Let's Talk About Paul Allen...Again, Shall We?

Even though Your Mama spent two days and way too much time discussing and poring over the residential property holdings of multi-billionaire Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, it seems that we managed to miss at least three very significant pieces of his vast real estate puzzle.

The previously discussed Beverly Hills estate and the gleaming new beach house on Carbon Beach in Malibu are not, as it turns out the only residential real estate holdings in southern California that take up space in Mister Allen's porcine property portfolio.

In 1997 Mister Allen dumped $20,000,000 on The Enchanted Hill, a near mythic estate perched along a ridge at the tippy-top of Angelo Drive above Benedict Canyon. Much to the chagrin and anger of just about everyone, Mister Allen razed the legendary Wallace Neff designed house (above) that was built in the early 1920s for prolific screenwriter actress Frances Marion and her silent screen star husband Fred Thomson.

The original estate contained about 24 acres and included a sprawling Spanish Colonial style main house, horse stables with mahogany floors, a riding ring or two, tennis court, swimming pool, and acres of formal gardens. Miz Marion and Mister Thomson dubbed the estate The Enchanted Hill, a name that became a bit of an inside joke between two-time Oscar winner Miz Marion and her media mogul boss William Randolph Heart who named his colossal castle confection in San Simeon, CA the same name only in español: La Cuesta Encantada.

In 1929, not long after Mister Thomson stepped on a rusty nail and died of the tetanus, the estate as sold for $540,000 to Texas oil and mining magnate Lejeune Barnes. Paul Kollsman, who made a fortune from his invention of altimeters, barometers and other instruments and doo-dads used in flying airplanes, purchased the property 1945. Over the years that Mister Kollsman and his wife Baroness Julie Dorothea Baronin von Bodenhausen owned the property it ballooned to about 120 acres.

Mister Kollman went to meet the great inventor in the sky in 1982 and his widow, that would be Baroness Julie Dorothea Baronin von Bodenhausen, sold the property in 1997 to our man Paul Allen. Your Mama read somewhere–we no longer recall where–that Mister Allen spent some effort and money revitalizing the residence. Whatever the case, by 2000 the somewhat eccentric Mister Allen decided to tear the Wallace Neff beehawtcha down to make way for, according to one of Your Mama's better connected sources, a steroidal 50,000 square foot mansion.

Not surprisingly, Mister Allen's decision to bull doze all that was beloved up on The Enchanted Hill worked the nerves and the fired up the wrath of architectural buffs and historians. Yes puppies, it was and is his property to do with as he pleases. None the less, in Your Mama's humble and utterly meaningless opinion it was a crying damn shame for Mister Allen to tear down the rambling, multi-winged mansion that defined a particular sort of California architectural dream.
Making matters worse is that Mister Allen–perhaps as a result of his architectural vilification or perhaps due to a case of The Real Estate Fickle–has done little but clear the property, improve the road that winds through the hilltops and canyons and connects Angelo Drive to Benedict Canyon Drive, terrace a few hillsides, and clear what appear to be a number of potential home sites.

We are, it could probably go without saying, thrilled that Mister Allen has not proceeded to build a hotel-sized house but it's devastating to think he got rid of something so extraordinary for what, 10 years later, seems like no reason at all. That said, better that he razed The Enchanted Hill and did nothing with the property than developed it into a gated enclave of monster mansions that would probably appear as ornate pimples on an otherwise unspoiled terrain.

There are many online references that make it no secret that in 1993 Mister Allen bought a former sheep ranching operation outside of Tetonia, ID known as Teton Ridge Ranch. The 4,000+ acre spread located on the rugged western flank of the Grand Teton National Park near Yellowstone and Jackson Hole is, as far as Your Mama is concerned, pretty much the middle of freaking nowhere near the border of Idaho and Wyoming.

