May 26, 2013

1536 Viewsite Terrace

6 bed, 8.5 bath, 11,564 sqft on a 18,989 sqft lot. Asking 7.995

Up some small street is this big thing. You enter to a felt wall. Garage to the left, massive open living area is to the right. It has the kitchen, dining, living and opens onto a pool. The pool has an infinity edge  A staircase down brings us to an entertaining room and a massive master. Really massive. The shower looks like a rainforest sex party. The bathtub is great. The entertaining room has a bar and window to the pool. Another level down has a second master and several other bedrooms with their own nice bathrooms. This house has great views, light and air. It is very party and owns up to it. I do like it.

616 N Foothill Rd

7 bed, 8.5 bath, 9,888 sqft on a 13,351 sqft lot. Asking 9.45

Something in the flats of Beverly Hills just begets weird houses. This one is big and not very well designed. There is no garage. No garage in a home this expensive. You enter into a walk though foyer. To the right is a massive living dining area. Across the foyer is a library with bath and the kitchen. Why is the dining room not close to the kitchen? Upstairs are boring bedrooms and downstairs is a big unfinished feeling basement thing. This home has no personality. The master is above the library and kitchen, you are painfully aware of how close you are to the neighbors. This home is lackluster and the yard is small and dull.

614 N Palm Drive

5 bed, 9 bath, 8,457 sqft on a 13,057 sqft lot. Asking 9.899

This one bears a lot of similarities to the Foothill property. But it is much better. Sure, it is a garish Persian palace on steroids but it does a better job that others have. You enter to a small foyer. Ahead is a larger stair hall that opens onto a family room. To the right is the dining room. To the left is a powder room and a library that flows into the living. Off the stair hall is the large living room  on the left that connects to the library on one end and opens to the small pool on the other. The dining room pantry is huge and has a stairwell and bath. Odd. This leads to the kitchen, breakfast room and family room. Full circle. The layout is not bad. Upstairs are 3 bedrooms and a small master. This was odd. Downstairs is a subterranean garage that strikes me like a parallel parking nightmare. There is also a maids room, gym, game and media room. It is much better that the Foothill property, though still garish. There is also a built in safe. Why?

507 N Palm Drive

3 bed, 3.5 bath, 4,022 sqft on a 12,962 sqft lot. Asking 5.180

A pretty façade close to Santa Monica Blvd. Enter through a nice foyer. Living room and dining to the left, media to the right. A sort of loggia is dead ahead. Dining connects to nice kitchen and breakfast area. A bedroom is there. Another bedroom by the media and a master next to that. Huge bath in the master. The home has some nice features, but it is rather dark and has no pool.

825 N Roxbury Drive

7 bed, 6 bath, 8,450 sqft on a 22,342 sqft lot. Asking 10.850

This home has a great front façade. Not much else can be said. It is right on Sunset and you can hear it every second. Enter up a gated driveway. Foyer has a massive curving staircase. Living room to the right, library and powder to the left and dining straight ahead. The style is a mess between modern and old Mexico. I think. Living room and dining are connected by a lounge with bar. To the left of dining is kitchen, a gaggle of maids rooms and another staircase and a carport porte-cochere they are trying to call a garage. Yard is nice, but loud. No wall? There is a guesthouse though. I feel this home could have been done so much better, it feels unfinished. Upstairs has a bunch of beds with odd placed closets. Some smell of pee. The master is close to sunset and laid out oddly, think toilet-door ratio gone wrong. It is a good effort, but this modern pile is more mess than home run.

1060 Woodland Drive

4 bed, 4.5 bath, 5,838 sqft on a 20,420 sqft lot. Asking 7.5

Today is just a study in opposites. This was the cool, slick modern pad the Roxbury house wanted to be. Enter up a long curve driveway above Coldwater. Home has dull, detached garage and cool entrance. Inside is a two-story living room with bar that opens one a massive terrace that juts to the driveway. Well landscaped and quite view. Everything is crisp and sharp, even the realtor who just sat there is sunglasses, looking like a well dressed Thor in his element, too cool to even talk to the clients. To the right of the living is a master with built in bed. Very cool. Closets and bath with TV ensue. TVs are everywhere here. Across from the living room is a kitchen and dining room. Dining is dark and oddly placed. Kitchen is close to small pool and garage, and maids with bath and powder. Upstairs is a loft overlooking the living room and 2 modern bedrooms with rather open bathrooms. I like this house but felt a little let down. The living room and master bedroom and subsequent terrace were fantastic. The kitchen and dining room didn’t make much sense and the pool area was small. In fact the pool and garage feel tacked on or like residual from the old home pre-remodel. They aren’t bad, just feel out of place in such a thought out home. The lot is good sized but a lot of it is driveway. It has been on the market a while, so something must be up.

818 N Whittier Drive

7 bed, 12 bath, 8.766 sqft on a 20,207 sqft lot. Asking 9.8

How do you make a home feel bigger? Lots of stairs and rooms. Lots. Enter through a gated, off center motor court. Another gate brings us to the front door. Powder, hall and stair straight ahead, Porte cohere to the right, living and lounge to the left. Further left is a bedroom with bath, library and subterranean dance studio or something. Lots of stairs. Foyer leads into dining room with pantry on right, nowhere near the kitchen. On left is a courtyard, then the actual kitchen. There is a breakfast room and family room and maids bed. They open onto a massive pool with a 2 story guesthouse. Upstairs are lots of bedrooms. Lots. This home is very large and hard to navigate. Also all the toilets are the toto kind. Prepare for air blowing everywhere.