Celeb R.E.: Actor Kris Polaha and Actress Julianne Morris Unload Toluca Lake Estate

Images courtesy John Aaroe Group

Back on August 5, 2013, the always hilarious Your Mama at the Realestalker revealed that actor Kris Polaha (North Shore, Life Unexpected, and Ringer) and his wife Julianne Morris (Day of our Lives) unloaded his Toluca Lake estate on July 31, 2013 for $820,000 earning a profit of $340,500 before expenses which was first purchased on February 1, 2001 for $479,500.

The home measures 3 Beds/2.5 Baths on 1,874 sqft on a total lot size of 9,491 sqft built in 1938. The listing description states: 

Charming and quiet traditional 3bd/2.5bth home on a large lot in prime Toluca Lake location. Features a stunningly remodeled chef's kitchen with stainless appliances, Carrera marble backsplash, designer stone countertops, custom cabinetry and fabulous flow to the dining area. Entertain your guests by the fireplace in the spacious designer living room, in the lush fenced-in front yard and porch, or in the expansive backyard. The luxurious and large master bedroom features a fireplace, vaulted ceilings, two sets of French doors leading to the backyard, a large en-suite bath with newly remodeled double sinks on Carrera marble countertops and a custom walk in closet. This welcoming home also features hardwood floors throughout, built-ins, new central air/heat, recessed lighting throughout and copper plumbing. All this and Toluca Village is just down the street.

Its not known where Polaha and Morris are heading to next but I am guessing its somewhere in the SFV.

Toluca Lake is home to many celebrities partially due to its close proximity to the studios and Hollywood. The following list are celebrity homes in the Toluca Lake area discussed on this blog:

1. Actress Octavia Spencer purchases for $841,500 in April 2013. 
2. Patricia Heaton Purchases Toluca Lake mansion for $5.4 million in March 2013
3. The Office star Steve Carell Sells One of His Toluca Lake Homes for $5.1 million on March 2013.
4. The Estate of the Late Roy Disney Sells for $3.1 million in January 2013. 
5. Scott Baio sold the family home for $3,150,000 on December 26, 2012. 
6. The Estate of the late Bob Hope which will be listed soon. 
7. Former Bing Crosby estate which sold on December 20, 2011 for $4.020 million.
8. Former Hillary Duff mansion which sold on July 18, 2012 for $4,651,500.
9. Jason Priestly who tried to sell his home for $2.1 million and has been off the market at this time.
10. Erin Daniels (L Word) who recently purchased in June 2012 for $1.5 million.
11. Jennifer Love Hewitt who recently listed a property for sale and one for lease in August 2012.  
12. Former Alan Thicke home who sold for $3,525,000 on November 20, 2012.
13. Haylie Duff (sister of Hilary Duff) which recently listed on October 9, 2012 for $1,799,000.  
14. Miley Cyrus clan lives in this area. 
15. Other residents include Ashley Tisdale, Kiefer Sutherland, Andy Garcia, Dweezil Zappa, valley native George Lopez, Brooke Burns, Lindsay Price, Jonathan Antin, Jennie Garth, David Leisure, Nile Niami, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Kirk Fogg, Markie Post, and the Jonas Brothers to name a few.

You can check out more SFV Celebrity Real Estate here.  

Those Crazy Quaids Do It Again in Pacific Palisades

BUYERS: Dennis and/or Kimberly Buffington-Quaid
LOCATION: Pacific Palisades, CA
PRICE: $5,100,000
SIZE: 6,114 square feet, 5-7 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Thanks to both real estate yenta Yolanda Yakketyyak and our eerily well-informed informant Lucy Spillerguts, Your Mama has learned why the soon-to-be-divorced May-December duo Dennis and Kimberly Quaid—he's 59, she's 45—unexpectedly flipped the contemporary Pacific Palisades pad they'd only purchased seven months earlier* back on the market two weeks ago with a fifty thousand dollar mark up: In early July (2103), through a vexatiously named trust, the estranged but co-parenting couple surreptitiously shelled out $5,100,000 to acquire a 1920s Spanish-style mini-mansion set privately and securely behind high hedges and an electronic drive gate on a sweeping curve of Sunset Boulevard in the ritzy Riviera area of Pacific Palisades.**

Property records indicate the 6,114 square foot residence has three bedrooms and nine bathrooms but digital listing details Your Mama scrounged up show there are six bedrooms and nine bathrooms. Making matters more confusing, the listing description parsed the bedrooms count as such: four bedrooms suites on the upper floor including a master suite with dual closets and bathrooms (shown above) and a fifth bedroom suite on the main level plus two additional staff rooms. As all of the children who can perform basic arithmetic can easily figure, that makes for a total seven bedrooms. Anyways...

The gated motor court at the front of the property has grass growing between the flagstone pavers and can accommodate up to ten cars, according to online marketing materials. A stout pair of mature palm trees frame the stained glass window flanked front door that opens into a circular foyer that steps down to a reception gallery. The hotel-lobby sized space sports an unfortunate and vaguely Medieval style with stone flooring, an ill-advised faux-stone wall treatment around the front door, numerous stone-framed doorways, and antique chandelier and half a dozen or more matching sconces, wrought iron stair railings, and what appear to Your Mama to be at least three—three!—stone and/or tile encrusted fountains.

