Your Mama Hears...

...from Wanda Wantsyoutoknow that there's been a unexpected residential real estate transaction in Beverly Hills so massive that it will straighten the curly locks of real estate watchers and give mega-manse selling ladees like Candy Spelling ($150,000,000), Suzanne Saperstein ($125,000,000) and Iris Cantor ($53,000,000) a whisper of hope like perfume on a breeze that a gallant knight with behemoth bank accounts might ride into town and relieve them of their shockingly high-priced white elephants in Los Angeles.

Now then, hold on to your real estate britches children because Wanda, a well-connected gal who works the real estate in some of the better zip codes of Los Angeles and, natch, prefers to remain anonymous, just whispered in Your Mama's ear that Apple co-founder and multi-billionaire Steve Jobs has gone and purchased The Knoll, the former estate of deceased oil and movie magnate Marvin Davis and his philanthropic wife Barbara. Wanda says word on the real estate grapevine is that Mister Jobs forked over a equilibrium ruining $53,000,000 for the sprawling Schuyler Road estate.

Lo-ward have mercy butter beans, Your Mama did not even know the property was being shopped around to tech titans, foreign potentates or any other billionaire buyers for that matter. But then again, we really know so little about these things.

Anyhoo, property records and previous reports state the the current owner, tool and die tycoon Eric Smidt, scooped up the hilltop property estate in February of 2005. The prodigious 10.77-acre Davis property was priced as high as $70,000,000 and, although records to not reveal a purchase price, reports from the time of the sale indicate that "people with knowledge of the transaction" whispered to the press that the deal went down for right around $46,000,000.

At the time of the purchase, the Roland Coates designed manse known as The Knoll was built in 1955, measured a monstrous 25,427 square feet and included 11 bedrooms and a staggering 17 terlits. There were, additionally, at least two guest houses, a 30-seat 35-mm movie theater, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a tennis court, and 7 fireplaces. Missus Davis was well known for her extravagant day-core which, as Your Mama understands, sometimes manifested itself in not so subtle ways such as a staircase lined with mirrors that reflected that lavish interior space ad infinitum. That sounds dizzying at best and nauseating at worst, but these are sometimes the wacky interior dee-zine ways of the very, very rich.

Mister Smidt, who also owns one of the largest spreads up in the guard gated Beverly Park community, has spent millions and, as we understand from some of our fancier friends, the last few years giving The Knoll a full-on face lift in the form of a gut renovation and interior overhaul. Your Mama does not know if the re-did residence is complete or if there remains any this and thats to be done to the interiors, exteriors and landscaping. Thanks to one of Your Mama's eagle-eyed kiddies, we've learned that the structural elements of the massive manse were done over by architects Hablinski-Manion who have designed many large and elaborate estates in Los Angeles and whose plan, according to their website called for transforming the the Davis' "contemporary Georgian" into a "white brick Regency residence." A few snaps of a model of the estate as proposed and planned can be seen here.

Of course, as soon as Wanda spilled her dee-voon real estate beans, Your Mama got on the horn to inquire with a few of our better connected informants and within minutes heard back from Whispering Wendy, another gutsy gal who works her real estate stuff in the finer sections of Tinseltown, who told us she heard the very same scuttlebutt as Your Mama.

Now listen puppies, real estate transaction records do not currently reveal a property transfer from Mister Smidt to Mister Jobs or other entity at this point so be smart and recognize this is all just rumor and gossip. Rumor and gossip. For now.

UPDATE LATER SAME DAY: We quote from an Beverly Hills real estate insider regarding the rumors floating up and down Cañon Drive in Bev Hills about Steve Jobs buying The Knoll: "Lies."

Jeezis, Mary and Joseph Your Mama is all kinds of confounded and positively perplexed now. We don't know what to believe about this juicy but perhaps completely inaccurate real estate rumor anymore. In an effort to untangle our gin soaked and bamboozled brain, we're gonna have another gin & tonic and a damn nerve pill. That ought to put us in the frame of mind to forget all about this nonsense.

