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.

Jennifer Lopez�s 1970s Colonial on Long Island

by HOOKEDONHOUSES on MARCH 24, 2009


Can you imagine this woman (above) living in this house (below)? Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony have reportedly purchased the white Colonial next door to their current home on the North Shore of Long Island. They paid $2.05 million for the 5-bedroom, 4 �-bath home built in 1972, which sits on 2.24 acres.



Today we�re going to play our �Which 5 Things Would You Change� game, but with a twist. Instead of telling me the first 5 things you�d change about the house if you bought it, I want to know what 5 things you think Jennifer Lopez would need to feel at home here.

Take a look through these MLS photos and then tell me�how would you J. Lo this up?













Some websites have speculated that the house may be for Jennifer�s mother Guadalupe, who helps care for twins Max and Emme (via Real LI). Others speculate that it�s simply a way to guard their privacy, and that the house might be coming down altogether to make room for extra tennis courts or something.

But let�s imagine they�re using it. What 5 changes would you make for J. Lo? If you need a reminder of what her decorating style is, check out the post I wrote about the nursery she decorated for her twins Max and Emme last year.

UPDATE: Valerie Kellogg of Newsday�s Real LI blog mentioned this post today and quoted some of the comments that you left here. Check it out�yours may have been one of them!

Jennifer Lopez�s New Hamptons Shingle-Style House

by HOOKEDONHOUSES on SEPTEMBER 29, 2011


Now that Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony have split, she�s making a fresh start, and her new shingle-style house in the Hamptons looks like the perfect place for it. The nearly $18 million Mecox Bay estate where Lopez will live with cutie-pie twins Max and Emme (shown here in an ad they shot for Gucci) sits on 2 acres in the exclusive Water Mill area with beautiful bay and ocean views.




The 14,000 square-foot house was designed by architect John Laffey and built in 2010. The rumors have been swirling that she might buy this house for weeks, but People magazine just confirmed it.



Looking up into the rotunda:

First Floor Hallway:

Living Room:

Dining Room:

It looks a little stark and cold since it�s empty, but I imagine it�ll be gorgeous once it�s furnished and decorated. I hope she�ll let a magazine photograph it like Veranda did with her place in California. This is my kind of house. I love all the windows and the woodwork. Wouldn�t mind the 7 fireplaces, either.

Library:



The house has 7 bedrooms and 9.5 baths. The master is so big I thought it was a living room at first:



Master Bath:

The �Junior Suite:�

Upstairs Landing:



There�s a fireplace and TV for people using the spa outside:





The side of the house:

Like it? More photos and information on the Corcoran website and this site set up for the house. You can also see the floorplans here.



If you�re a Jennifer Lopez fan, check out the house in Cali she bought when she took the �American Idol� gig. I�ve also featured the houses from her movies The Back-up Planand Monster-in-Law.

(Thanks to all the helpful readers who wrote me about this, including Kim who always has her finger on the pulse of real estate news!)



Click Here to see More Celebrity Houses!

Jennifer Lopez�s Brownstone in �The Back-up Plan�

by HOOKEDONHOUSES on AUGUST 8, 2011

The 2010 romantic comedy The Back-up Plan starring Jennifer Lopez and Alex O�Loughlin didn�t get great reviews, but a lot of my readers gave the set design two thumbs up. I finally had a chance to watch the movie myself this weekend and get some photos of Zoe�s apartment in New York City for you.

First off, does the front of her brownstone look familiar?

According to On the Set New York, it�s only two doors down from Carrie Bradshaw�s apartment in �Sex and the City� (70 Perry Street and Bleecker Street in Manhattan).

The real interiors of this apartment weren�t used for the movie, though�they were created at Warner Bros. studios in California.

The Production Designer for this movie was Alec Hammond, and the Set Decorator was Kathy Lucas. Interestingly, the project Lucas worked on before this one was The Ugly Truth�another movie I�ve gotten a lot of requests for (and I�ll get to it eventually, I promise!).

It was great seeing Linda Lavin as Lopez�s �Nana� in this movie. I grew up watching reruns of her sitcom �Alice� that seemed to play on an endless loop in the afternoons (�Kiss my grits!�). Tom Bosley played Lavin�s boyfriend in the movie. This was his final role before his death last year at the age of 83.

When the camera pans up the exterior of the brownstone and looks through a window, we can see the sofa in Zoe�s living room:

The Back-up Plan was supposed to be Jennifer Lopez�s �movie comeback.� Her last one had been El cantante in 2006 with husband Marc Anthony (the couple recently announced their split). She had taken time off to be with her twins Max and Emme (you can see their nursery here).

In this shot of Zoe sitting in her dining room, you can see that it opens into her bedroom without any doors between the two (a reader points out that there were probably pocket doors that were just not used):

A quick shot of the fireplace in the dining room:

The kitchen seems pretty big for a city apartment. One thing I learned from this movie is that there must be a lot money in running an �ethical pet store� like Zoe does. 

Did you know Alex O�Loughlin is Australian? One of his first roles was as part of the �kissing couple� (that�s how he was billed) in The Holiday. Now he plays Steve McGarrett in the new version of �Hawaii Five-O.�

Zoe�s bathroom has blue and red tile:

Her bedroom has an upholstered headboard that I�ve gotten a lot of emails about�everyone seems to love it and want one just like it:

UPDATE: A reader found the bed at Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams. It�s called the Celina bed (thanks, Katy!):

At the end of the movie, we get a glimpse into a room off the dining room that I don�t think we�d seen before, which has now become a nursery for the twins:

What did you think of �The Back-up Plan�? Did you fall in love with her apartment?

P.S. If you missed it, take a look at Jennifer Lopez�s new house in California, where she moved after taking the job on �American Idol� last year (according to reports, she�s close to signing on for a second season).