Celebrity Digs HQ

We Have Moved!

2010-02-12T12:11:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone, We have moved our site to http://www.celebritydigshq.com/. We're still tinkering with it, but we hope you like the new format! --CDHQ

Celebrity Digs HQ Will Be Back Next Year!

2009-12-14T07:35:00.001-05:00

Yikes, the holiday season is upon us! Celebrity Digs HQ is taking a break from our posts for the rest of the year. We'll be back on Monday, January 4, 2010. Happy Holidays!

Oprah's "Christmas at the White House" Special to Air Sunday

2009-12-07T07:54:00.010-05:00

Oprah Winfrey recently taped an interview with President Barack Obama and his family for her "Christmas at the White House: An Oprah Primetime Special." She also tours the White House, giving us all the opportunity to see the changes made to it since the Obamas moved in. The special will air on ABC this Sunday, December 13.

As you may recall, First Lady Michelle Obama hired famed interior designer Michael S. Smith (above) earlier this year to help decorate the White House. He's one of our all-time favorite designers and a perfect choice for the White House (below).

Can't what to see what Michael's done!

White House photo source: Karen Leonard Photography.

Christina Aguilera's Beverly Hills Home

2009-12-04T08:22:00.004-05:00

This month's issue of one of favorite magazines, In Style, features singer Christina Aguilera's Mediterranean style mansion. This home formerly belonged to the Ozzy Osbourne family, of music and reality TV fame. The house was completely redesigned for Christina's family by one of our fabulous @CelebrityDigsHQ Twitter friends, interior designer Jaime Rummerfield (@JRummerfield). Fortunately, one of our favorite bloggers, Julia at Hooked on Houses, posted lots of photos showing Christina's newly-designed home, including several "before" shots from when it belonged to the Osbournes. Go check out Julia's post!

Speaking of Ballers: NBA Player Lamar Odom and Khoe Kardashian Buy Home

2009-12-03T10:26:00.002-05:00

Trulia just reported that NBA baller Lamar Odom and his new bride Khloe Kardashian just bought a mediterranean style home in Tarzana, California. It was listed for $3,995,000. Guess he didn't need to sell his other house first to come up with the down payment.

Anyway, this 7BR/8.5BA home has more than 8,300 square feet and comes with a gated entrance, gym, and movie room. So if this is indeed a fake marriage as rumored, at least they have plenty of room to stake out separate areas of the house. We grabbed a couple of shots of the house before the listing disappears. Here's the kitchen:

Looks like the master bedroom (below) has nice views:

Ditto for the master bath, which reminds us a bit of the one in Dorothy Dandridge's former home (though we liked hers much better):

This is a nice house, but they need to get someone in there quick to paint those interiors. To see what we mean, go check out the virtual tour here. Don't forget to come back and tell us what you think!

Former NFL Player Michael Strahan's NYC Loft Condo for Sale

2009-12-03T09:26:00.002-05:00

In light of the Tiger Woods scandal, CNN just posted an article about how difficult it is to be a baller's wife, noting the common concerns about infidelity. Not believing this to be true of all ballers, we went in search of nice-guy baller digs. We ran across this Tribeca loft (above) that's currently up for sale. It belongs to Michael Strahan, former defensive end for the New York Giants and current football analyst for FOX.

Michael is known for his philanthropic efforts. Interestingly, the only controversy we know of associated with Michael is the reverse of what's happening with Tiger. Michael is engaged to Eddie Murphy's ex-wife Nicole Murphy, who was rumored to have cheated on Michael. Michael allegedly implanted a hidden GPS on her car to track her whereabouts.

As for the loft, we like it! It was recently reported in the Wall Street Journal that he was asking $1.875 million, but now the price is down to $1.85 million.

It's a large space at 1911 square feet, with two bedrooms and two baths. It's located in a pre-war building with a gym and roof deck. The unit has sand-blasted walls exposing the brick (top photo), a sizable kitchen (above), and hardwood floors. Everything is painted white, so you're working with a blank slate. Here's the master bedroom:

Even though we understand he rarely uses this place, it was obviously staged for resale. How do we know? The furniture is too delicate (Can he even fit in that Barcelona chair in the living area?). More importantly, there's no giant flat screen TV to watch football!

If Brad and Angelina Split, Who Gets the House in New Orleans?

2009-12-02T08:30:00.007-05:00

If you're sick of the Tiger Woods story, there's another story brewing . . . about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Somebody just wrote a book about them, suggesting they may be headed to splitsville. We certainly hope it's not true. We've always liked this couple, particularly Brad's efforts to help rebuild New Orleans, Angelina's humanitarian work, and their combined charitable donations.

Remember that Domestic Bliss spread (top photo) they did for W magazine? Or how they tried to kill each other in the Mr. and Mrs. Smith movie? Was that art foreshadowing life?

Oh well! They won't be the first Hollywood couple to split up. But wait a minute! Brad and Angelina don't live in Hollywood! They live in New Orleans! Specifically, they live in this historic mansion located in the French Quarter:

The front entrance (above) is deceptively low key. But the rear courtyard below, typical of grand New Orleans homes, reveals the true charm . . .

. . . and size of this home, which includes a separate guesthouse in the back:

And the interior of this home is as charming as the exterior. These photos are a couple of years old and show what the home looked like just before Brad and Angelina purchased it in 2007.

As expected, the rooms look a little choppy and narrow. Like this master bedroom:

But we love the tall ceilings, chandelier, and fireplace above. Likewise for the dining room below. Did you notice the transom windows over the doorways?

We're sure the decor has changed substantially. But the kitchen below looks like it was previously renovated:

We really like this kitchen and hope Brad and Angelina didn't change it!

Come to think of it, we wonder what they did to make it and the rest of the home suitable for their six children!

Tell us, do you think this looks like a good home in which to raise children?

Former NBA Star Latrell Sprewell Heading for Foreclosure

2009-12-01T08:52:00.001-05:00

We first learned that ex-NBA player Latrell Sprewell was possibly facing foreclosure yesterday on Bossip. Looks like it's true. Luxist reports that his home in Purchase, New York, is scheduled for a sheriff's sale in January 2010. Nearly a decade ago, Latrell bought the 7BR home(the same one where he was accused of attacking his girlfriend a few years ago) for $2.3M. It sits on 3.3 acres and comes with a gym, pool, spa, basketball court, and a recording studio. The home is currently listed for $3.8M.

Visit Luxist to see photos of the inside. We'll stay behind and bite our tongues about the interior decor!

Neighbors at Legal War Over Rihanna's Big Move

2009-11-30T10:39:00.003-05:00

Here's another recent story from TMZ on singing superstar Rihanna. Rihanna previously rented a house in the Hollywood Hills that she allegedly considered buying. She eventually moved out after an angry neighbor sued her for trampling his property. Now her former landlord is reportedly suing the angry neighbor for killing the sale.

More details here: Neighbors at Legal War Over Rihanna's Big Move

Lamar Odom's House -- Now with Furniture!

2009-11-30T10:08:00.003-05:00

TMZ recently reported that Lamar Odom is so anxious to sell his Manhattan Beach, California home that he just paid to have it staged. We don't think this information is particularly newsworthy--except to note that the house doesn't look any better than it did before.

Go see for yourself: Lamar Odom's House -- Now with Furniture!

Tiger Woods: Car Trouble in Paradise?

2009-11-30T08:30:00.002-05:00

By now you've heard that golf phenom Tiger Woods was involved in a single-vehicle car accident at 2:25am on Friday right in front of his house. He was knocked unconscious for a couple of minutes. The neighbor called 911. And Tiger's wife, Erin (shown with him above), used a golf club to break the car window.