An ever so brief hall with arched niches connects the foyer to the grandly proportioned step-down living room with dark brown wood floors, large windows on three walls, a colossal carved stone fireplace and chimney breast, two antique chandeliers, and a vaulted, exposed wood ceiling. Multi-paned glass and steel doors join the living room to the formal dining room where an over-sized, essentially square-shaped stained glass window sits colorfully between two tall and narrow ten-pane leaded glass windows.

The roomy, center island eat-in kitchen is fully updated with a vintage vibe and is dressed with marble counter tops and white subway tile back splashes the extend all the way to the ceiling and expensively equipped with two glass-fronted fridge/freezers, two dishwashers, a super-sized commercial-style range set into a subway tiled niche, a built-in coffee maker, a built-in vegetable steamer, and at least one under-counter wine fridge.

Double arched doors at the back of the reception gallery open to a small but state-of-the-art media room with terraced seating, a high-def projection system plus a large flat-screen t.v. set in to the wall, and a giant, pane-free window that overlooks the backyard.

Other notable features and creature comforts include a snazzy home automation system, a restored powder room with vintage tile work, a circular second floor sitting room, a ground level yoga/work out room (that was probably originally designed as a staff room). Listing details indicate there are two laundry rooms, a compact one just off the kitchen and another much larger one on the lower level that's kitted out with two washers, two dryers, two side-by-side slop sinks, and a stainless steel topped table in the center of the room.

The house sits tightly on a .37 acre sloping parcel but, none-the-less, outdoor living spaces are many and include a sun-baked tiled terrace atop the attached two car garage, a central courtyard embraced on three sides by the towering rear façade and at least one more dining/lounging terrace plus a flat patch of lawn ringed by a thick wall of trees and shrubs and a large swimming pool and spa girdled by a basket weave pattern red brick terrace.

*At least one report from the time of the purchase indicates that although title was held in both their names Missus Quaid, a real estate agent in Texas, and the couple's five year old twins retained exclusive use of the property until the children turn 18.

**Your Mama has no idea if Mister and Third Missus Quaid plan to reconcile and cohabitate in the Sunset Boulevard mini-mansion or if, more likely, the acquisition is part of soon-to-be-third-ex-Missus Quaid's settlement.

listing photos: Coldwell Banker (via Hot Pads)

Hal Levitt Designed Mid Century Modern Home Hits Encino Market

[Update January 22, 2014]: This home sold for $1,445,000 on October 11, 2013.

[Original Post]:
16061 Royal Mount Drive

3 Baths/4 Baths on 3,131 sqft on a total lot size of 0.42 acres built in 1968. The home is located in Encino and currently available for $1,495,000 which hit the market on August 26, 2013 and was last purchased on July 11, 1989 for $925,000. The home was designed by Hal Levitt (Levitt + Moss Architects) is best known for designing many homes for elite celebrities like Steven Spielberg, Quincy Jones, Dean Martin, and Lionel Ritchie to name a few. He also designed the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas as well as the headquarters for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills. The listing description states:

Conceived and Designed by Renowned Architect Hal Levitt, whose work has been chronicled in the pages of Architectural Digest, sits this astounding Mid-Century Diamond in the rough high in the Royal Oaks hills above Encino. Large, drive on lot with private courtyard entry opens to original terrazzo style floors and crisp architectural lines. Floor-to-ceiling windows and massive glass sliders create the perfect indoor/outdoor flow and give way to a gorgeous backyard and pool with unique swim-up shower feature. Three bedrooms, including a large master with walk-in-closet and bath, are neatly divided on opposite ends of the home for privacy. Spacious eat-in kitchen opens to its own patio and garden. This is an architectural lover's dream - bring your contractor for restoration or remodel. Included are original plans for a second story addition created by Hal Levitt.

You can view more SFV Architecture and Real Estate here.

Images couresty Peter Lorimer Group Estates

Good Knight Inn Motel in Van Nuys Postcard

You can view more Van Nuys Postcards here.

You can view more SFV Postcards here.

Japanese Garden at the Donald C Tillman Water Reclamation Plant in Van Nuys Postcard

You can view more Van Nuys Postcards here.

You can view more SFV Postcards here.

A Fashionable Wednesday - Supermodels

I'm a girl who loved the era of the supermodels of the 90's. For their September issue, Interview magazine are releasing 6 covers of these supermodels - Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Amber Valetta and Stephanie Seymour photographed by the amazing Mert Alas and Marcus Pigott.

 

NAOMI CAMPBELL : When I started out modelling, there weren't casting directors and there weren't stylists, so you just dealt directly with the designer. We were all much closer back then.

 

KATE MOSS : I lived in New York for seven years, although I was always in denial about it. Even though I had an apartment there, I always pretended I was just visiting. I do love New York but I am a Londoner at heart.