For many years after Mister Allen purchased Teton Ridge Ranch, it was operated as an exclusive resort style property with 10,000 square foot luxury lodge and just five suites each kitted out with wood burning stove, spa, and private porch. Guest could choose from indoor activities such as eating, drinking, reading and playing pool on an antique billiard table or they could head out of doors where options included hiking, horse riding, and mountain biking trails as well as fishing and skiing. As of March of 2009, according to the answering machine that picks up the phone at the ranch, Teton Ridge Ranch is no longer open to the public. Presumably Mister Allen wants free and unfettered access to the ranch without those pesky vacationers hanging about.
The property records for Teton Ridge Ranch in Idaho lead Your Mama's wandering eye to the Big Island of Hawai'i where records and online sources reveal that Mister Allen owns an historic Hawaiian hideaway behind the gates of an exclusive oceanfront community in Kailua-Kona, HI. Although they have been somewhat scrubbed clean, public property records indicate that Mister Allen shelled out $7,500,000 to scoop up what is (or was) known as the Thurston Estate in Kailua-Kona, HI.

Whatever he may have paid for the place and when might not be entirely clear, what does not seem to be in question, according to a June 30, 2009 hearing transcript of the Leeward Planning Commission in the County of Hawai'i, is that Mister Allen owns and occupies the 10+ acre former Thurston Estate.

Thanks to materials sent to Your Mama by the ever intrepid and resourceful Lil' Gay BOy, we've learned that the Thurston Estate was formerly owned by Lorrin P. Thurston, former owner and publisher of the Honolulu Advertiser and the one-time Chairman of the Hawai'i Statehood Commission. Mr. Thurston, a direct descendant of missionaries Asa and Lucy Thurston who arrived on the shores of Hawai'i in 1820 to inform all the natives they were a sinful lot and going straight to hell without a handbasket if they didn't quickly repent and convert to Christianity, purchased the property in the 1930s and spent the next 50 years building and landscaping the magnificent property.

At the time Mister Thurston owned the property it was called Lanihau-iki which translates, according to an old Kona Properties brochure, as "The place where the forces of heavens and and of the earth meet and all is quiet and peaceful." Your Mama, who does not have a tongue for the languages marvels at how such a extensive description comes out of one hyphenated and not very word. Sometimes these rich folks like to put their own stamp and name on their properties and Your Mama does not know if Mister Allen has maintained the Lanihau-iki moniker.

Prior to the property being purchased by Mister Allen there was, in addition to the long and low 12,000 square foot main house, an employee residence, garage space, a beach house, a boat shed and boat launch that dropped watercraft into the amoebic private boat harbor. A short bridge connects the grounds to a small island that sits in the wee harbor. At the ocean's edge are a couple of tiny private beaches, dramatic lava outcroppings, and several tide pools. Lo-werd hunnies, this island wonderland makes that place in Kailua-Kona that Cher built and sold at auction in late 2009 look like a damn dump.

In addition to cataloging–or attempting to catalog–the full extent of Mister Allen's residential property portfolio we also discussed some of his toys such as his airplanes and his yachts, the jaw dropping 414-foot Octopus and the 301-foot Tatoosh which Mister Allen currently has up for sale with a price tag of about $163,000,000. As it turns out Mister Allen owns–or owned until recently–a third yacht, a 199-foot long sea-mansion called Méduse, equipped with a helicopter, movie theater, and a recording studio. There are reports from 2005 that indicate that Mister Allen wanted to sell the boat for $52,500,0000, but it's unclear if the big boat was indeed sold or remains in Mister Allen's armada of floating mega-mansions.

photo (The Enchanted Hill, top): Wikimapia
photo (The Enchanted Hill, bottom): Bing
photo (Teton Ridge Ranch): Robb Report
photo (Kona Kailua): Bing

One House: Version I and II

A house recently went on sale in Houston.  It is owned by an upcoming young, talented and beautiful (the triple threat!) interior decorator.   The designer has not lived in this house very long and as luck would have it, I have the photographs of the house from its previous sale in 2008.    Both times, the house was beautifully furnished in the Houston style – lots of seagrass and linen.     I love seeing how the house changed from 2008 to today under the two different owners and decorators.    This house must really have a special designer vibe – it was also owned by another interior designer in the late 1990s.  

Enjoy!

VERSION #I:

This one story house, built in the 1950s,  has a fabulous location – right off Weslayan between San Felipe and Westheimer.