Rumors started flying everywhere! After all, where was Tiger going at that late hour? Why hasn't he talked to the police? Did he and Erin have a fight? Did she use the golf club because she was angry? Is Tiger having an affair? Why did he issue a statement saying that "the situation" was all his fault and promise that it won't happen again? How can anyone promise a car accident won't happen again--unless he's not really talking about the car accident?

And, finally, what's the scoop on his house? There are lots of photos out there purported to show his home. But which one is really his?

Well, we can at least help clear up the last matter! Tiger lives with his wife and two kids in a luxury lake home in Isleworth, a private gated community in the Orlando suburb of Windermere, Florida.

After the accident, there were lots of stories showing this house as belonging to him:

The problem is, this house is not on a lake. It's actually on a beach! In Hawaii! And it's not Tiger's house!

Here's another one that is more commonly shown in connection with Tiger's accident story:

Well at least it's close -- very close in fact -- but it's not Tiger's house either! It's actually right next door!

HERE is Tiger's house:

We'll let you know if we dig up photos of the interior!

Happy Cyber Monday!

2009-11-30T07:25:00.001-05:00

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday! As you probably figured out by now, we took the entire week off last week. Next time, we'll try to give you a little notice beforehand. Now, let's spend the day shopping online and catching up on news stories about celebrity homes!

Up first: Tiger Woods!

Richard Gere Sells His Hamptons Home for $5.9M

2009-11-20T07:32:00.001-05:00

Speaking of the Hamptons . . . Forever handsome Richard Gere and his lovely wife, actress Carey Lowell, recently sold their home in the Hamptons for $5.9 million. According to the Wall Street Journal, the new owner paid about a third less than the asking price. Fortunately for us, the WSJ has a slideshow allowing us to peek inside this 7BR home, which sits on 1.2 acres in Water Mill, NY.

The approaching winter clearly has us obsessed with fireplaces right now. We hated the one in Russell and Kimora Lee Simmons' NJ estate. But we loved the fireplaces in Barefoot Contessa/Ina Garten and Jason Winer's homes. And we love the one in this bedroom below:

Okay, so it's not glamorous, but it has a rustic country feel that we like.

Likewise for the kitchen above and dining room below.

Mismatched chairs always make us feel like we can relax. This looks like a perfect spot for Thanksgiving dinner--something else that's also on our minds lately!

Tell us what you think. Would you prefer an informal dining room like Richard and Carey's or a more formal dining room for Thanksgiving?

Top photo from The Insider. House photos from Saunders Associates.

The Barefoot Contessa's Barn

2009-11-19T08:21:00.046-05:00

With Thankgiving only one week away, our thoughts are naturally turning to cooking and entertaining. We've always loved the Barefoot Contessa cookbooks by Ina Garten, who also has her own show of the same name on the Food Network. She has a beautiful home in East Hampton and recently built a barn(!) for entertaining her friends.

Ina's barn houses a large multi-purpose room with a wonderful open kitchen and dining area. The visible rafters give it that barn-like feel, yet it is still so remarkably cozy! We think the fireplace (top photo) makes a huge difference. We also like that she included comfy arm chairs at the dining table so that it can double as a reading space.

The barn also serves as a guest house, with a beautifully simple approach to decor. We love the mottled mirror over the sofa in the entry. The objects located across from it make it appear as if it is a painting.

The bedroom and bath are likewise peaceful and simple:

Can you believe all of this is inside this inconspicuous looking building below?!!!

We love it! If you want to see more barn photos, check out the House Beautiful slideshow.

Also, the folks at House Beautiful liked Ina's barn so much, they asked her to recreate it in Rockefeller Plaza and named it their 2009 Kitchen of the Year. Check out the video here:

We love it too!

VIDEO: Forbes on Celebrity Real Estate Woes

2009-11-18T07:04:00.005-05:00

Here's something we ran across on Twitter: a Forbes video discussing how celebrities aren't immune from the problems in the real estate market. It offers glimses inside the homes of Nicholas Cage, Ellen DeGeneres, Eddie Murphy, and other celebs who have had to slash sales prices drastically. The video also mentions LaToya Jackson, Stephen Baldwin, Toni Braxton and other celebs facing foreclosure.

We posted or tweeted many of these stories over the past several months. In fact, we tweet LOTS of stories when we don't have time to write about them ourselves. So if you want to read about more celebrity homes than those you see here, please FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: @CelebrityDigsHQ.

In the meantime, watch the video and tell us what you think! Are you sympathetic? After all, celebs are human just like us. Or, do you think these celebs tried to live too lavishly?

For Sale: TV Executive Producer Jason Winer's Hollywood Loft

2009-11-17T08:24:00.004-05:00

As seen in our post on Sigrid Olsen, you can have a fabulous lifestyle without living in a mansion. Take this home, which belongs to Jason Winer, executive producer of ABC's hilarious new TV show Modern Family (starring our favorite Married With Children Alum, Ed O'Neill a/k/a Al Bundy). It's a charming little 2BR loft that looks large, but really isn't. And it's for sale!

The 3-story condo/townhouse/loft is part of an 8-unit property built by Paramount in the 1920's as a bungalow for their writers. So you have a chance to own a little slice of Hollywood history. The asking price is $599,000.

Now, some of the rooms are a little tiny--like the kitchen and dining room above, and the bedroom below:

But that's part of the charm! The creative types always seem to find their genius in small spaces like this. Remember, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone's bungalow in Berkeley?

Plus, the 18ft ceilings in the living room and the airy loft upstairs offer breathing room and make up for the lack of space in other rooms. We love it!

All photos from Sotheby's International Realty. For more information and to see more photos, check out the listing here.

Mystery Monday: Which Rock Star Calls This L.A. Pad Home?

2009-11-16T07:29:00.006-05:00

We bet you're wondering who lives in this well-curated apartment with fabulous views of the City of Angels. We'll give you a hint: It's a famous musician known for his flamboyance. Okay, maybe that doesn't narrow things down much!

MAKE THE JUMP BELOW TO FIND OUT WHO AND SEE MORE PHOTOS OF THIS HOME
This British-born rock star has been in the game for 40 years!

Yes, it's Sir Elton John! That's him above, standing near the entrance of his Los Angeles apartment he shares with his partner, filmmaker David Furnish (seated). They are pictured in front of an artwork by renowned British artist Damien Hirst.

It is clear that art is the focus in this home. Each piece carries some provenance or another, from the furniture to the bric-a-brac--which includes Dale Chiluly and vintage Murano glass scuptures.

While we love a lot of what we see, we are reminded of Kanye West's home. Kanye's home was similarly curated with some of the finest modern works of art and furniture we've ever seen, but seemed cold and empty.

Granted, we like Elton's place a little better because it offers spectacular views and glimpses of Elton's personality. There are over-the-top design elements--like the Tracey Emin neon sign and the stamped python leather bed--that harken back to the time when his wardrobe included ostrich feathers and light-studded glasses. Yet, it is surprisingly (Dare we say it?) tasteful.

All photos by Tim Street-Porter for Architectural Digest. To see a slideshow with more photos, go here.

Celebrity Home of the Week: Donna Karan's Island Retreat

2009-11-13T08:00:00.005-05:00

After yesterday's post about a famous hip-hop mogul's home, we figured we'd give you something nice to look at today. Fortunately, the latest issue of Architectural Digest (December 2009) offers plenty of choices. We just got ours in the mail this week and we were delighted to see that the entire issue is devoted to celebrity homes. And we loved almost every home we saw!

We especially loved the British West Indies family retreat of celebrated fashion designer Donna Karan (shown above on the left, with her daughter Gabrielle). It's earthy and gorgeous!

SEE MORE PHOTOS OF THIS RETREAT AFTER THE JUMP BELOW
Donna's family retreat consists of a series of pavilions -- including separate guest, spa and yoga pavilions-- ranging from 4,000 to 7,000 square feet each. All are located on Parrot Cay in the Turks and Caicos Islands. It reminds us of film-maker Rob Cohen's Bali retreat.

