Thursday, April 19, 2007

Josh Duhamel and Fergie's New Brentwood Crib

BUYER: Josh Duhamel and Fergie
LOCATION: N. Kenter Avenue, Brentwood, CA
PRICE: $5,299,000 (list)
SIZE: 8,232 square feet, 8 bedrooms, 8.5 bathrooms
DESCRIPTION: Sophisticated celebrity owned jewel in the heart of Brentwood Hills. Remodeled to perfections in 2006, this 8bdrm, 9bathroom contemporary estate was finished with top fo the line upgrades and the best in taste and style. Breathtaking views of the world, as the coastline views make one feel on top of the city. Amenities include gated driveways, 2 kitchens, large master suite, media mr, pool and spa with large entertaining area, 2 garages, 2 sep wings, 2 family rms.

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Turns out Mister Do-ha-mel is not leaving Brentwood after all. That is according to the dozen or so emails and comments we received since yesterday morning about the sale of his Brentwood house which has been widely discussed by the real estate gossips. Your Mama admits we're going on a hunch and the word of a lot of anonymous tipsters who swear up and down that this house was recently purchased by Josh Dew-hawm-ul and his lady friend Fergie from famed long shot director Brian De Palma. Your Mama was not able to confirm this through property records because they haven't cleared yet. But when they do, and if Your Mama's pea brain remembers to look, we will let you know what the facts are in terms of the purchase price.

The house was listed by the very same Coldwell Banker agent that has the listing for Do-ha-muls house down the street. The house was marketed as a celebrity owned property, and it was in fact owned by Brian De Palma for a number of years. Property records reflect that the house was transferred to a non celebrity couple--who appear to be related to the listing agent--in late 2005. It's unclear to Your Mama if this reflected an actual sale or a transfer of trust. Whatever the case, Mister De Palma purchased this house in July of 1998 for $1,575,000 and owned it until at least the end of 2005.

Located just up the street from the house Mister Du-hah-mil has on the market for just under $2,400,000, this huge contempo-house rides high up in the hills of Brentwood and has spectacular views from all three levels. That's right, all three levels. The house was recently re-hauled and then staged to within an inch of it's life before being put on the market for $5,299,000. We imagine moving will be a snap for Mister Dew-hawm-il who can simply push his belonging over to the new place in a shopping cart.

When you first roll up to this place it's gives a monolithic but lackluster street presence. It just looks like a big split level suburban house that the Brady Bunch would live up in if they weren't relics of the 1970s. But closer inspection reveals the house has been kitted and fitted with "modern" amenities like a stainless steel front door and opaque glass garage doors. Your Mama is not a fan of the stainless from door, but we do have a penchant for those glass garage doors that look like light boxes when lit up at night.

This house is not one Your Mama would ever consider living, but there are some features about which we are very appreciative. Let's start with the kitchen. Your Mama loves to see an updated kitchen that looks both modern and timeless. We are tired of seeing over-processed $150,000 kitchens that look great today but are going to look dated and silly next week. So we would like to applaud the renovator/designer of this kitchen who provided an updated, clean and simply lined kitchen that looks great today and will not look outdated in a few years.

A quick spin through and around this house shows something that is not so easily seen in the photos above. There are patios and decks everywhere which provide an easy breezy indoor outdoor Southern California lifestyle. Your Mama particularly likes the covered patio on the third floor with it's long, long views to the West. A perfect place to sit and watch the sun set while swilling a few gin and tonics with the neighborhood blue hairs.

We like the double height family room with the large sectional sofa, but we are not feeling the window trim which we find distracting and not in keeping with the more contemporary vibe of the place. That should go.

One of the more "interesting" and troublesome features of this house is that it's really like two houses in one. Two driveways, two garages, two kitchens, two separate wings, two family rooms and etc. Your Mama is not sure why a young, childless, and relatively hip Hollywood couple would want or need more than 8,000 square feet and all those doubled up spaces. Seriously. Are they planning on moving another family into this place? Are they planning on each having their own wings of the house? Good to know that if ever these two part ways they can stay living up in this house and never have to cross paths.

Children this house is so big and could so easily fell chilly, vast, and sterile. So we sincerely hope Miz Fergie and Mister Dew-haw-mil hire a nice and talented gay decorator to get in there and work some magic to make this place feel like a home and not a hotel lobby. All due respect, but we also hope that Mister Do-hah-muhl stashes his current art "collection" in the attic or some other dark place where people with eyes do not go.

We hope that Fergie and Miste Do-hahm-ul will let us know when they get settled because we have a nice bottle of wine and a small and lovely painting we'd like to give them as a housewarming.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

"...where people with eyes do not go."

Priceless, Mama!

Anonymous said...

I looked at this house a little while ago when it was still available and I couldn't stand the way it looked from the street, when I drove up I said exactly what Mama said... Brady Bunch???

Anonymous said...

I just wanted to say that I love your blog and read it every day, and I'm wondering where you get your property record information, I too would like to look some things up ;)

Anonymous said...

Do please keep up the mama and baby talk. Somehow it works; I'd miss it. (Love your site so.)

Anonymous said...

I have seen the house also and it is extremely cool inside and the house was finished with very high quality materials. We should leave them alone.

Anonymous said...

Are Fergie and Josh living in the new house already or still in Josh's house?

Anonymous said...

Fergie and Joshs house is sooo amazing and im soo happy for them....I just wish so many people didnt know exactly where they lived hehe....

I love Fergie soo much <3

Peabody4life
Peas & Love
BEPkelly

xoxo

Anonymous said...

Isn't this the house that was in the 2000 movie Sexy Beast starring Ben Kingsley?