Friday, 8 March 2013
LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA
PRICE: $2,700,000
SIZE: 3,603 square feet, 5 bedrooms, 3.75 bathrooms
YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Last December (2012) Billy Bob Thornton sold his 11,000+ square foot hacienda style mansion in the flats of Beverly Hills for $8,000,000 to a not-famous but obviously very rich couple, he an orthopedic surgeon and she a dentist.*
The quirky Oscar winning actor/writer/director (Sling Blade, A Simple Plan, Jayne Mansfield's Car) must be looking for a little more peace, quiet and privacy. His new and secluded Tinseltown home—a modestly scaled Connecticut country traditional acquired in late January 2013 for $2,700,000—is located deep into affluent and Arcadian Mandeville Canyon in the Brentwood area, well past philanthropist Glorya Kaufman's 48-acre Amber Hills estate and the 112-acre Robert Taylor Ranch that, after first being listed years ago for $65,000,000, finally sold last year at auction for $12,000,000 to a Chicago-based concern. But we digress...
Listing details show the secluded two-story, 3,603 square foot sycamore tree surrounded house was built in the late 1950s at the tail end of a long gated driveway. We don't know if Mister Thornton chose to keep the color scheme or not but at the time he acquired the residence the board and batten exterior was painted a shade Your Mama might describe as light mushroom with bright white trim and an extra-vivid tomato red front door with Old-Timey diamond paned windows. Listing details we dug up online show the five bedroom and 3.75 bathroom domicile has been totally remodeled and updated with modern creature comforts that include central HVAC, water filtration and hardcore security systems.
A monolithic double-sided stacked stone fireplace separates the roomy living room—with wood floors and large windows on three walls—from the formal dining room that comfortably seats eights and spills out to the backyard through a matching pair of French-type doors on two walls.
The eat-in center island kitchen looks recently renovated in a country meets modern manner with crisp white Shaker style cabinetry, Carrara marble counter tops, a walk-in pantry, white porcelain apron front sink, high grade stainless steel appliances. A raised snack bar separates the kitchen proper from the built-in banquette dining area where French doors open to a partially covered flagstone dining terrace.
Four guest/family bedrooms on the main floor share two full and one three quarter bathrooms while the entire second floor is given over to the master suite that's complete with fitted walk-in closet, marble bathroom and an adjoining office/den/nursery that—like the bedroom itself—opens through French doors to a private balcony.
A sinuous, curving stacked stone wall topped by a meticulously clipped boxwood hedge makes a strong demarcation between the manicured areas of the backyard and the rugged, steep hillside that rises behind the house. The backyard isn't particularly big but its amenities are many and in addition to the aforementioned flagstone dining terrace off the kitchen, there's a pill-shaped and solar heated saltwater swimming pool ringed by more flagstone terracing, an also flag stoned lounge area with massive free-standing stacked stone fireplace, a flat and partially tree-shaded grassy area perfect for piddling pooches, a children's playhouse and a stacked stone barbecue/wet bar/ kitchen with built-in keg tap. Maybe it's just Your Mama who prefers real liquor over beer but a built-in beer tap is just never classy, is it? No, it's not, is it? Not even when its attached to a $2.7 million dollar house in a posh L.A. zip code.
There certain places one can look on the internets that say Mister Thornton owns—or owned—a penthouse in Paris but Your Mama don't know nuthin' about that celebrity real estate canard. We do know that property records show Mister Thornton still owns a four bedroom and three bathroom residence in Malibu, CA—on a gated cul-de-sac just north of the PCH above Point Dume—that he picked up in April 2007 for $2,350,000.
*Property records show Mister Thronton and his fifth and last wife Angelina Jolie purchased the gated mini-estate in August 2000 for $3,750,000. In May 2003, subsequent to their much publicized split, the nine bedroom and eight bathroom Bev Hills abode was deeded exclusively to Mister Thornton.
listing photos: Prudential California