The main house pavillion (top photo and below) is casually open, with ocean views and numerous spots for lounging.

In contrast, the guesthouse living room, filled with beautiful African Art, looks wonderfully secluded:

And imagine waking up bathed in the morning sunlight in this master bedroom in the spa pavilion:

We would never leave! That's why, it's our Celebrity Home of the Week! Ciao!

To see more of this fabulous home and read the story of how it came to exist, go here. Photos by Durston Saylor.

Winning Bidder Pays $35,000 to Tour Bill Gates' House

2009-11-13T07:59:00.001-05:00

Todd Bishop, a blogger for Seattle-based TechFlash.com, recently reported that Bill Gates donated a tour of his Lake Washington home once again this year for a charity event. He's talking about this techie-lover's dream home, we featured a while back.

Anyway, last year, the winning bid was $8,600. This year, it came in at a whopping $35,000! Either the economy is really bouncing back, or somebody has waaayyy too much money on their hands. Hey, may we tag along?

A big thanks to Zillow Blog for spotting this news item.

Can You Guess Who Owns This House?

2009-11-12T09:20:00.003-05:00

This living room is filled with tons of furniture, drapes, and accessories. In fact, the whole house is filled with so much opulence that it's hard to believe anyone can even breathe here. So whose house is it?

FLIP THE HOOD BELOW TO FIND OUT & SEE MORE PHOTOS!

This is the 35,000 square foot New Jersey "home" that Kimora Lee Simmons shared with her now ex-husband hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons:

We reported on Tuesday that this home was for sale and that we'd seen it before. All of these photos were taken a couple of years ago, when the home was first put up for sale. They were asking $23 million then.

We wonder if the furnishings come with the current asking price of $16.5 million. Don't know if anyone would want all this ornate stuff anyway. Like, if you thought the living room was too much, check out the dining room:

And though we're unsure what they used their self-described "Lion room" for, we're sure that we're frightened by its fireplace:

It's clear they spared no expense. The home not only comes with its own movie theater . . .

. . . it even has a ticket counter with a creepy anamatronic ticket-taker:

Nevertheless, there are a few enviable touches like this indoor pool in their spa room:

If you want to see more opulence, go here. All photos by Matthew Roberts for the NY Daily News.

Kimora Lee Simmons looks to trade $16.5M New Jersey estate for new Manhattan pad

2009-11-10T08:41:00.001-05:00

Will she ever unload this house? We saw Kimora's mansion on MTV Cribs a while back, when she was still married to Russell Simmons. We hated almost ever inch of this house. We'll dig up some photos later and show you why. In the meantime, read the full story here:

Kimora Lee Simmons looks to trade $16.5M New Jersey estate for new Manhattan pad | The Real Deal | New York Real Estate News

Website Listing Addresses and Aerial Photos of Celebrity Homes Comes Under Scrutiny

2009-11-10T07:30:00.006-05:00

The L.A. Times reports today that one our favorite sources -- Celebrity Aerial Address -- is currently under scrutiny in connection with a criminal investigation. A search warrant revealed that one of the alleged Hollywood Hills burglars used the site to obtain the addresses of celebrities, including Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and Orlando Bloom.

Some people may not realize that the addresses of celebrities' homes are public information. It just take a little bit of legwork to find it. Or you can visit CelebrityAerialAddress.com. The site's operator, David Ruppel a.k.a. Celebrity Dave, gathers publicly available data on celebrities' homes into a one-stop shopping site and charges a fee for the service.

We use Dave's service occasionally. (So do a lot of other celebrity real estate bloggers!) We try to avoid publishing the addresses of celebrities, however. We believe our readers typically don't care about where celebrities live. They're just curious about how celebrities live.

Tell us, do you think there's anything wrong with having access to celebrities' addresses?

Metropolitan Home Magazine Folds

2009-11-09T16:30:00.001-05:00

Hachette Filipacchi Media, publisher of Elle Decor and other notable magazines, announced today that it will halt publication of Metropolitan Home magazine. December 2009 will be its last issue. Another one bites the dust. Too bad. Met Home was one of our favorite sources for info on celebrity homes.

Thanks to Casa Sugar and Shelteriffic for alerting everyone.

Mad Men's John Slattery Says "Not In My Backyard!"

2009-11-09T07:40:00.004-05:00

We Tivo'd last night's season finale of Mad Men and started watching it this morning. We were on the edge of our bed waiting to hear a final quip from our favorite character, Roger Sterling. But, as luck would have it, our Tivo ran out of storage space and didn't record the last few minutes! Oh well!

We decided to spend this morning looking for info about the homes of Roger, er, John Slattery, that is (above). We know this handsome actor is married to actress Talia Balsam--who plays his ex-wife on the show and also happens to be the real-life ex-wife of George Clooney. We also know that they split their time between New York and Los Angeles.

Looks like they might be spending more time in New York . . . so they can keep fighting! No, not each other! They are fighting the city's plans to build a $346 million sanitation department building in their neighborhood. For more details, check out the Huffington Post article here.

We'll let you know if we find photos. In the meantime, if you want to get your fix on the homes of Mad Men stars, be sure to read our earlier posts showcasing the homes of John Hamm/Don Draper, January Jones/Betty Draper, and Bryan Batt/Sal Romano. By the way, Sal was conspicuously absent from last night's show, but we'd bet money he'll be back!

Celebrity Home of the Week: Sigrid Olsen's Home

2009-11-06T15:00:00.008-05:00

Sorry for the late posting. Today is such a terrible news day. One day after the mass shooting at Fort Hood, we now have another mass shooting, this time in Orlando. It's the kind of day to make us question why we do what we do.

FIND OUT WHO THIS WOMAN IS and SEE WHY HER HOME INSPIRES US>>

In searching for something to put it all in perspective, we ran across a slideshow from the New York Times about the home of well-known fashion designer Sigrid Olsen. Until last year, Sigrid designed clothes under her own label for Liz Claiborne. She has since traded in her spacious home for a tiny bungalow in the Rocky Neck art colony of Gloucaster, MA.

What you don't learn from the slideshow is that Sigrid battled breast cancer a few years ago, which ultimately led her to back to her earlier love of painting.

She now sells her artwork from her 1,200 square foot bungalow, which houses her combined living, work, and gallery spaces. The dining room table (above) serves as her work space and her husband (below)manages the gallery from the living room.

The garage provides additional studio space for Sigrid as well as her 90-year old father (below), who is also a painter.

In short, we are inspired by Sigrid and we love her home. It is our Celebrity Home of the Week.

The recent shootings remind us how fragile life can be. We believe the choices we make about where to live and how to live should reinforce what is really important to us. In Sigrid's case, it isn't a spacious mansion or a lot of high end furniture that brings her joy. It's a small home in a lovely little community where she can pursue her passion for art and spend time with her family.

So, to answer our own question: We examine the homes of celebrities to find inspiration and at the same time learn more about what's important to them and ourselves.

Tell us, does your home inspire you? Does it reinforce what is really important to you?

Photos by Jodi Hilton for the NY Times. To learn more about Sigrid's Art, visit http://www.sigridolsenart.com/.

First Lady of France Carla Bruni's Childhood Castle For Sale

2009-11-05T08:36:00.002-05:00

Carla Bruni has many titles: wife of French President Nicholas Sarkozy, former singer/songwriter, former model, and current fashion icon who gave our First Lady Michelle Obama (shown with Bruni above) a run for her money at this year's G-20 summit.

Well she's also an Italian-born heiress who grew up in this castle in Italy, which happens to be for sale with an asking price of around $28 million (U.S. dollars):

It's grand of course! Still don't know if we'd ever want to live in a castle, though. See interior and exterior photos at PropGoLuxury. Hat tip to Luxuo for alerting us to it!