Jude Law Leases in New York City

LEASEE: Jude Law
LESSOR:
LOCATION: West 4th Street, New York, NY
PRICE: $6,900,000
SIZE: 3,498 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms
DESCRIPTION: ...Taking full advantage of the structure's 20' vaulted ceilings and original wood timber beams, this immaculately renovated duplex is an unparalleled and rare find downtown. Boasting 3,498+- sf of highly customized interiors with three large bedrooms and two and a half baths, this home presents uncompromising quality at every turn, including hand-troweled white Venetian plastered walls, Brazilian walnut floors, a floating staircase wrapped in chrome, sleek custom closets and a state-of-the-art Crestron system.

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Starting way back in our university days, Your Mama has known an unusual amount of people who have made their homes in deconsecrated and converted houses of God. One of those many people is not, however, Oscar nominated actor Jude Law who has lately been leasing a doo-plex penthouse in a former Methodist church in New York City's Greenwich Village that was reborn and transformed into Novare, a lavishly done residential project where the historic and ecclesiastical facade hides the interior spaces of 8 posh, pricey and very contemporary condominiums.

Mister Law's past professional endeavors have included roles in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, The Talented Mr. Ripley, I Heart Huckabees, Alfie, The Aviator, and All the King's Men. His next films include Rage, in which he portrays a tranny supermodel named Minx, and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, the last movie Heath Ledger filmed before his untimely death of accidental drug overdose. The British born tabloid favorite has set up temporary digs in downtown Manhattan while he appears to strong reviews in a limited engagement as the tortured Dane in Broadway's latest edition of Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Mister Law's private life is, for better or worse, just about as exciting and interesting as any of the film and stage work he's done. Although Mister Law's ex-gurlfriend, model Samantha Burke, recently became the baby momma to his 4th piglet, he's apparently already moved on or, rather, is revisiting some old stomping grounds. According to recent reports in the tabs and gossip glossies, his former ladee-friend Sienna Miller–with whom he had a torrid and tumultuous affair several years ago–was recently seen exiting his dee-luxe Washington Square apartment house, further fueling rumors that the erstwhile couple are erstwhile no more.

The owner of Mister Law's luxe let, a man named Mark Kress, made his mountain of money largely from lotions, potions and laser treatments for restoring hair where it stopped wanting to grow. We're certain that much can and will be made of the irony of Mister Law having a landlord who pioneered cosmetic hair restoration treatments. We'll leave our two cents at that. Anyhoo, according to the peeps at PropertyShark, Mister Kress purchased the penthouse in June of 2007 for $5,960,000. Property listing aggregator StreetEasy reveals that Mister Kress listed the Greenwich Village aerie in May of 2009 with an asking price of $8,500,000. The penthouse remains for sale but with a significantly slashed but still big-ticket price tag of $6,900,000.

It's unclear–or rather, unknown to Your Mama–what amount of moolah Mister Law is shelling out for the privilege of living in his pro tempore and formerly holy surroundings. However, a much smaller, single level unit with 2 bedrooms and 2 poopers in the same building was recently leased with an asking price of $9,000. Your Mama imagines it's probably safe to assume Mister Law is forking out considerably more than that.

Property records show the six room doo-plex–or seven room doo-plex depending on how one counts–measures 3,504 square feet while listing information indicates it's around 3,498 square feet. Close enough for Your Mama not to get in a huff about. The elevator opens directly into the apartment's top floor which has dark Brazilian walnut floors, glistening winter white walls of hand-troweled Venetian plaster, gorgeous vaulted ceilings with exposed wood beams, original stained glass windows, and two, glass wrapped atria that shoot through the building and flood the interior spaces with indirect light.

These atria were an inspired architectural notion by FLAnk, the firm responsible for the former churches metamorphosis. Not only do they hustle light into dark interior corners they define the traffic patterns and divide the open spaces while still allowing for a visual unity. However, Your Mama is more than a little concerned with the atrium in the library which appears, according to the floor plan, to look directly into the apartment across the hall. Just the very idea that Your Mama and the Dr. Cooter could be quietly curled up on the delicious sofa–that may or may not be a Christian Liaigre design–sipping gin and tonics and reading all the latest tabs only to look up and see the neighbor–who happens to be Steven Van Zandt–giving us a wink and a nod from his library just scares the skin right off our ever ballooning body. And really, what's the point of that atrium if the curtains/shades must always be closed in order to gain a little privacy?

Anyoo, the central atrium separates the library at the front from the back area comprised of a combination living/dining room and a super sleek open plan Boffi brand kitchen that has Your Mama swooning with desire. The glossy snowy cabinetry and the white, white, white counter top is successfully toned down by the work island cloaked in a dee-voonly dark zebra wood and topped with a dark, possibly even chocolate brown, counter top of unknown material.