Located in Oak Estates, in the shadow of River Oaks, the one story, 1950s house is small – with only 1,986 sq. ft - which makes it perfect for a young family or empty nesters.   It’s kitchen has been updated with Carrara marble countertops, slate floor, new stainless appliances, and there is an expanded master suite with an adjoining study.   The house was previously a 3 bedroom, but one of the bedrooms was turned into a master closet, making it now a 2 bedroom 2.5 bathroom.   Listed at $775,000, the HAR information is available HERE.

 

Walking into the foyer, it’s obvious someone with impeccable style lives here.   A collection of antique French pots and books sit atop a painted console.   A glimpse into the living room shows an antique buffet and mirror. 

 

 

YUM!   Custom cut seagrass in the living room, along with beautiful creamy silk curtains.   The curtains are perfect – reaching to the top, they are full and luscious – exactly how they should be.   Notice on the left, there are two antique buffets and mirrors flanking the front window.   I love the tufted ottoman and the French settee.     Two Fortuny pillows sit on the sofa and a mirror and pair of sconces are hanging above.   Note:  Be sure to set your monitor on maximum view to see the entire picture. 

 

The living room, looking back towards the entry hall.  

 

The house has a nice, open flow to  it.   The dining room opens from the living room and the family room opens from the dining room.   The kitchen is next to the dining room.   The dining room has two benches instead of chairs.   The linen slip, with its ruffled flange, is rough – perfectly matched to the table.   There is also an antique trumeau and a painted buffet.   The first time I saw benches used like this was  in Pam Pierce’s house.   See pictures at the end of this story.

 

Connecting through the dining room is the family room – here the owners used Stark’s antelope carpet – a favorite in Houston.   The designer homeowner cozied up a sectional sofa with a custom made slipcovered ottoman in linen.   What a great idea – especially when blending his and hers – the ottoman really makes the typical sectional look atypical.  

 

And looking the other direction – the bookshelves are filled with French pots and books, turned backwards to give a unified look.  I know this is a controversial way to shelve books, but I love the way it looks, especially when the books are a collection of cheap paperbacks!   I think it looks great.   Notice how thick the shelves are – this is a great way to update a bookshelf.   Notice here, you can see that the flange trim on the sofa is darker, giving a contrasting accent to the sectional.   Pillows like this can be found all over the Ebay and Etsy or at Restoration Hardware.  

 

Restoration Hardware’s pillows, similar to the homeowner’s.

 

 

New Orleans antique dealer Karla Katz has a collection of these French pots on 1st dibs HERE.

 

 

 

 

Off the dining room is the kitchen and breakfast room.    

 

 

Vagabond Vintage sells burlap runners like those seen in the breakfast room.  Order VV through Olivine HERE.

 

 

The kitchen has stainless appliances and a new range hood.   There are  Carrara marble countertops and new open shelving.   The backsplash appears to have come from Chateau  Domingue HERE. 

 

 

This collection of tiles from Chateau Domingue are late 19th century.    They are actually colored cement tiles, called encaustic tiles.   Mostly the tiles are used on floors, but in Houston – many have been using them as backsplashes in powder rooms and kitchens.  

 

 

Another view of the kitchen with its simple linen curtains.  It looks like the wooden range hood was built around the steel one – which is a great idea to  copy!    The cabinets are painted a light gray to match the marble and encaustic tile backsplash.  Notice how the shelves are a rough wood, rather than smooth.  Great kitchen.

 

 

 

 

The master bedroom was enlarged and has a small sitting area and expanded bathroom and closet.  

 

 

Beautiful new bathroom – love the cabinet and the antique marble vessel sinks.   Great Rohl hardware.  Really well done.  Walker Zanger tile. 

 

 

The guest room is simple and sweet.  I like the shutters opened like that.   The skirted table is a simple burlap - Wisteria and Ballard Designs sell similar ones. 

 

 

Wisteria sells these, so does Ballard Designs.  HERE.

 

 

The second bathroom is softened with a custom made linen shower curtain and sink skirt.   Another linen is used as a shade. 

 

 

Nice landscaping and patio, along with vintage outdoor furniture.

 

 

Another view of the back yard – the trellis is a great way to soften the garage’s blank wall.

 

 

 

VERSION:  II

Here are the HAR pictures from the house when it was sold to the current owner in 2008.   Which version do you like best, I or II or a combination of the two?