After checking out the photos, let us know if you'd want to live there!

Poppy Montgomery's Spanish Colonial Home

2009-11-04T07:45:00.006-05:00

When we featured Enrique Murciano yesterday, we did not realize that CBS had just canceled his show, Without A Trace. That's too bad. Oh well, since we're already focused on that show, we figured we might as well take a look at the home of his co-star, Australian-born Poppy Montgomery. And, as with Enrique's home, we were again pleasantly surprised!

SEE MORE PHOTOS AFTER THE JUMP>>

Poppy lives in a charming renovated 1920's Spanish Colonial in California's Pacific Palisades area. After looking at her living room (top photo) and her master bedroom (below), we can see that she has a lot of style.

We especially like the open feel of her master bath, with doors to the outside:

Did you notice that the ottoman matches that gorgeous tile surrounding the sink on the left? Or how the shower on the right beckons you, even though it's covered in dark tile?

To see more photos of Poppy's home, go here. Be sure to come back and tell us what you think!

All photos by Joe Shmeltzer for PointClickHome.

EXCLUSIVE! Enrique Murciano Buys Home in Hollywood Hills

2009-11-03T09:17:00.006-05:00

It took a hottie with Cuban roots like Enrique Murciano to say ENOUGH with the Spanish mediterranean homes! This TV star of Without a Trace just bought a mid-century modern home in the Hollywood Hills. He purchased the 4BR/3BA home in August for $1.6 million.

It took a lot of digging, but we found the photos!!!

We love mid-century houses and think this one is a fabulous example of what makes them so great to live in. Like most, this one is deceptively low-key. The front is unassuming, yet the back has a little surprise!

See BACK & INTERIOR PHOTOS after the jump>>

The back of this house has a lower level walkout to the pool, and an upper level breezeway that connects the wings:

That's what gives the living room below a treehouse feel:

And, as with most mid-century homes, the flow from the living room above to the dining room and kitchen below is perfect for entertaining:

The master bedroom is nice enough:

and the master bath is fabulous(!):

But this cozy alcove overlooking the pool is our favorite:

We love this house! We realize this house isn't for everyone though. So tell us, readers, would you want to live here?

Lamar Odom -- Back on the Market

2009-11-02T08:06:00.001-05:00

TMZ is reporting that Lamar Odom has put his Manhattan Beach, California mansion on the market. He's asking $2.39 million. Guess he really is looking to get a new place with his new wife, Khloe Kardashian. Anyway, this one looks like a Spanish mediterranean--but we all know a real one when we see one. Just like we all know a real marriage when we see one too!

For more photos and details, hit up TMZ: Lamar Odom -- Back on the Market

Charlie Sheen's House Up For Sale

2009-11-02T07:45:00.005-05:00

Yup! We're talking about another Spanish mediterranean style home! Okay, maybe it's more of an adobe style, but we love it. This one is owned by Charlie Sheen and his wife, Brooke Meuller. We first learned about it from one of our favorite blogs, Hooked on Houses. The home is located in Los Feliz, California. (Be sure to check out the homes of other Los Feliz celebs John Hamm and January Jones of AMC's Mad Men.)

Charlie and Brooke are asking $3.7 million for their home. It's absolutely gorgeous inside! Here's a teaser:

For lots of photos and a link to the listing, visit Hooked on Houses.

Jackson Wanted to Be Fresh King of Bel Air

2009-11-02T06:30:00.002-05:00

TMZ reported last week that before his death Michael Jackson was negotiating to purchase this 18,020 square foot 15BR/16.5BA home in Bel Air. He apparently wanted to recreate Neverland. Sadly, we believe that this ornate over-the-top mega mansion was more his style than the beautiful French country home located on Neverland Ranch. Sigh.

For the rest of the story and to launch a video tour of the home, go to TMZ's site:
Jackson Wanted to Be Fresh King of Bel Air

Celebrity Home of the Week: Dorothy Dandridge's Former Home

2009-10-30T15:25:00.002-04:00

Earlier this week, we featured Dorothy Dandridge's former L.A. home located just off the Sunset Strip. To put it simply, we LOVE it! It's our Celebrity Home of the Week!

Now we'll just sit back and imagine ourselves lounging in the tub, staring out at this spectacular California view:

Ciao!

Real Housewives of Atlanta: Kandi's Crib Revisited!

2009-10-30T08:25:00.006-04:00

Earlier this week, we showed you a video of Kandi Burruss as she showed off her home in Fayetteville, Georgia. As you know, we HATED it! But, alas, some of our readers didn't have the opportunity to watch the video and were left in the dark! Well, somebody must have been listening because the Atlanta Journal Constitution just posted a piece featuring Kandi's house with a bunch of PHOTOS!

Here's the simple exterior (which would be really quaint with a paint job and better landscaping):

Once inside, you see that the foyer is done up with crap that all apparently came from the same "new age" furniture store:

Actually we like the wallpaneling in the living room and the soft colors of the sofa and ottoman in the living room:

And the bedrooms? More new age furniture! Below is Kandi's master bedroom. Which is worse, the tray ceiling or that bench? Wrong color choices. Wrong everything!

Her daughter's room is . . . well . . . .

Oh yeah, here's a bathroom for good measure:

To Kandi's credit, she says in the article that she does not believe in spending a lot of money (obviously!). We LOVE that and it's part of the reason why she's our favorite cast member. She's a lovely person and almost too sensible to even be on the show.

Still, we think Kandi's interior designer should have stopped her from filling up her home with all that court jester's furniture that popped up in the late 1990's/early 2000's and quickly went out of style.

All photos by Sean Drakes/AJC. To see more photos, go here.

Real Housewives of Atlanta: Dwight Eubanks (The Sixth Housewife) at Home

2009-10-29T06:30:00.047-04:00

Okay, so we sorta got lazy and fell off on our posts about the Real Housewives of Atlanta. Let us just throw this one in about Dwight Eubanks --The Unofficial Sixth Housewife. Dwight, a hair stylist who also served as the director of Sheree Whitfield's fashion show this season. He's rumored to be getting his own reality show soon.

Photographer Sean Drakes of the Atlanta Journal Constitution toured Dwight's Atlanta home recently. As flamboyant as Dwight is, we expected his home to be completely over the top.

Well, we were wrong! He lives in a largely traditional home with traditional decor. We grabbed a few of the best interior shots just to show you.

Aside from perhaps having a little too much furniture, his living room (shown below and in top photo) is certainly pleasant enough.

And every once in a while, you can glimpse something ultra-chic like these lamps, also in the living room:

Or this carved bedframe in his master bedroom:

We actually really like the knole settee and drum coffee table in the lounge off the master bedroom:

And who doesn't love a pool?

The pool area looks like a really nice place to throw a party, especially if Dwight eliminated that loose pile of fabric and pillows (presumably a lounging spot).

The bottom line is, it looks like Dwight just moved into a newly built home. He probably decorated it himself without the help of a designer. Of course, we wouldn't make those same design choices; we all have our own individual tastes.

Surprisingly, his style sometimes leans toward the "grandma's house" look. To freshen things up, we'd lose the white walls, frilly bed linens, at least one of the victorian sofas in the living room, and most of the gold accents. We'd also consider adding a rug and a larger coffee table in the living room, and modern window treatments throughout the house.

Otherwise, we think he did a pretty okay job--especially considering he's a hair stylist and not a so-called "Real Housewife."

If you want to check out the rest of the photos, go here.

Dancing with the Stars' Samantha Harris is Selling Her L.A. Home

2009-10-28T17:40:00.008-04:00

What's UP with us and spanish mediterranean houses these days?!!! First it was Meg Ryan's house, then Christina Ricci's, then James Franco's, then Dorothy Dandridge's. Now the co-host of Dancing with the Stars, Samantha Harris, has gone and put hers up for sale too!

