Yes, this one. The one she paid 9 million dollars for and took a hit of almost 4 million dollars just to get out of it? Of course the lawsuits did fly, so perhaps she's had a bit of a financial bailout. Then, remember, a mysterious Russian came along, who may have been a baritone or maybe just a billionaire, and snapped it up for 5 million? Apparently he snapped his fingers as well; barely 9 months later, he has this:
I guess he's not looking to hold on to it, as he has now boomeranged it back onto the market with an asking price of $9,950,000, half a million dollars more than it's original, pre-Rhianna price tag. So now this...
...has become this....
The pre-Rihanna master bedroom, which looked like this...
..has now become this...
The new Master Bath is pretty spiffy too.
The current listing broker describes the Master Bedroom Suite decor as "rocker chic". Since I didn't see any rocking chairs, perhaps Rhianna should sue for image infringement as well.
As you may be able to tell from the photos, this house has now been staged within an inch of its life. There's even a light fixture suspended over the two story living room....
..that probably put the owner back a big pile of rubles even though it looks like some sort of exploding cartoon sperm, maybe in a Tim Burton film. But on the whole, the house is very much a Statement. Of some kind. The guest and/or children's bedrooms really aren't much, compared to the rest. Perhaps that is intentional: guests may get the message not to plan a long stay and kids, well kids would probably be an afterthought to the buyer of this kind of house anyway.
That said, it does have great views and light everywhere and by the time I got to the master bedroom, somehow the whole fantasy was working for me. "I could live here, I thought," ignoring the concept of paying for it.
A few moments later, I realized what I was really thinking was, "I could stay here." For a while. But eventually, how out of place would a refrigerator full of family pictures and news clipping of friends look here? To be totally honest, how long would it stay white, given the number of pets and teenagers that seem to surround me? And of course the whole look is thrown completely off if you drop a book here or there.
It will be interesting to see how quickly it sells this time. It could be fast; it does have big market appeal. It is indeed a house that coincides with a theory of mine: the dream of the majority of Angelenos is to live in the Peninsula Hotel. If they can't, they want it to seem like they do. I walk into countless numbers of immaculately staged and styled homes each month and leave thinking, "Hmm; feels like a nice hotel."
My theory began to dawn on me sometime during our 2nd year here. The parents of one of my 7 year old son's friends, both truly talented architects, came over one evening to fetch their son. As him mom stepped into our living room she said, "Oh. You have personal things. And books. That's so great." It was then I first realized that this was deemed a bit of an oddity here. Seeing 15-20 different houses each week has only confirmed my theory
I don't know where Rhianna has moved on to. A part of me really wants to believe it's a '50's ranch house in Studio City with avocado hued kitchen appliances. That doesn't leak.
But if you, or a friend, is thinking of living either of those lifestyles, don't hesitate to call me.
Jamie Foreman
323-314-1906
