SELLERS: Adam and Nikki Anders
LOCATION: Hidden Hills, CA
PRICE: $5,450,000
SIZE: 5,677 square feet, 5 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms
YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Celebrity real estate rumor has it that reality television royal Kourtney Kardashian and her weirdly ostentatious baby-daddy boyfriend, Whatshisface, are on the hunt for big new digs in the Calabasas and Hidden Hills areas of the western suburbs of Los Angeles, CA, and Your Mama wonders if they checked out the recently remodeled and expanded Hidden Hills home of married music producers and songwriters Adam and Nikki Anders, currently on the market for $5,450,000.
In addition to his work with a slew of young stars such as Miley Cyrus, Clay Aiken, CeCe Winans, the Backstreet Boys and the Jonas Brothers, the Sweden-born Mister Ander taught Tom Cruise how to sing for the Rock of Ages, an unfortunate movie for which he also wrote the score. His real claim to Showbiz fame and fortune, however and perhaps, would most certainly be for his efforts as the fecund executive music producer/remix master for the socially-conscious and high-camp televised musical extravaganza Glee. In addition to writing a number of chart-making original songs for the mega-hit show it was Mister Anders who—just to name just a few examples—Glee-a-fied iconic songs by the Beatles, Madonna, and Lady Gaga, not to mention the soundtrack for Grease as well as the Belgian-born Australian singer Gotye's Grammy-winning song Somebody That I Used to Know.
In her youth, Missus Anders (née Hassman) trained be an Olympic gymnast before she switched to music and was briefly, in the late 1990s, a member of the Christian band Avalon. Nowadays the Iowa-born blond often works side-by-side with her husband; She served as a judge on the only two season of the reality show spin off The Glee Project and together they own and operate a nascent record label with a growing stable of fresh-faced and squeaky clean wannabe pop-stars, none of whom Your Mama has ever heard of before.
A peep into the property records reveals Mister and Missus Anders acquired the property in June 2010 for $2,200,000 and current listing details show the 1.3 acre estate was redone in 2012 and now spans 5,677 square feet with five bedrooms, six bathrooms, three interior fireplaces plus at least one more outside, and a dozen high-quality wall-mounted flat-screen televisions.*
Other finishes and features of note include wide plank oak flooring, extensive mill work throughout, generous use of Carrera [sp] and Calcutta [sp] marbles, and oodles of custom built-ins. There are also newly installed high-tech audio and video systems throughout the house and yard, a water conditioning system, a 9-zone heating and cooling system, and a state-of-the-art security system that includes exterior and hidden interior cameras.
A vaulted, exposed beam wood ceiling with ridge line clerestory windows lends an airy-fairy sort of grandeur to the open-plan Great Room that includes a small but proper foyer and a buttoned up but easy-breezy living room/den area where a window-flanked fireplace is surmounted by a frameless flat-screen television and a full-wall of back-lit floor-to-ceiling shelving provides plenty of space to display books, knick-knacks, and industry awards. (In addition to his three Grammy nominations, Mister Anders has won, according to his own website, two People's Choice and two Golden Globe awards.)
The adjoining dining area stretches such a distance it comfortably accommodates a small sitting area at one end, a table that seats twelve in the middle, and a high-gloss baby grand piano at the far end. A twelve-foot stretch of windows in the dining area fold open and link to a roomy outdoor living area shaded by a pergola with retractable canvas awnings and anchored at one end by a monolithic, eight-foot long concrete fireplace wall.
The ceilings are equally vaulted and also sky-lit in the adjoining kitchen complex that encompasses an all-white and stainless steel center island kitchen, a breakfast area set in to a giant wall of windows, and a small sitting area with just two wing back chairs, a built-in media center (with integrated flat screen television), and a raised corner fireplace. In the vicinity are a back entrance, a kitchen-sized laundry room with dishwasher, and a children's play room that's easily converted to a home office, a Zumba studio or maybe even a staff suite.
There's another fireplace (surmounted by television, of course) and even higher, 16-foot vaulted ceilings with exposed beams in the master suite where French doors open to a semi-private terrace with a direct and unimpeded view of an elaborate children's play structure. The attached master bathroom has a double-sink vanity lit by glammy light fixtures, a free-standing soaking tub in front of a window that's far to high for someone bathing to see out, a separate, and marble-lined and glass-enclosed steam shower with multiple shower heads and built-in bench seating. Digital marketing materials also point out that the master bathroom has a flat-screen television with built-in speakers.
A newly-added second level with exterior access has a sun-bathed landing lounge, a separate sitting room with kitchenette (surmounted by another giant flat-screen television), and a multi-room recording studio that does double duty as a home theater with a drop down screen and projection equipment.
The backyard has, according to marketing materials, custom LED lighting and a million dollars worth of exterior landscaping that includes sweeping lawns, a French side garden with citrus trees, a redwood constructed vegetable house, more than 150 rose bushes, and a variety of fruit trees (apple, peach pomegranate, apricot, and more) all kept from thirst by an automatic 32-zone irrigation system.
Exterior recreational amenities include copious terraces, a swimming pool and spa, a sport court, a cedar-chip playground with elaborate play structure, a tricycle path, a fire pit with built-in broken concrete bench, a giant-sized chess board punched in to a flat spot on the lawn, and an open air cabana—with flat screen television—that listing details (regrettably) call a "covered man cave."
The circular gravel drive at the front of the house curves around the side to a rear motor court for accesses to an over-sized two-car attached garage and a newly-added detached carriage house with a third garage that's currently outfitted with a smattering of fitness equipment and—you got it—another wall-mounted flat-screen television.
We really have no idea why Mister and Missus Anders would spend a couple years and a whole lotta cheddar to completely customize their house in Hidden Hills only to put it up for sale. Could be they desire even more impressive digs or perhaps they feel they've outgrown the the estate-sized property. Maybe it just makes good financial sense. Whatever the reason(s), let's just call it a classic case of The Real Estate Fickle, a malady that seems afflict so many rich and/or famous folk.
*Digital marketing materials that Your Mama scared up from the time of the Anders' 2010 purchase show the then single-story residence, described as a "California ranch" that "exudes rustic simplicity," had five bedrooms and four bathrooms in 4,207 square feet.
listing photos: Shawn Cordon for Berkshire Hathaway Home Service