Okay, so it's not as glamorous as the others, but we love the exterior. And it's not as pricey as the others either! Located on a great street in Westwood, the newly remodeled 4 BR/3.5 BA home carries an asking price of $1.595 million.

For that amount, you get less than 3000 sq. ft. and no foyer. But you do get wood beams on the ceiling, arched openings and a dining room with a raised floor:

As for the remodeling work, we don't see anything particularly special. But it's not objectionable either.

MORE PHOTOS after the jump!!!

The kitchen looks nicely done, though unremarkable:

Samantha (pictured in the top photo with her DWTS co-host Tom Bergeron) shares this house with her husband and their 2yo daughter. Naturally, the most charming room is their daughter's:

The master bedroom and bath are terrific too:

So it looks like Samantha and her family prefer a largely traditional decor. We like that. She can save all the glamour for those lovely gowns she wears on DWTS!

Tell us, do you think her home should be a little more glamorous?

Top photo by Bob D'amichi/ABC. For more info on the listing and more photos, go here. Thanks Aerial Dave!

Dorothy Dandridge's Former Home Up For Sale

2009-10-27T14:51:00.012-04:00

We just learned that the former home of the beautiful and legendary screen star Dorothy Dandridge is for sale. Like James Franco's home, it is a GORGEOUS 3BR/4.5BA Spanish mediterranean located just off L.A.'s Sunset Strip--almost as gorgeous as Dorothy herself! The current owner is asking $3.495 million.

Above is the terrace located just off the dining room. Because we didn't care for the decor in the dining or living room, we skipped showing them to you.

Instead, we want to show you the master bedroom, closet and bathroom below:

Take note all you so-called ballers out there, THIS is how you ball! Prime real estate, beautiful architectural details, and spectacular features like a terrace off your closet and a stunning view from your tub!

Oh yeah, the kitchen is lovely too!

See the kitchen and MORE PHOTOS after the jump!

Just lovely!

All in all, we'd say Dorothy's house is giving James Franco's similarly-priced house a serious run for the money! It's certainly our first contender for Celebrity House of the Week!

So, readers, which house is better Dorothy Dandridge's or James' Franco's?

For a slideshow with MANY more photos, check out the listing here. Hat tip to Luxist and the L.A. Times!

Hey Steve Harvey, Hope it Wasn't Something We Said . . .

2009-10-27T13:21:00.001-04:00

Last week, we reported on Steve Harvey's monstrous house that's up for sale. This week, he gave a tearful testimony to Donnie McClurkin, saying that Internet bloggers are spreading evil rumors and that he's "goin' through something." Okay, we doubt he was referring to us, but we wonder what demons he's dealing with. And are they in that house?

Real Housewives of Atlanta: Kandi's Crib

2009-10-27T06:41:00.010-04:00

This week we're profiling the homes of the cast of Bravo's Real Housewives of Atlanta. Today, we have the home of Grammy award winning singer/songwriter Kandi Burruss, the newest cast member on the show. She's a single mom living in Fayetteville, Georgia, an up-and-coming southern suburb of Atlanta. She made headline news recently when her ex-fiance Ashley "AJ" Jewell--who was an integral part of the show--was killed while outside an Atlanta strip club. (Bossip has emerging details on that story.)

We dug up this video tour of Kandi's home on Bravo's website:

YUCK!!! WE HATE IT! As talented as she is in the music world, Kandi doesn't have a lick of talent for decorating her home. We couldn't find one redeeming feature in it! Somebody get a decorator in there quick!

Tell us! Do you think she needs to hire an interior designer?

Real Housewives of Atlanta: Kim Zolciak at Home

2009-10-26T07:23:00.005-04:00

In case you missed it, Bravo aired the season finale of Real Housewives of Atlanta this weekend. So we figured now would be a good time to feature the homes of the cast members of the show. First up, the home of singer Kim "Tardy for the Party" Zolciak (pictured in her bedroom above).

If you watch the show, then you know that Kim is NOT a housewife. She's the divorced mother of two girls and the side piece of a married man she refers to as "Big Poppa." He is allegedly caking her with riches so she can live the life of a pampered housewife.

So we were surprised (okay, not really!) to find that Kim lives in a fairly ordinary townhouse in Duluth, a somewhat affluent suburb of Atlanta.

We realize that reality stars are not highly paid actors, so we don't expect them to all live in fancy homes. The thing is, Real Housewives is supposed to be about upscale women who already have money to support a lavish lifestyle.

There's nothing particularly lavish about the exterior of Kim's home (above).

So what about the inside?

See the INSIDE PHOTOS after the jump!!!

While the inside isn't lavish either, we find it to be a pleasant and tasteful home. We like the black painted coffered ceiling:

That same ceiling stretches into her kitchen, which is also nice enough:

Okay, we find her dining room to be a bit furniture showroom-ish, with its unused Versace china on display:

Likewise for her bedroom, as seen in the top photo and this one below:

Though we like the tufted bench, we think her room looks uncoordinated and a little crowded too, like she went to one store and bought everything she saw there.

Her daughters' rooms are a bit more thoughtful-looking. They are modest and girly-sweet:

Looks like, despite her over-the-top persona, Kim provides her family with a simple, traditional lifestyle. We think that's terrific--and it's more than we can say for some of the others!

All photos by Sean Drakes/Atlanta Journal Constitution. For more photos, go here.

Celebrity House of the Week: James Franco's Hollywood Chateau

2009-10-23T08:35:00.006-04:00

Listen up, all you James Franco-philes out there! The sexy star seen in Milk, Pineapple Express, and the Spider-Man flicks has placed his gorgeous chateau on the Sunset Strip up for sale. This right-sized 3BR/3.5BA house has 4,000 sq. ft. and comes with city views. The asking price for this Hollywood beauty (No, not him!) is $3,695,000.

The master bedroom study above offers a glimpse of the city views as well as the type of decor and architectural details found throughout the house. We'll show you the master bedroom in a little bit.

There are plenty of other wonderful lounging areas too. Perhaps even too many! Here are a couple:

The kitchen and dining areas are also nice:

But we like the bathrooms even better:

The bottom photo is of the master bath.

See MASTER BEDROOM & MORE PHOTOS after the jump!!!

Here are couple of shots of the master bedroom. Notice there's yet another lounge area!

Last but not least, we have a few photos of the back porch, yard, and pool. Yes, there's yet another lounge area steps from the back yard!

We love this house! It is our Celebrity House of the Week. All in all, it's just a terrific home. We're guessing it won't be on the market long.

These days, it seems as if almost every house for sale that we choose as our Celebrity House of the Week is awash in a sea of white. We're starting to wonder whether real estate agents are all just staging these houses this way to emphasize the architecture. Don't get us wrong, it works! And it certainly beats that stale budget catalog furniture look usually offered up by home stagers.

For more photos --yes there are MANY more -- go here. Hat tip to Trulia.

Keeping Up with the Kardashians' Houses, Part III

2009-10-22T08:00:00.004-04:00

Soon-to-be Baby Mama Kourtney Kardashian came home Saturday night to find out her Calabasas, CA, home had been burglarized. More than $100,000 worth of watches and jewelry were reportedly stolen, including vintage jewelry left to her by her deceased dad (famed attorney Robert Kardashian), a Cartier watch valued at $30,000, and a Rolex watch belonging to her boyfriend/Baby Daddy Scott Disick.

Kourtney was partying in Vegas the night before at her sister Kim's birthday bash, but was already back in town before the burglary occurred. She went out for an early dinner with her Baby Daddy-to-be and discovered the burglary upon her return.

