Neighbors at Legal War Over Rihanna's Big Move

Here's another recent story from TMZ on singing superstar Rihanna. Rihanna previously rented a house in the Hollywood Hills that she allegedly considered buying.  She eventually moved out after an angry neighbor sued her for trampling his property.  Now her former landlord is reportedly suing the angry neighbor for killing the sale.

More details here: Neighbors at Legal War Over Rihanna's Big Move

Lamar Odom's House -- Now with Furniture!

TMZ recently reported that Lamar Odom is so anxious to sell his Manhattan Beach, California home that he just paid to have it staged.  We don't think this information is particularly newsworthy--except to note that the house doesn't look any better than it did before.

Go see for yourself:  Lamar Odom's House -- Now with Furniture!

Tiger Woods: Car Trouble in Paradise?

By now you've heard that golf phenom Tiger Woods was involved in a single-vehicle car accident at 2:25am on Friday right in front of his house.  He was knocked unconscious for a couple of minutes.  The neighbor called 911.  And Tiger's wife, Erin (shown with him above), used a golf club to break the car window. 

Rumors started flying everywhere!  After all, where was Tiger going at that late hour?  Why hasn't he talked to the police?  Did he and Erin have a fight?  Did she use the golf club because she was angry?  Is Tiger having an affair?  Why did he issue a statement saying that "the situation" was all his fault and promise that it won't happen again?  How can anyone promise a car accident won't happen again--unless he's not really talking about the car accident? 

And, finally, what's the scoop on his house?  There are lots of photos out there purported to show his home.  But which one is really his?

Well, we can at least help clear up the last matter!  Tiger lives with his wife and two kids in a luxury lake home in Isleworth, a private gated community in the Orlando suburb of Windermere, Florida.

After the accident, there were lots of stories showing this house as belonging to him:

The problem is, this house is not on a lake.  It's actually on a beach!  In Hawaii!  And it's not Tiger's house!

Here's another one that is more commonly shown in connection with Tiger's accident story:

Well at least it's close -- very close in fact -- but it's not Tiger's house either!  It's actually right next door!

HERE is Tiger's house:

We'll let you know if we dig up photos of the interior!

Happy Cyber Monday!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday!  As you probably figured out by now, we took the entire week off last week.  Next time, we'll try to give you a little notice beforehand.  Now, let's spend the day shopping online and catching up on news stories about celebrity homes! 

Up first:  Tiger Woods!

Nelson Peltz Palm Beach Mansion

Situated on North County Road in Palm Beach, the Nelson Peltz property, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and just north of the famed Breakers Hotel, features a French Regency-style, 44,000-square-foot main residence. The 13-acre property also has a 16,000-square-foot guesthouse, two swimming pools, a tennis court and a movie theater. Peltz, who is a member of The Forbes Four Hundred Richest in America list, is chief executive of New York holding company Triarc Companies (arbys, wendys). He is trying to sell the property because he doesn't use it anymore. Ned Monell of Sotheby's International Realty has the listing. Nelson Peltz is the former owner of Snapple. His current net worth is estimated at $1.05 billion, and he lives in an oceanfront mansion in Palm Beach.

Richard Gere Sells His Hamptons Home for $5.9M

Speaking of the Hamptons . . . Forever handsome Richard Gere and his lovely wife, actress Carey Lowell, recently sold their home in the Hamptons for $5.9 million.  According to the Wall Street Journal, the new owner paid about a third less than the asking price.  Fortunately for us, the WSJ has a slideshow allowing us to peek inside this 7BR home, which sits on 1.2 acres in Water Mill, NY.

The approaching winter clearly has us obsessed with fireplaces right now.  We hated the one in Russell and Kimora Lee Simmons' NJ estate.  But we loved the fireplaces in Barefoot Contessa/Ina Garten and Jason Winer's homes.  And we love the one in this bedroom below:

Okay, so it's not glamorous, but it has a rustic country feel that we like.

Likewise for the kitchen above and dining room below.

Mismatched chairs always make us feel like we can relax. This looks like a perfect spot for Thanksgiving dinner--something else that's also on our minds lately!

Tell us what you think.  Would you prefer an informal dining room like Richard and Carey's or a more formal dining room for Thanksgiving?

Top photo from The Insider.  House photos from Saunders Associates.

The Barefoot Contessa's Barn

With Thankgiving only one week away, our thoughts are naturally turning to cooking and entertaining.  We've always loved the Barefoot Contessa cookbooks by Ina Garten, who also has her own show of the same name on the Food Network.  She has a beautiful home in East Hampton and recently built a barn(!) for entertaining her friends.

Ina's barn houses a large multi-purpose room with a wonderful open kitchen and dining area.  The visible rafters give it that barn-like feel, yet it is still so remarkably cozy!  We think the fireplace (top photo) makes a huge difference.   We also like that she included comfy arm chairs at the dining table so that it can double as a reading space.

The barn also serves as a guest house, with a beautifully simple approach to decor.  We love the mottled mirror over the sofa in the entry.  The objects located across from it make it appear as if it is a painting.

The bedroom and bath are likewise peaceful and simple:

Can you believe all of this is inside this inconspicuous looking building below?!!!

We love it!  If you want to see more barn photos, check out the House Beautiful slideshow. 

Also, the folks at House Beautiful liked Ina's barn so much, they asked her to recreate it in Rockefeller Plaza and named it their 2009 Kitchen of the Year.  Check out the video here:

We love it too!