Version II:   In this arrangement, there is a lot more furniture and the room looks totally different than Version I.  I love the Louis Philippe mirror and the French day bed and chairs on the back wall.  But, I am definitely missing the beautiful lush silk curtains from the first house.  

 

The living room from the other view.   I love the French chairs and table.   

 

 

The dining room is set up like Version I with a long rustic styled table and a buffet in the corner with a mirror over it.  The chandelier is crystal here, as opposed to the Italian styled one in the current house.  The same curtains are used here as in the living room.

 

 

 

 

Here, you can see the host chairs are slipped in white linen with a gray trim.  These owners have more contemporary pieces, like this mirror and the art work. 

 

 

The family room – I do really like this a lot.  I love the KWID print and the white slipped furniture.   The art work is perfect here.   This owner chose to use baskets in the shelves instead of books.  The walls are painted a deep taupe and there is wall to wall seagrass here. 

 

Another view – I really love this room!  Very nicely done. 

 

 

This owner chose to use a leather banquette and a Saarinen table.   Different, but very functional.  

 

 

The kitchen is so different now in Version I with the open shelving and new hardware.   Version I is such an improvement over all these upper cabinets.  I also like the new range hood in Version I than here. 

 

 

These owners chose to use the 3rd bedroom as an office.   Great carpet, furniture, and I love the dark chocolate walls. 

 

  The master bedroom with dark taupe walls has linen slipped headboard and chair with two Oriental end tables and a crystal chandelier.   Totally different decor from Version I.   

 

 

 

One of the bathrooms – nice and simple in gray tile.    But I do miss all the linen – the shades, the shower curtain; I think it warmed up this bathroom in Version I.

 

 

  This bedroom is much more decorated than in Version I.  Love the Rogers and Goffigon linen duvet and shams.   Very cute!

 

 

The backyard is set up for kids under this owner.

 

So, which is better, Version I or Version II.   Actually there are elements of both houses that I like.  I like the updated kitchen and bathrooms in Version I better.   And I like the living room and dining room in Version I.   But I prefer the family room and the bedrooms in Version II over I.   Agree???

 

Pam Pierce Slipcover Details :

Remember the dining room in Version I – with the two linen covered benches?    I love this look, and credit is due to Pam Pierce for making it popular.

 

 

In Pierce’s own house photographed for Veranda, her dining room featured two benches slipped in linen.   This was the first time I had seen this look updated for the 2000s.  

 

 

Chateau Domingue’s Ruth Gay has a similar look in her house.   I love this dining room – notice the beautiful jars on the buffet.  Gorgeous.   And notice the tablescape.  Just beautiful.   AND, it was Pam Pierce, of course, who was the designer who helped Gay with her house.

 

 

 

Recently, Southern Living published this picture – with two linen slipcovered benches.  My first thought when seeing these was they were inspired no doubt by Pam Pierce.  

 

 

 Another style that Pam Pierce first did and many others followed was her skirted tables.   Instead of running the fabric with two seams up the side, Pierce gathered the linen on top of the table.   It’s hard to see in this picture, but again, Pierce championed this look. 

 

 

In The Stone House featured here, the homeowner’s skirted dining table is modeled after Pierce’s.   The gathering is pulled onto the tabletop here.

 

In The Bennison House, interior designer Jane Wood HERE used a similar type of skirted table, the seam is just at the edge of the table. 

 

 

 

And in Sally Wheat’s living room, HERE,  she used a skirted table with the seam running on top.  FYI – Sally’s living room looks nothing like this today.  Not one piece in this room is here today except for the curtains.   Her new living room is contemporary!

Does Martha Stewart Want Huguette Clark's Spread?

Your Mama isn't sure why this little nugget of celebrity real estate scuttlebutt didn't find longer legs because it's 49 kinds of juicy even though it probably doesn't have a lick of truth to it.

According to a September 13th (2010) report on the something called Times of the Internet (via the not always reliable National Enquirer), billionaire domestic diva and trophy property collector Martha Stewart "covets" the 42-room Fifth Avenue spread of reclusive centenarian billion-heiress Huguette Clark.

