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.