 

LINDA EVANGELISTA : I love everything about fashion. I used to stay with Azzedine Alaia until four in the morning, letting him stick pins into me because it was a dream.

 

CHRISTY TURLINGTON : While I haven't worked as a full-time model for about 20 years, I've always maintained a few relationships. Calvin and Maybelline are the two longest. I'm flattered by the offers I receive, but there's no real strategy to the way I choose what to do these days. If I'm in a good mood and have the time, I'm more likely to consider it. I needed to think seriously about the CK underwear campaign, because I knew it would be everywhere, and I wasn't sure I wanted to be photographed in my underwear now that I'm a mother. But I knew the images would be tasteful and I liked the idea of continuing a relationship with a brand that I grew up with.

 

AMBER VALLETTA : I wanted to be an archeologist at one point, but I was a little kid. I wanted to be a social worker. I don't think I really had any idea. I don't even know what would have happened to me had I not become a model. I don't know if I would have gotten out of Oklahoma. After the first summer modeling, I came home with almost as much money as my mom made in a year — after being away for about two months.

STEPHANIE SEYMOUR : I would like to see fewer actors modelling - or if they are going to model to the extent they are modelling, then I think models should be actors.

My favourite is Christy - not just the cover but the supermodel of all time! 

Which is your favourite?

* There is a seventh cover being Daria Werbowy, it's a stunning cover also but for me she's a 

later edition to this edition of veterans.

all images and words by Interview Magazine

Don't Settle With Poorly Decorated Vacation Houses * Não Se Contentem Com Casas de Férias Mal Decoradas

Still in the holiday spirit so characteristic of this Portuguese August, I wanted to show you how a holiday house can be so simple and enjoyable. I've seen so much crap for rent, for a huge amount of money, in this country, you can not imagine! 

I really think that nowadays no one should never settle for holiday homes poorly decorated with bits of furniture left over from grandmother's houses, old sofas, or cheep synthetic curtains with patterns from 20 years ago. Unfortunately too usual in this country.

I'm not saying that we can not use old furniture from grandmother's house, or take advantage of a couple of old sofas  but please... that's why recycling and DIY was invented! On the other hand, if you do not have a knack for decorating, do not attempt to give a touch of your own 'decorated style', which may result as dramatically as white shoes in a black dress!

It was with all this in mind that when I saw these pictures of a house to rent I thought it was the perfect example to make my point on this subject. It is clear that this house was low budget decorated, but the result is simple, nice, cool, practical and the always nice white base. Everything you would want in a vacation home! ...

Has no design or expensive pieces but also no cheap Chinese pieces. No invented options or major complications. Not too contemporary, not classic. It has just a touch of 'white-organic-natural' but what is pleasing given the integration of the house with nature.Of course if I had a touch of someone more skilled it would have something on the walls of  some colorful cushions and a few statement pieces. On the other hand, we can also observe that the largest investment was in the outer zone, which is in fact where we spent more time in a vacation home, right?

We can not continue to settle for ugly and poorly decorated houses, which ultimately we rented to spend quality time. Don't you agree with me?!

***

Ainda no espírito de férias característico deste mês de Agosto, queria mostrar-vos o quanto uma casa pode ser simples e agradável. Tenho visto praí tanta porcaria de casa para alugar, por um dinheirão que nem imaginam!...desculpem a expressão mas não tem outro nome! 

Acho mesmo que hoje em dia já ninguém se devia contentar com casas de férias mal decoradas, com bocados de móveis que sobraram da casa da avó que faleceu e deixou 'uns tarecos', ou que herdou uns sofás velhos que sobraram de uma decoração antiga, ou que ainda tem os cortinados às flores de padrões de há 20 anos atrás. 

Não estou com isto a dizer que não podemos aproveitar móveis antigos da casa antiga da avó ou aproveitar os sofás da antiga decoração da casa de Lisboa mas por favor... é para isso que existe a reciclagem! Por outro lado, se não têm jeito para a decoração, não inventem nem vão à loja dos chineses comprar cortinados sintéticos transparentes para dar o toque de 'decorado', que pode resultar tão drasticamente como sapatos brancos num vestido preto!

E foi com tudo isto em mente que vi estas imagens de uma casa de férias para alugar que se percebe claramente ter sido decorada em baixo orçamento, mas que resultou simples, agradável, fresca, prática e de base branca.  Tudo o que se quer numa casa de férias!...

Não tem peças de design e caras mas também não recorreram a peças com ar de barato do chinês. Não inventaram decorações nem grandes complicações. Não é demasiado contemporânea mas também não é clássica. Tem apenas um toque de 'branco-organico-natural' mas que é agradável dada a integração da casa com a natureza.

Claro que se tivesse um toque de alguém mais especializado teria algo nas paredes da sala e talvez umas almofadas de cor. Por outro lado, também podemos observar que o maior investimento foi na zona de exterior, que é de facto onde passamos mais tempo numa casa de férias. 

Não nos podemos continuar a contentar com casas feias e mal decoradas, que afinal alugamos para passar bons momentos. Não concordam comigo?!

Até Amanhã

Ana Antunes

(Thank you for sharing my passion for beautiful homes)