Posted by Annalisa Burgos | June 23, 2009
Wanted: Architecture buff with deep pockets willing to put in some elbow grease.
Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous and endangered Ennis House in Los Angeles is on the market for $15 million.
The 6,000-square-foot Mayan-inspired estate, which lies on a hilltop in the Los Feliz neighborhood north of downtown L.A., is falling apart from earthquake and rain damage and desperately needs restoration.
The legendary architect built the home in 1924 in the experimental “textile block” style using 27,000 16-inch concrete blocks.
The current owner, the Ennis House Foundation, has already invested $6.5 million to stabilize the property. The new owner would need to put in an estimated $5 million to $7 million to restore the home, in addition to the $15 million purchase price. One condition of the sale will be a conservation easement to ensure that the public has access to the house a few days each year.
The main house features three bedrooms, an elevated dining room with massive fireplace, high ceilings, numerous art-glass windows, a rare Wright-signature glass-tile mosaic fireplace, billiards room, pool and small Japanese garden.
The sale is being handled by Hilton & Hyland and Dilbeck Realtors, with marketing services by Christie’s Great Estates.
The Ennis House has appeared in film and TV, including “Blade Runner,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Twin Peaks.”
Posted by Annalisa Burgos | May 13, 2009
Star Trek mania has gripped us all. (For the record, Star Trek was sold out when I went, so I saw X-Men instead. But I’m jumping on the bandwagon anyway.)
Today’s younger, sexier movie version of the sci-fi franchise proves that geeks aren’t the only ones into aliens and outer space. In fact, the real estate world has its own spaceship fetish.
Take this spaceship home on a hilltop in a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa, featured on HGTV’s World’s Most Extreme Homes.
The unique, 450-ton structure is made of 50 tons of reinforced steel and special windows manufactured to withstand intense weight and winds. Set above a rocky landscape, the home looks like a flyer saucer that just landed.
While it may look like a spaceship on the outside, it’s a typical home on the inside, with three bedrooms, living and family rooms, a kitchen, dining area, study, game room and garage.
Take the tour >>
Or you can live long and prosper in Chattanooga, Tenn., where this spaceship home was sold at auction for $119,000 in December 2008. The 1,500-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bathroom home was the model home for what was originally intended to be a subdivision of spaceship-style circular homes. But the builder discontinued the project. Take the tour >>
While Star Trek the movie may have raked in more than $75 million in its first weekend, it’s unlikely that Star Trek the home will generate that kind of moolah. These kinds of structures cater to such specific tastes that they violate the cardinal rule of home selling: Appeal to as many potential buyers as possible.
Posted by Annalisa Burgos | March 10, 2009
Barbie's Malibu home oozes contemporary style.
So Barbie just turned 50 (and looks fabulous might I add). Mattel went all out for its blond bombshell — renting out a real 3,500-square-foot Malibu mansion to pose as her dream home. (I wonder what the going rent rate is for the neighborhood.) It’s on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. And of course, it’s decked out in pink by interior decorator Jonathan Adler.
Some of the unique features: A chandelier made out of 30 blond wigs, an Andy Warhol portrait of Barbie, and a wall mirror of 64 dolls. Apparently, she loves to make cupcakes, since she’s got all the ingredients ready in her kitchen.
By the looks of it, her house seems to be ultra contemporary, with lots of windows to blend seamlessly with its breathtaking environment.
But contemporary houses aren’t for everyone. What style is right for you? Find out with FrontDoor’s Home Styles guide! Learn about 18 unique styles and share your style with our online community.
Inside, the design is undoubtedly over the top. In the real world, in this market, she probably wouldn’t be able to sell the home as is, since the style is so taste-specific that it may put off potential buyers in the future. (The blond wig chandelier in the living room freaks me out.) But then again, someone buying Barbie’s home would be buying it as a fan, not necessary for the house.
Should Barbie sell her home, her living room is too taste-specific for most buyers.
If anything, it would be cool just to live near her. And if you can’t afford to live in Malibu, there are other
great neighborhoods in L.A.
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