Cinematographer Lance Acord's Picture Perfect Pad

SELLER: Lance Acord
LOCATION: Allview Terrace, Los Angeles, CA
PRICE: 2,325,000
SIZE: 3 bedrooms 3.75 bathrooms
DESCRIPTION: Totally private and completely surprising; stunning architectural compound with pool. 1940's Moderne reworked by architect Finn Kappe, magnificently landscaped by Griffith/Caletta. Beautifully flowing liv.,dining and kit. areas, office, 3 baths, top floor master suite with terrace and breathtaking Beachwood Canyon views to the Hollywood sign. Kappe created a glass, concrete and slate guest/pool house w/bath, indoor and outdoor fireplaces. A light filled paradise for architectural devotees.

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Hunnies, Your Mama realizes that ya'll may not recognize the name Lance Acord, but we're quite sure you've seen television commercials, music videos and interesting films on which he was the director of photography or cinematographer. No only has handsome Mister Acord worked on music videos for folks like REM, Fatboy Slim and Björk, he's the cinematographer of choice for arty farty filmmakers Spike Jonz and Sofia Coppola having been camera king on the films Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Lost in Translation and Marie Antoinette. Mister Acord was also the cinematographer for Vincent Gallo's Buffalo '66 and Peter Care's The Dangerous Lives of Alter Boys. So that should tell you a little something about Mister Acord's Hollywood frame of reference.

The Acord family purchased their Beachwood Canyon house back in 1997 just as the real estate market was getting ready to explode all across Los Angeles. Sit down and hold on to your hats children, because Your Mama will blow your freaking mind when we tell you that Mister Acord paid only $575,000 for this sensational property. Clearly he and the wifey have put much time, effort and money into the place, but every now and then it's fun to remember the days when an amazing house could be bought in a good part of Los Angeles for well under a million clams.

According to the listing, the 1940s Moderne structure was re-worked by top flight architect Finn Kappe, who also added the secluded and streamlined guest house. All the children know how much Your Mama likes a guest house, and the Acord's accommodation for visitors is one of the more attractive we've come across. No place could be better than this gorgeous and detached building for Your Mama and the Dr. Cooter to stash Sister Woman's loud, and we mean very loud, pair of female offspring.

Having always been a fan of fortress-style front facades, Your Mama is giddy over the street elevation of this house which belies nothing of the light and open space behind the forbidding front wall. One need only open the nearly disguised front door–another fascinating and desirable feature for thwarting all the Jehovah's Witness and Mormans who come a-knockin'–to the wall of glass overlooking the swimming pool below and the Hollywood sign in the distance to know that a sensitive and provocative hand was used to design the structure.

The main level of the residence is one flight down from the entrance and from the looks of things, the primary living spaces are nice collection of rooms open to each other and integrated with and connected to to the outdoors through generous amounts of floor to ceiling glazing.

While we are mad, MAD we tell you, for the private back yard swimming pool areas, what Your Mama most appreciates about this house is the cozy interior decor. Yes, there is perhaps too much mid-century modern furniture for every one's taste, but it well complements the space and is not placed in such a way to indicate it's precious or museum quality...although it very well may be in some cases. The furniture all happily says lay back in this Saarinan Womb chair and set yer butt down on those vintage Mies van der Rohe Barcelona chairs. The rooms appear to be well lived in as opposed to offering up that forced and over-processed hotel suite vibe so common in the professionally decorated homes of the rich and/or famous. Given Mister and Missus Acord's artistic sensibilities, we are not surprised to find stocks of beautiful books all through the house, but it still warms the cockles of Your Mama's cold heart to know that there are still people who appreciate books as much as we do.

We gush. Do we even need to tell the children that we L.O.V.E. this house and we'd sell our soul to the devil to park our big BMW out front every day?

According to property records, the Acord family also has a weekend retreat in the Point Dume area of Malee-boo. Located on Fernhill Drive, the Acords again made a savvy and enviable purchase back in 2001 when they paid just $1,270,000 for their 3 bedroom and 2 bathroom house. This was back when NO ONE wanted to be on Point Dume because it was considered too far up the Pacific Coast Highway. Nowadays, the rich and famous are spending small fortunes for homes in the Point Dume area. The 1,624 square foot house sits just around the corner from Miz Julia Roberts' new cliff side fantasy compound of green built structures. Other Point Dume celebs include Nick Nolte (north of the PCH on Bonasll Drive), Martin Sheen (on Dume Drive), Barbra Streisand (on Zumirez Drive), and Matthew McConnaughey reportedly just plunked down around $10,000,000 for a property on Wildlife Road.

Your Mama hasn't a clue where the Acord family will be moving next, but wherever they go, we are quite certain the house and property will be stunning, smart, inviting and gorgeous. And we know deep in our expanding gut that we're gonna want to live there too.