As the children know, there has been quite a bit of brouhaha and ink spilled the last few months regarding the mysterious copper heiress Huguette Clark, her vast fortune estimated to be around half a billion bucks, and her three residences located in three of the country's ritziest zip codes. It's been reported that Miz Clark has not been inside her titanic apartment New York City at 907 Fifth Avenue at for more than 20 years, visited her vast estate overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Santa Barbara, CA since sometime in the 1960s and, despite having added an entire wing, never even stepped foot on the secluded New Canaan, CT estate she purchased during the 1950s as a kind of real estate security blanket in the event that the cold war got hot and she wanted to get out of New York City.

According to the National Enquirer's so-called "insider," Miz Stewart, who we hear from several sources already owns a smaller unit in the building with a kitchen that looks like a damn science lab, has "got the whole apartment redecorated in her mind. The deal seems to be all she can think about."

This "insider" also claims that Miz Stewart, a gal who makes other women (and gay men) feel totally and completely inadequate in their crafting and baking skills, is so intent on buying Huguette's 42-room beast on Fifth Avenue that she once sent a plate of her famous cream puffs up to Miz Clark's apartment as a kind of Trojan Horse. But alas, by that point Miz Clark had long been sequestered in a New York City hospital and the cream puffs were returned tout de suite by her staff.

Sometime after her cream puffs were rebuffed, according to this "insider," Miz Stewart went to the doorman of the undistinguished white glove building and "angrily demanded" that he tell her where Miz Clark was. But alas, the doorman did not know and once again Big Bad Martha, allegedly, was thwarted in her attempt to buy the epic-sized crib even before she really got started. Now chickens, please keep in mind that we don't know if these cream puff and doorman stories have a shred of veracity. However, iffin the stories were true it chills Your Mama to the core to ponder the icy resolve and quiet anger that we imagine would have slowly crept across Miz Stewart's face and into the marrow of her 68-year old bones. She is, after all and as we all know (or think we know), not used to not getting what she wants.

What's interesting about this report in the National Enquirer–which we are unable to find online–is that it does not include the most important detail regarding Huguette's 42-room "apartment." In actually Huguette's 42-room digs are two unconnected units on two different floors of the building. One is a full floor prairie like spread and the other a half-floor apartment where it has been reported Huguette keeps her extensive collection of dolls and dollhouses. Getting from one apartment to the other requires a short but inconvenient elevator ride.
A typical 14-room half floor apartment at 907 Fifth Avenue–as it was originally laid out (above)–would have included a 4-5 bedrooms, a 46-foot long entrance gallery, a 31-foot long living room with fireplace, formal dining room with fireplace, small library, and a kitchen with large butlers pantry. Live in staff would be accommodated in 3 cell-sized rooms that share just one pooper and a small servant's hall is where the live-ins would take their meals and quietly complain and gossip about the demands and proclivities of their wildly wealthy employers. According to the materials sent to Your Mama by one of The Children whom we'll call Hamilton Hasthefloorplan the fourteen room half floor units at 907 Fifth were first marketed with yearly lease prices of–are y'all sitting down?–$10,500.
Thanks to Hamilton Hasthefloorplan, Your Mama now has a seizure inducing floor plan for a 28-room full floor apartment at 907 Fifth Avenue that includes two 40-foot long drawing/living rooms, a 30-foot long library, dining room, colossal kitchen with pantry, six family bedrooms, and 5.5 poopers. The apartment's vast staff quarters include laundry facilities (with a drying porch), a maze of hallways, 9 punishingly small staff bedrooms that share 2 poopers, a small servant's hall, and a decent sized bedroom with private pooper for the housekeeper. The full floor apartments at 907 Fifth Avenue, according to marketing materials, were first offered with a yearly lease price of–sit down again and grab a nerve pill, puppies–$30,000. Lo-ward have mercy children that's a damn fraction of what Your Mama and the Dr. Cooter payed in annual rent for a much smaller 3 bedroom and 3 pooper downtown doo-plex.

Listen chickens, Your Mama does not know a peg leg from pin cushion so we haven't any idea whether either of these floor plans reflects an accurate layout of either of Huguette Clark's Fifth Avenue apartment(s). What they do reflect is how the apartments were laid out early in the building's history. Let's be honest though, whether they represent the layout of Huguette's two apartments or not, they are fascinating and jaw dropping bits of floor plan porn to pour over while sipping on an early afternoon gin and tonic.

floor plan image (half floor): Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library