Kourtney lives in a 2200+ sq. ft., 2BR/3BA townhouse condo in this gated community (below):

So we wanna know WHO LEFT THE GATE OPEN?!! Or was this an inside job?

Whatever the case may be, we're sorry for Kourtney that it happened.

UPDATE: TMZ just ran a story questioning whether it was an inside job.
Top photo by PRN/PR Photos.

Keeping Up with the Kardashians' Houses, Part II

2009-10-21T06:30:00.002-04:00

By now, everyone knows that Khloe Kardashian managed to snag herself a baller just like her sister Kim. Sham or not, Khloe got her man -- NBA Lakers star Lamar Odom -- to "put a ring on it." They were married (even if not legally) nearly a month ago and continued to haggle over the prenup. Yesterday, TMZ reported that they finally reached a deal. We hear from multiple sources that Khloe gets a $5 million house, $500K for every year they stay married, and $25K per month in general support.

Khloe also gets a bunch of other cash to support her clothing/makeup habit, but who are we kidding? We only care about what kind of house she's going to get!

Khloe and Lamar are reportedly in the market for a home between 8,000 and 10,000 sq. ft., with a pool and basketball court. We don't know if that's enough space, considering they'll probably be living in separate wings. Maybe they should just ask Bill and Hillary Clinton, who apparently only recently figured out that they need a bigger house!

Anyway, thanks to TMZ, we know that Khloe and her mom went house hunting in Bel Air only days before the wedding. The house they looked at (below) was listed for $5,999,900--nearly a million dollars over her budget.

Actually, after looking at the photos, we think it's pretty nice for a generic new Spanish mediterranean.

But unless the price comes way down or Lamar is feeling extra generous, we guess Khloe will have to strike it off her list!

Keeping Up With the Kardashians' Houses, Part I

2009-10-20T06:30:00.001-04:00

While we were on vacay last week, we missed a couple of stories about the Kardashian sisters, the socialites best known for starring in their former hit reality TV show Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

First up is the most famous of the sisters, the curvaceous Kim Kardashian. Earlier this month, Real Estalker and other sources reported that she recently listed her 3 bedroom/2.5 bath 1,750 sq. ft. condo in West Hollywood for just under $1.1 million. We have since heard that she has reunited with her ex-boyfriend NFL star Reggie Bush and that they plan to purchase a home together.

As for the condo, looks like it was pretty generic and she tried really hard to spice it up:

Weird thing is, we found features we really LOVED and ones we really HATED in virtually every room! Like, we loved the gold-leaf ceiling in the dining room, but then the furniture (especially those chairs!) didn't seem to measure up.

We also loved the tufted headboard and bench, and the giant mirrored high boy and nightstands in the bedroom (bottom, left). But we couldn't figure out why she needed a mirrored wall behind the headboard. The pale colors reflected over and over again merely made the room look washed out.

We appreciate other personal touches like the wallpaper and black ceiling in the powder room, and we'd love to get our hands on that 4-panel Buddha-like wall-hanging in her living room (top left photo).

The bottom line is, Kim is a 29yo celebrity-for-no-reason (other than her bodacious butt!) and she's having fun living on her own in L.A--for a least a little while longer. Her condo looks both stylish and regular at the same time. We like that.

Let us know if you think she should have done a better job decorating her condo.

Next up Khloe Kardashian.

Condo photo collage from Real Estalker.

King of Comedy Steve Harvey's King-Sized Mansion Up For Sale

2009-10-19T06:30:00.016-04:00

Funnyman, actor, radio host, author, and GMA correspondent Steve Harvey has placed his Plano, Texas, mansion up for sale. His monster home (below) can be yours for only $3.5 million. This is down from an earlier asking price of $3.95 million.

Of course, you'd need to find the front door first. Doesn't this look like two separate homes joined together at the center? Well, it is! It turns out that the home on the left is actually his two-story guest house.

Steve's double-house sits on 3.25 acres and comes with a 7-car garage, though the yard naturally seems tiny because of the size of the house. Clocking in at nearly 11,700 square feet, it has 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, and 2 half baths.

Here are a few photos of the interior:

The kitchen (above) is probably the nicest looking room in the house. And the coffered ceiling in the keeping room below is a nice touch.

But we can barely tell his dining room . . .

from his living room . . .

. . . or his study:

Enough with the chandeliers and beveled-glass windows already!

Look, we like Steve. But we think he's yet another celebrity of humble origins who feels the need to show off his wealth with an oversized ostentatious house.

Tell us, do you think it's too much? Or is it simply a well-earned reward for achieving success through fame and hard work?

See the agent's listing for additional photos. Hat tip to Celebrity Address Aerial!

Demi Moore's Rental While Filming "The Joneses" is on Market

2009-10-13T13:04:00.002-04:00

We're on vacay this week and only posting items found from other sources. Here's one you might enjoy: http://www.zillow.com/blog/demi-moores-rental-while-filming-the-joneses-is-on-market/2009/10/12/

Celebrity Home of the Week--NOT!

2009-10-09T19:41:00.000-04:00

This was a tough week to decide on our Celebrity Home of the Week. The homes featured this week belong to some of the finest interior designers and arbiters of style in America. We simply cannot choose. So we won't. Sorry.

Ciao!

What's Inside the Home of Top Design Judge & Elle Decor Editor-in-Chief Margaret Russell?

2009-10-09T10:54:00.005-04:00

Today, we end our week-long coverage of the homes of the main cast of Bravo's Top Design show with a "look" at the home of Margaret Russell. As many of you know, Margaret is the editor-in-chief of Elle Decor magazine and served as a judge on Top Design. What you may not know is that Margaret is very private and never lets anyone photograph the inside of her home.

Fortunately for us, the San Francisco Chronicle published an article last year by Anh-Minh Le detailing her interview with Margaret. In the article, we found many clues as to what the inside of her home looks like and the design style that most resembles hers.

In the article, Margaret describes her Manhattan apartment as "very white - white walls, white furniture." She also has an art collection that apparently keeps her apartment from looking too stark. Says Margaret: "My style is more pared down than what's in the magazine. I'm bombarded by pattern and color in the office. It's so crazy there that I wanted something more peaceful at home."

In 2007, she wrote a book, So Chic: Glamorous Lives, Stylish Spaces, in which she chronicled many of her favorite homes that have been featured in Elle Decor:

In talking with Anh-Minh, Margaret singles out the home of Ralph Lauren in Montauk, NY, as being most closely aligned with her style. That thrills us to no end because we LOVE Ralph Lauren as an interior designer! (His clothes are fab too!)

It took some effort, but we found photos of Ralph's house on the website of Pieter Estersohn, the amazing photographer used for the feature. Here are a few shots of the living room and den:

Margaret also appreciates the design approach in Sarah Jessica Parker's weekend home (also featured in the book) in Bridgehampton, NY:

Margaret particularly liked Sarah's ability to mix high and low items, including tables from IKEA in her living room (above).

We've always liked Sarah's quirky dining room (above) and now we can't help but notice the stark white walls that must appeal to Margaret!

Well, Margaret, at least we feel like we know you a teensy bit better now!

Photos of Sarah Jessica Parker's house and So Chic cover photo by William Waldron.

What Celebrity Digs HQ is All About!

2009-10-09T10:53:00.003-04:00

We received an anonymous comment yesterday that sparked a great discussion among us here at Celebrity Digs HQ. The reader thought our blog was unfocused! We saw it as a perfect opportunity to lay out the three categories of content we cover in our blog:

1. The homes of celebrities currently in the news. This includes TV stars (reality or not), movie actors, musicians, or dumb fucks in the news for any reason at all. Whenever we read a story that catches our eye, we ask ourselves: Where do THEY live? Then we try to find out.