The entire back glass wall folds open and merges the interior space with the north facing, 575 square foot landscaped terrace that features a built in barbecue and a lovely view of the Empire State Building. Unfortunately for Mister Law, he's had a bit of trouble with gaggles of college gurls ogling him from their dorm rooms across the way while he works out on the terrace with his ladee trainer.

A floating chrome and glass staircase leads from the upper floor to the lower where the central space includes a powder pooper, laundry facilities and an intimate media room. At the rear, two bedrooms share a windowless pooper and the front contains the master bedroom comprised of a long hallway of custom fitted closets, a sufficiently sized bed chamber and a pooper that Your Mama estimates to be around 25' long.

Say what you will, children, about the day-core. It may not be the kind of contemporary that suits every person's decorative tastes and needs, but what's done here in this converted church is dee-vine and without question of the highest quality. In addition to the well executed architectural overhaul, every inch of the space has been thoughtfully did up and done over by someone who really knows what they are doing and paid for by someone willing to hand over upwards of thirteen grand for the luminary perfection that is Poul Henningsen's Artichoke lamp dangling gracefully above the dining room table. Your Mama would chop off our damn pinkie toe for one of those fixtures.

Property records indicate other residents of the 8-unit, celeb friendly building include Franco-Malagasy model Noémie Lenoir and musician cum actor Steven Van Zandt (The Sopranos), otherwise known as Little Stevie from Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band.

For what it's worth and for those who might care, the above mentioned Miss Miller recently listed her townhouse in London's posh Marylebone neighborhood for sale at £995,000 and as far as we know, when in London Mister Law still shacks up in the 4-floor, 5-bedroom townhouse in the Maida Vale neighborhood that he bought in late 2008 for a reported £3,500,000. That's $5,227,650 to all us Amereecanos at today's rates.

A Pure Baby Shower

 

 

Lauren of Pure Style Home and Michele of My Notting Hill

 

One of the design blogosphere’s most beloved blogger, Lauren, of Pure Style Home, is having a baby – her second – and today we are all giving her a virtual shower hosted by Michele of My Notting Hill.  Lauren is a young interior designer who writes both a beautiful and an intelligent blog – a rare combination.  She is full of talent and ideas and this year it has been great fun watching her turn her 70s era split level house into something we are all envious of.    It seems almost every day Lauren is posting about what she has done to her house this time – what she has changed, painted, moved around, bought, created – she is the artist, her house is her canvas and we are her captive audience. We all watch her decorating, amazed at her joie de vie, all the more amazing because she has totally renovated her house while pregnant the entire time.     She is a stager extraordinaire and there’s not a catalogue around that wouldn’t  hire her in a minute to style their photos, she is just that good.   She makes her own house look like it came straight from the pages of a magazine.   She especially loves using a trio of laboratory beakers as vases in her house photography -  she moves the beakers to and fro, from room to room to room – putting all different kinds of leaves in them, or flowers, or she might just leave them bare.

 

 

Lauren’s living room, a month ago, with the fabulous blown up etching in the dining area. 

 

 

The living room – today - with its newly stenciled walls.   The beakers make an appearance here on her mantel.  

 

 

The dining room with the fabulous art work.   This room has totally changed since her new chairs and curtains have finally arrived! We’re anxiously waiting to see them!

 

 

Lauren’s kitchen with the great iron chandelier she bought after spotting it on a shopping trip with the famous Eddie Ross.   I love her pantry “door.” 

 

 

Her adorable breakfast room – all styled for dinner – her plates match her wallpaper, of course! 

 

 

 

Lauren’s collection of laboratory beakers make an appearance on her living room mantel.

 

  Here the beakers have been moved into her master bedroom! 

 

 

And here, on the dining room – the beakers hold herbs.

 

And so, for my shower gift – I am giving Lauren and her new baby a brand new set of laboratory beakers for the nursery – now she can style the room and not have take the baby’s beakers away to use in another room, for another photo shoot!   Enjoy Lauren, and much health, happiness and love in your future!

 

 

A new set of laboratory beakers for the nursery!  Enjoy Lauren!

To attend the baby shower, be sure to visit My Notting Hill HERE.  To read Lauren’s blog The Pure Home, go HERE.