Friday, August 10, 2012

Goalie Hope Solo Scores Gold Medal and New Mansion

BUYER: Hope Solo
LOCATION: Kirkland, WA
PRICE: $1,200,000
SIZE: 5,330 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Huzzah! Looks like Wheatie's box ready American soccer goalie Hope Solo has won a (second) Olympic gold medal and bought a new, lake-view mansion in the affluent Seattle suburb of Kirkland, WA.

The Bizzy Boys at Celebrity Property Aerial and property records both reveal 31-year old Miss Solo—who made several downright spectacular saves in yesterday's electrifying gold medal match against Japan—ponied up $1,200,000 for her new Kirkland crib in late April, 2012.

Listing information Your Mama found on the interweb shows the Dancing With the Stars semi-finalist's spacious new spread, privately situated on a wooded hillside above Lake Washington, spans a family-friendly 5,330 square feet on two floors with three to four bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, and two fireplaces.

The contemporary Prairie-style inspired exterior, defined by deep eaves and ochre-toned horizontal wood siding broken by ribbons of windows and walls of glass doors gives way to spacious and luxurious if architecturally pared down and ho-hum open-plan interior spaces. Gleaming, honey-colored hardwood floors in the roomy entrance hall switches to (stain-attracting) bone-colored wall-to-wall carpeting in the formal living and dining rooms as well as in the compact, corporate-flavored office/library outfitted with built-in desk and floor-to-ceiling bookcases.

Less-formal, family quarters include a large, wood-floored, U-shaped eat-in kitchen with slab granite counter tops, dark raised-panel cabinetry, high-quality built-in stainless steel appliances, lots of windows and dark wood beams across the ceiling. The adjoining breakfast area opens through wood-framed glass doors to the backyard and swimming pool and steps down to a carpeted family room finished with inset wood ceiling and two full walls of nearly floor-to-ceiling windows and doors that provide direct backyard access and sparkling, over-the-tree-top city and lake views.

Listing information indicates there are at least two more "bonus rooms" for lounging and recreation as well as a wine cellar and squeezy media room where Staging Lady in a Pink Toyota inexplicably thought it would be cute to stick some films reels up on the wall and call it day-core. Uh, no. Anyhoo, there's also a two-car attached garage with direct access to the residence, according to listing information, plus a sizable detached structure located across a side motor court with workshop and four more pristinely-finished, art-gallery-like garage spaces.

The back of the lower level spills out to a huge terrace with sunken, lap-length swimming pool and spa, cabana-lounge with sunset views over Lake Washington. Set below the house and swimming pool terrace there's a full-sized sport court. Of course, a sport court is a total waste of space in Your Mama's lexicon of desirable property characteristics but we can certainly understand why a celebrated and decorated jockette like Miss Hope might find one appealing and maybe even useful.

Property records reveal this isn't currently single but (maybe) mingling Miss Solo's first time at the real estate rodeo. In August 2005 the soccer ball blocker paid $259,000 for a modest (and pretty minuscule) 1,090 square foot Kirkland (WA) residence with 3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. Our entirely unscientific research indicates she continues to own her bantam bachelorette pad and it does not currently appear to be on the market.

listing photos: Lake Real Estate (via Zillow)

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

While the exact definition of mansion can be debated, this is a 5300SF house.

Anonymous said...

5300SF is several times as big as the average American's home, so yes it is a mansion.

Anonymous said...

Anon 1:41- Average American house size (per census) is about 2500SF, that is not "several times".

This is no mansion.

Anonymous said...

Whether it's a mansion is debatable, but it looks like Home Depot meets Pier 1.

Here's a house in Redmond (about 4.5 miles inland) that I found on Hemmings and like better (it's also cheaper):
http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/realestate/unspecified/unspecified/1452996.html

I lived in Portland,OR, at one point in my life and I must say that I'm not a big fan of the Pacific Northwest - and I include NOCAL in that.

Anonymous said...

It's a mini mansion. At 7,000+ square feet, it's a mansion.

'Cuz I say so!

Anonymous said...

I think officially (per Realtors), mansion is 8000+.

Mark from SF said...

@Doug, first of all, I totally agree with your "Home Depot meets Pier 1" comment. But what does one expect from a 31 year old athlete??

Now on the NORCAL dig, please don't be starting any LA-SF wars. Cuz you are going to go down in flames on that one, if you do.... I'm just sayin'

Anonymous said...

I agree, 5,300 is not a mansion. Mini-mansion would be correct. My neighborhood is flooded with homes this size and I definitely would not call them mansions. My home is 7,000 plus and I don't think that qualifies as a mansion either. With the size of estates today, I honestly think you have to hit 12,000 plus to truly be considered a mansion. I think the quality of materials should also factor into the equation also.

Anonymous said...

Mark, I just said I didn't enjoy living in the PNW, I never insulted the area. I regularly support SF by purchasing Rice-a-Roni.

Petra's said...

I agree, square footage only tells a small part of the whole story. For instance, a 10,000SF ranch-style house - that's definitely not a mansion. But there are plenty of 5000 and 6000SF mansions in BH flats and in exclusive gated communities elsewhere that were built with millions of dollars invested - those are definitely mansions. The features and locations are very important too.

This place is more like a mini-mansion, nothing particularly original or expensive-looking about it, but still a decent-sized house.

Candy Spelling said...

Back in the early 1990s, anything greater than 4000 square feet was considered a mansion! Can you imagine?! However, since the completion of The Manor many experts have had to re-evaluate their priorities. Socially, at least in the Platinum Triangle area, anything under 14,000 square feet is considered an ordinary home (generally).

Anonymous said...

"August 10, 2012 8:54 PM =I think the quality of materials should also factor into the equation also.
"

i 100% agree with you 8:54

amazing mansions all over the USA, older buildings @5,000 sq ft or so.
but with Amazing stone, millwork, floors, plaster, windows/stone leaded etc

10,000 sq feet of Dry wall and ugly-marble floors and Candy's "damask" wall "panels" does NOT a mansion make.

Anonymous said...

I thought these Olympic competitors were "amateurs", looks like corporate America is blurring the lines of ethics again. Nice when full time amateurs can live in million dollar plus homes, so much for equal competition. Easy to train and win when your living expenses are more than covered. More twisted sports ethics!!

Anonymous said...

They are not amateurs, and neither are Olympic competitors from many other countries. Hope Solo has several big endorsements, including Gatorade.

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