2. Celebrity homes in the news. This covers celebrity real estate news, such as who just placed their home up for sale. It also includes celebrity deadbeat renters, burglaries, property disputes, or bizarre occurrences that happen in connection with a celebrity's home.

3. Celebrity homes featured in design magazines or newspapers. We're particularly interested in those where interior design is the focus. That's just because we like celebrities and we like beautiful houses!

We're still new at this and we're fortunate enough to have thousands of site visitors here each month. We want you to think of us first when you want the ins and outs about a celebrity's home.

Oh yeah, most Fridays we try to choose our Celebrity Home of the Week. On rare occasions, we find one that hits all three of our content categories. That's total nirvana for us!

--CDHQ

Lofty Living with Top Design Host & Mentor Todd Oldham

2009-10-08T11:21:00.005-04:00

This week we're featuring the homes of the judges and hosts of Bravo's Top Design show, which is possibly returning in January of next year. Today, we look at Todd Oldham--a jack of all trades in the design world--who is probably better suited behind the camera. Seriously! Among other things, he works as a photographer and graphic artist.

Like Kelly Wearstler, Todd does a lot of hotel interior design work. His big thing is colorful retro graphic prints mixed with a bit zen. And as with Kelly, we're fortunate enough to get a 2-for-1 on Todd's home design.

A few years ago, Metropolitan Home visited Todd at his loft (above) in New York's Financial District. He definitely has a way with graphics. The striped walls in his living room below are a nice backdrop for his art collection.

What we like about Todd is that he believes in accessible design. His place is a real apartment, not a designer showplace. It has sleek mid-century modern looking furnishings, some designed by Todd himself. The room-dividing shelving units are a necessity that those living in small spaces can really appreciate.

Todd also has a weekend home in Pennsylvania: Another loft! But it's not the same kind of loft. It's this treehouse:

We're starting to wonder, though, if Todd is a one-trick pony. Like his New York apartment, this one has striped walls and is filled mid-century style pieces.

Here, the walls are covered in colorful Charles Harper prints.

Incidently, did we tell you that Todd is a writer too? He just wrote about Harper.

We told you Todd was a man of many talents!

Photos compiled from various sources, including Metropolitan Home and New York magazine.

At Home With Top Design Judge Kelly Wearstler: Love Her or Hate Her?

2009-10-07T06:30:00.002-04:00

By now you know that we're featuring the homes of the main cast of Bravo's Top Design reality show, which looks like a no-show this season. Too bad because one of our favorite celebrity interior designers, Kelly Wearstler, was quite entertaining as one of the judges--even if only for those wild clothes she wore!

Love her or hate her, Kelly's the only interior designer who truly gets what was fabulous about 1980's design. If you're old enough to remember watching "Miami Vice" and "Dynasty," then all you probably want to do is forget that era. But Kelly will make you reconsider, as she has almost single-handedly changed the way boutique hotels look today. Thanks to her, the tired zen look is out and the snazzy no-two-rooms-are-alike look is definitely in.

Lucky for us, we have a 2-for-1 on Kelly's "home" work today. Vogue just featured her Beverly Hills home in its October issue and Metropolitan Home currently features her glam Malibu beach house in its November issue.

Up first, the Malibu beach house:

We love everything about the living room, above, from the marble walls and bleached walnut floors to the modern Soriano sofa paired with vintage chairs. Did you notice the fireplace? Or the abstract cabinet behind the sofa?

We even love the dining room, below, with its stone pedestal table and vintage bucket chairs:

This bedroom is a mix of old and new pieces:

The hand-painted wallpaper and side tables are designed by Kelly. Everything else: pure vintage.

Not exactly a beach-y look, but we don't care! It's totally fab!

But what about Kelly's Beverly Hills house?

Well, we're not exactly digging the foyer's hand-painted wallpaper custom designed by her. It looks like her kids took a paint brush to the walls! And she has the same gold Pedro Friedeberg "Hand" chair that we saw in Jonathan Adler's apartment.

Gosh, she even has Friedeberg's "Hands" table in the entrance hall (below):

In the photo of her drawing room below, she boldly combines a vintage leather sofa with a marble checkerboard coffee table. There's also a glamorous 19th century chandelier coupled with a ceiling covered in a paper similar to the one on the bedroom walls of her beach house.

Okay, so maybe it's all a little too much--even for us! But we still love Kelly's style! And her confidence too!

All photos by Francois Halard. Be sure to check out the articles and slideshows about Kelly's beach house here and her Beverly Hills house here.

Top Design Host India Hicks & Her Island Hideaway

2009-10-06T11:19:00.002-04:00

This week we're featuring the homes of the main cast of Bravo's possibly-defunct Top Design reality show. Today, we'll take a look at the island home of the show's host for Season Two, India Hicks.

Bravo has a successful formula for choosing the hosts for their hit reality shows: beauty + knowledge of the industry. For Project Runway and Top Chef, Bravo chose gorgeous former models Heidi Klum and Padma Lakshmi as hosts respectively. Heidi had a clear connection to fashion as she was a supermodel, doing runway shows for many major clothing designers in the industry. Padma already had a food connection, as she has written cookbooks in the past and previously hosted a show on the Food Network.

So when it came to Top Design, India seemed like a natural choice. She's an attractive former model, the daughter of celebrated British interior designer David Hicks, and a fairly decent interior designer herself. She is also the second cousin and god-daughter of HRH Prince Charles (on her mum's side).

India lives on Harbour Island in the Bahamas with her partner David Flint Wood (a former ad executive) and their four children. They have a main house along with two guesthouses and a pavillion (shown above and below) that they sometimes rent out. And as you can see, she's got the "British West Indies Meets Shabby Chic Beach House" style down pat:

In looking at the rooms above and the den and bedrooms below, we'd say she's an amateur designer at best--which is a bit surprising considering who her dad is. It's all nice, but there's nothing to WOW you.

As for her gig on Top Design, we still think one problem was a lack of personality on India's part. In fact, her home isn't exactly chock full of it either. We also wonder whether her British aristocracy makes her a bit "aloof without mystery" such that the audience can't relate to her.

But who are we kidding? She must live a really beautiful life on that island. After all, we'd happily take in this view every day:

Wish we were there!

Photos from India's book Island Life and her website, www.hibiscushillharbourisland.com. For more photos, there's a nice slideshow on the website for Cookie magazine. It's another great magazine that bit the dust recently, so be sure to check it out before the website goes down.

Top Design Judge Jonathan Adler's Happy Chic Home

2009-10-05T16:01:00.114-04:00

This week we're featuring the homes of the main cast of Bravo's Top Design reality show. First up is the Palm Beach, Florida home of Jonathan Adler, a renowned interior designer, furniture designer, potter, and one of the judges on the show.

We've always loved Jonathan's work--sort of pop art meets Palm Beach preppy. He describes his approach as "Happy Chic" and we agree!

Fortunately for us, Jonathan's oceanfront apartment was featured in the November issue of Elle Decor last year, allowing us to see how he and his partner Simon Doonan (writer & creative director for Barney's)actually live. Their living room below was featured on the cover:

While we loved it--especially the Warren Platner chair in the rear corner--we actually liked this seating area in the other part of the living room even better:

No offense Jonathan, but we bet these chairs are a bit more comfy than those Pedro Friedeberg "Hand" chairs in the living room!

What else makes this place so fab? How about Simon's writing desk (designed by Adler!) above and its Atlantic Ocean view? Or the dining room below?

We still can't get over how this place is bursting with color, even though all the walls are painted white. We also love that although they were working with only 1600 square feet, they managed to make their home feel large and airy.

The only room that we're still on the fence about is the master bedroom:

We love the individual elements, particularly that vintage mirrored four-poster bed and the suzani fabric bed covering. They're both to-die-for!

