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.

Clintons Westchester County Mansion

Bill and Hillary Clinton are reportedly closing in on an $11 million, 20-acre estate near New York.

The former president and the current Secretary of State are set to become neighbours to the likes of Richard Gere, Martha Stewart and Glenn Close in Bedford Hills, 40 miles north of New York.

Clover Hill Farm has high fences, two guesthouses and six bathrooms in the main 7,000 sq ft mansion, ample room for future grandchildren and the Secret Service agents.

Although it was built only 10 years ago, the entire mansion retains a rustic feel with exposed wooden support beams.



The master bedroom has its own fireplace, along with his-and-hers dressing rooms and bathrooms. The "hers" room is two stories tall.

The home, which also features a wine cellar, a heated pool, artist studio and stable, has been put up for sale by Paul Wallace, whose Manhattan property firm the Broadstone Group was declared bankrupt in May.

The Clintons are so keen on the estate that the deal could come within days of daughter Chelsea's July 31 wedding to Marc Mezvinsky in Rhinebeck.

Source: Telegraph - Nypost

Ben Affleck And Jennifer Garner Buy Luxury Home In Los Angeles

By Christina S.N. Lewis from The Wall Street Journal Asia

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner have bought movie producer Brian Grazer'sLos Angeles house for roughly $17.5 million. That's about 40% less than Mr. Grazer's original asking price, $27.5 million.

Built in 1940 and designed by Cliff May, the one-story mansion was owned for a time by actor Gregory Peck, who had bought it in 1947.

Features in the five-bedroom mansion, which has been renovated and redesigned by Obama White House decorator Michael S. Smith, include eight baths (including his and hers baths in the master suite), a master suite with a fireplace, a projection room (said in listing information to be the "best projection room in L.A."), an art studio, a dance studio and a gym, according to listing information.



Outdoor features on the gated property include a long, tree-lined driveway; a swimming pool; a brand-new, underground two-bedroom guesthouse with a billiard room a craft room and three baths; another building containing an office/gym/art studio and two baths; and a basketball court, according to listing information.



This article has been republished from Wall Street Journal

�The Bachelor� & �Bachelorette� Pad in California

by HOOKEDONHOUSES on JUNE 14, 2010

Last year Big-Time Listings reported that the rustic Italian-style mansion in Agoura Hills, California, where the popular �Bachelor� and �Bachelorette� reality shows (and now �Bachelor Pad�) are filmed, was on the market for $6.75 million.

The listing has since been removed, and I�m not sure if it sold or not. But the house, known asVilla De La Vina, has an official website with photos that show what it looks like when it�s not all dolled up for TV. You can apparently rent it out for your own special event.

They redecorate the mansion for every season, so it always looks a little different. Here�s a photo of the living room from Ali�s season of �The Bachelorette.�

The only thing that looks the same in the shot of the room on the Villa De La Vina website is the floor (wood surrounded by tile, and a tile border that runs around the baseboard):

Another shot of the living room, from another angle:

On the other hand, I�d recognize that (in)famous pool anywhere:

Here�s the cabana, where many a romantic scene has taken place:

Looking inside the house, we see the staircase that many a girl has run up, crying:

The kitchen:

The family room off the kitchen:

To get all the best spoilers on the �Bachelor� shows, season after season, check out Reality Steve. He�s rarely wrong!

The dining room:

Remember Jesse Csincsak, the man Deanna Pappas chose during the 2008 season of �The Bachelorette,��only to dump him a few months later?

Jesse describes the mansion to RADAR magazine:

�The Mansion is more of a compound than a mansion. It only has 4 bedrooms upstairs. Downstairs are the rose ceremony room, her room with all the guys� photos in it and the kitchen and the living room. The rest of the house that you never see is filled with production equipment.

�The Compound has 7 ft concrete walls all around it with security guards walking the perimeter so there is no way in or out. The Mansion has microphones throughout so they can always hear what�s going on and when something good happens they send one of their 24 hr a day camera crews to investigate��

In this aerial shot you can see those walls surrounding the perimeter that he mentions:

More photos of the house at Villa De La Vina. (Thanks to Kim for the link!)

Mel Gibson�s Tudor-Style Mansion in Greenwich

According to the Daily Mail, Mel Gibson�s house in Greenwich, Connecticut, just won�t sell. It�s been on the market since 2007, when the price was set at $39.5 million. Two years later, it has been slashed to a paltry $29.75 million. So if you love a good bargain, now�s your chance to snap it up!

�Old Mill Farm� was designed and built by the architect Charles Lewis Bowman in 1926 for a client who loved horses. It has 15 bedrooms and 17 bathrooms, with 16,000 square feet.

The grand living room with cathedral ceilings, dark wood-paneled walls, and stained-glass windows:

The house comes with a maze on the property. I love the gate leading to it:

I think I could be perfectly happy living in the charming staff quarters:

The house sits on 77 acres. The grounds and formal gardens were beautifully designed by landscape designer James Doyle.

Gibson has been in the news a lot lately since Robyn, his wife of 28 years and the mother of his 7 children, filed for divorce. Soon after, he announced that he is expecting an 8th with his Russian girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva. He said we can now refer to him as �Octo-Dad.� (I�d rather not.)