Nightingale House. 

Kitchen. Yes, everything in this house is white. 

Red wine party? I think not. 

Open cabana thing off to one side of the pool. 

I guess its a study? 

All the bedrooms are good sized and the layout is solid. The home is blindingly white in terms of color and décor and could use some color to make it friendlier. 

All photos credit to respective owners. 

Open Housing January 3 of 7

Leaving the Bird Streets took me on a nice long detour of impossibly narrow blind corners to this house:
9126 Cordell Drive

Somewhat average front facade with tiny garden. 

There is a four car garage, which is really nice in Hollywood where parking is at a premium. 

It is not inspiring, though not a bad house overall. It would be fine in Studio City or Burbank, but in the Hollywood Hills it feels lackluster. Or maybe that is just coming off the high of the Bird Streets?

Every room looks like this. This home would really benefit from some staging, I found myself wondering about the function of some rooms. 

It is a big Spanish house (about 5,200 sqft) with terraces. Solid open layout, nothing unusual. Four bedrooms and a curving infinity pool with a sort of cabana thing. 

It is too close to Sunset Blvd to muster any awe-inspiring views but has a decent view. Not shown, the neighbors roof below. You could probably walk to the Strip, though that would defeat the point of showing up in the leased black Rover with the big rims, no? The asking of nearly 5 million is high. 

Hope you like yellow.... 

...and wood floors. 

Not shown: the bathtub rests on wood blocks. 

This is Hollywood for goodness sake, up your game! 

All photos credit to their respective owners. 

Open Houses January 2 of 7

9353 Nightingale Drive

In the course of driving from Robin Drive to Nightingale Drive, I sort of fell in love with the Dohney Estates in general. It reminds me of Sunset Plaza, only with well paved streets and a little less hilly. In my opinion Nightingale Drive is perhaps the best Bird Street, full of architecturally distinct homes with amazing views.

No front yard but a gate with plenty of obvious cameras in the typical Hollywood fashion. 

Doesn't look like much from the street. 

Upon entering, it takes all of five seconds to realize this is an extremely over the top home. But it doesn't really matter much since all you want to do is walk to the terrace and take in the view. 

Just look at the view. 

Yes, that pool is barely a lap pool. Yes, it appears to be on the neighbors roof. Yes, it works because the view. The fire-pit is one of many. 

Another fire pit. 

The entry opens onto a huge living/dining/game area, which opens onto that terrace. 

The terrace is what makes the home.

The top floor is completed by a master suite, guest room, powder room with his and hers stalls, and a large kitchen. The glass floor in the game room is undeniably cool.  

Round beds and odd round rooms compliment the design. The master suite is huge with stunning views, though the closet backs up onto the foyer, which I found odd. For a quick getaway? 

 

Very sexy bathroom. 

In fact all the bedrooms and stairs are odd. There is a lot of wasted space. The only way between floors is an absurdly small, spiral staircase or an elevator off of the game room.

Yes, that is a two story theatre/lounge thing with a stripper pole. 

Yes it is cool, but feels very narrow. 

Glass ceiling not shown. 

The two story bar and wine cellar with glass floors feel like a waste when you consider there are only two real bedrooms (though the listing brags four, some of the things they deem bedrooms would take some work to make or are little more than stair foyers right now). 

 Little spa off of the gym. 

Overall, this is a very specific home for a specific. Let's face it, anyone spending 10+ million in Hollywood probably isn't concerned about bedrooms. They want entertaining spaces. And this is a phenomenal place to entertain. 

All photos credit to respective owners.