The �American Idol� Mansion on Mulholland Drive

by HOOKEDONHOUSES on MARCH 10, 2011

Have you been watching this season of �American Idol�? I can�t believe I�m saying this, but it has actually gotten pretty good this year. I was skeptical about their choice of judges and the show�s ability to move on without Simon Cowell, but they have managed to breathe some new life into the proceedings.

On last night�s show, Ryan Seacrest mentioned that the finalists had moved into a mansion together, so of course I had to see if I could track down photos of it. Turns out it�s a house in Beverly Hills that was already on another reality show earlier this week��Million Dollar Listing� on Bravo (love that show).

After slogging through the Beverly Hills real estate listings, I found the mansion onMulholland Drive. I recognized it right away as a house we had just seen real estate agent Josh Altman take a client to see on �MDL.�

They had only gotten halfway through the showing when Josh�s client said, �Um, yeah, I don�t need to see any more. Let�s move on.� And while I felt sorry for the crestfallen real estate agent who was giving them the tour, I could totally understand his lack of enthusiasm for the place.

The house has 15,000 square feet that includes 9 bedrooms and 9 baths. It looks way too big for a single family to live in comfortably, but it�s probably perfect for the AI kids to crash in for awhile.

The listing price for the house is $12 million, so why do these photos look like they were taken with a disposable camera in 1975?

Let�s hope none of the American Idol finalists attempt to actually sit on the benches on this ledge after a bad performance�

According to TMZ, the rent is $100,000 a month. *Cough.*

A lot of the beds in the house are up on raised platforms like this. Not sure I�d want to feel like I was sleeping on a stage.

My favorite thing about the house may be the view:

Do you have an �American Idol� contestant you�re rooting for? I think Casey is crazy talented, but so are a lot of the other finalists, so I have no idea who might end up in the top three. Anyone want to make a prediction?

More photos and information about the mansion on TMZ and the listing. Or check out Jennifer Lopez�s new digs.

�Flipping Out:� Ryan Brown at Home in L.A.

by HOOKEDONHOUSES on SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

It�s no secret that I love reality shows. My favorites are the ones that feature talented people doing what they�re best at, and Flipping Out fits the bill. It�s fun to see designers likeJeff Lewis and Ryan Brown at work. It�s the third season of the show, and their original business of flipping houses together is no longer as lucrative, so they�re doing more design work for clients instead.

The L.A. Times recently featured Ryan�s home in California. We�ve gotten glimpses of it on the show, and it always left me wanting to see more.

Here are Ryan and his partner Dale Monchamp (who was an interior designer himself before becoming a chef) in their kitchen with their adorable daughter Chloe.

If you�ve seen the show, then you know how Jeff Lewis likes to teach Chloe to say funny things. If Jeff asks what she wants to drink, he taught her to say, �Chardonnay!� �Where do you want to work when you grow up, Chloe?�  �Hooters!� He thinks this is hilarious. (Ryan, not so much.)

For the large center island (it seats 10!) they used river-washed black granite.

The living room:

The dining room:

The master bedroom:

The master bath:

One more shot of the kitchen, just because I love it so much. This is what my kitchen wants to be when it grows up (and starts earning its own paycheck):

Jeff and Ryan haven�t been getting along very well this season (<�understatement), and it looks like they might be going their separate ways.  If they do, I hope Bravo will give Ryan his own show (Andy Cohen, are you listening?!).

Ryan has a blog, Brown Design, where you can learn more about his current projects. Check out the L.A. Times article for all the beautiful photos and more information about his home. Or go to the official Flipping Out page on BravoTV.com to learn more about the show.

UPDATE: Did you see the cast reunion show? We�re discussing the Jeff Lewis-Ryan Brown throw-down here. Oh, and I posted photos of some rooms that Ryan designed for his clientshere if you missed it!