But we don't think this room completely works. For one thing, the bed floats in the middle of the space. This is a layout that is extremely difficult to get right, and we don't think they did. We would think it's hard to feel grounded with the random items behind what is presumably the head of the bed.

Then again, who knows? Maybe there IS no head and they can just sleep any which way they want!

We think we have our first contender for our Celebrity Home of the Week!

All photos by Colleen Duffley. For more info, check out the article and slideshow.

What Ever Happened to Bravo's Top Design Show?

2009-10-05T11:45:00.001-04:00

We were seriously considering doing a week-long feature on the Real Housewives of Atlanta this week, but in light of recent events surrounding the death of cast member Kandi Burress' ex-fiance, we've decided to postpone that feature.

But that got us to thinking about another Bravo show: Top Design, a reality series where interior designers compete for a cash prize and a spread in Elle Decor magazine. This week we'll feature the homes of the judges and hosts of the show.

By the way, we noticed that we haven't seen any mention of Top Design since the end of Season Two earlier this year. Sadly, we think it might not be coming back. As much as we loved the show, we think it had three fundamental problems:

1. The Hosts Sucked.  Top Design had a rocky start with the first season, hosted at the time by the boring too-nervous-for-television Todd Oldham. For Season Two, they moved Todd to a supporting role as mentor to the interior designers/contestants.

India Hicks, Todd's replacement as host for season two, was pedigreed. She's the daughter of legendary interior designer David Hicks. She was almost as easy on the eyes too.  Unfortunately, she was calm, cool, and BOR-ING.

They both needed to take a page from Ryan Seacrest, who has managed to hold onto his gig as host of Fox's American Idol forever. With years under his belt as a radio show host, he's skilled at relating to the contestants, the judges, and the audience. We never could connect with Todd or India.

Speaking of AI, the Top Design judges were much better at replicating the concept.  Kelly Weastler sorta played the Paula Abdul role, with her eccentric clothes and tastes. Jonathan Adler was the catty sweet-n-snarky version of Simon Cowell. And Elle Decor editor-in-chief Margaret Russell was the voice of reason a la Randy Jackson.

2. The Mentor Sucked. Todd, who was boring as a host for season one, was equally boring as a mentor during season two.   This role is supposed to be similar to the one played by the immensely popular Tim Gunn on Project Runway. On Runway, Tim outshines host Heidi Klum, offering his opinion and encouragement to the clothing designers in a highly entertaining way.

As nice as he was to the contestants and as much as we like him as a designer, Todd probably should have been booted completely from the show. Not enough personality.

3. The Challenges Sucked. Because speed was often of the essence, like it is for so many other Bravo shows, the challenges often turned into something you would see on TLC's tired old Trading Spaces show. On that show, do-it-yourself homeowners were paired with so-so designers who had to conceive an interior design scheme that could be executed by the homeowners. The end results were about the same as those seen on Top Design.

Top Design might have fared better by pairing the designers a la CBS' Amazing Race and having them carry out a series of projects (like all the rooms in a select number of houses) together over the long haul. No need to condense the time it takes to do design work. They just need good editors to chop it up and entertain us with the ups and downs as well as the judges' commentary on the quality of the work.

What Top Design really needs of course -- besides a new host, new mentor, and new challenges -- is a guest judge who can come tell it like it is. So Bravo, if you're listening, we want a seat at the judges' table!

Photo from Top Design, pictured from left: Margaret Russell, India Hicks, Jonathan Adler, Todd Oldham, Kelly Wearstler.

Up First: A look at Jonathan Adler's West Palm Beach Home.

Real Housewife of Atlanta Kandi Burruss' Ex-Fiance Dies in a Fist-Fight

2009-10-05T08:16:00.000-04:00

Ashley "A.J." Jewell, ex-fiance of Real Housewife Kandi Burruss, died Friday night of injuries allegedly resulting from a fistfight outside a popular Atlanta strip club of which he was reportedly part-owner. A.J. was engaged to Kandi, an award-winning songwriter and the newest cast member of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, until last August and has appeared occasionally on the show. He will likely appear again in pre-recorded episodes that have yet to air, even though the audience will know that he has died.

Several people witnessed the fight between A.J. and his opponent, Fredrick Richardson. Richardson is currently hospitalized for injuries sustained from the fight. He was arrested and charged with voluntary manslaughter. He will be transferred to Fulton County jail upon discharge from the hospital.

A.J.'s death happened on the heels of the recent tragic death of Derrion Albert, a Chicago teenager who was beaten savagely by a handful of teenagers as others watched. He also died of his injuries. Arrests have been made in that case.

Our condolences to the families in both cases.

Meg Ryan's Bel Air Home Back on the Market: Is it too Cold?

2009-10-02T11:12:00.002-04:00

Thanks to two of our favorite sources, Luxist and the L.A. Times, we know that movie actress Meg Ryan has placed her Bel Air back on the market. According to the Times, she purchased the Spanish-style 6BR/7BA home in 2000 for a little under $9M. The home was built in 1931 and has been beautifully restored. It also has four fireplaces, a guest house, and a swimming pool, and comes with city and ocean views.

Meg put it on the market last October for $19.5M and withdrew it in February, after apparently getting no takers. Now she's asking $14.2M. Who knows if the home is priced right this time?

We're more interested in the debate on Luxist as to whether this home lacks warmth. At least one realtor said she'd been inside the home and found it cold.

In our opinion, her home and the furnishings inside are gorgeous, as shown above and below--even if its hard to figure out the functionality of these rooms.

Though we're not sure if the room below is a bedroom with a floating bed next to the fireplace or two sofas facing each other, we love this room!

And we think this kitchen is absolutely PERFECT:

Granted, aside from the photos in the kitchen, the home looks like it isn't currently being lived in. No flowers, no anything to suggest activity or personality. But don't realtors advise their clients to strip away their personal items so prospective buyers can envision themselves there?

We think the room that everyone thinks needs improvement is this one:

If it's the main living room, it does look a bit awkward. Our guess is that it's nothing an interior designer couldn't rework.

Moreover, we think the rest of the interior along with outdoor spaces (below) overcome our minor quibble with the living room:

We love this house! It's our Celebrity Home of the Week!

Good luck with the sale Meg!

Top Chef Host Padma Lakshmi is Expecting! A Bohemian Pad Awaits Her Baby--Swing Included!

2009-10-02T06:30:00.006-04:00

CNN is reporting that Padma Lakshmi, host of Bravo's Top Chef, is expecting her first child at age 39. Padme struggled for years with endometriosis, a condition that can cause infertility. Her physician is referring to it as a "medical miracle." The currently single Padma, who was previously married to Salman Rushdie, has not named the father. Doesn't matter, we know this baby will be absolutely gorgeous, just like her mom.

So what kind of home can Baby Lakshmi expect? A pretty cool bohemian NYC condo with little hints of Indian influences (a nod to Padma's paternal heritage). Padma even has a swing in the middle of her living room(!):

Not sure what all she does with that swing these days--after all she IS a Single Girl in the City--but we're sure she'll put it to good use when the baby comes. And that's one less item to go on her baby registry.

As a former fashion model, Padma certainly has an enviable closet. Guess she'll have to push that aqua Badgley Mischka dress and all those other designer frocks aside. Time to make room for diapers, dolls, and dainty little baby things.

And there'll be no more tantalizing recipes from her Tangy Tart Hot & Sweet cookbook made in her kitchen below. It's all bland baby food from here on out, sister! And speaking of food. . . why is her closet more stylish than her kitchen given her current vocation?

Okay, maybe the tiny kitchen is pretty fabulous too, by NYC standards. It's at least worthy of that Roberto Cavalli gown she's wearing!

Anyway, congrats to Padma. Here's to eating for two!

All condo photos by Douglas Friedman. For more photos and information on Padma's condo and clothes, check out the recent article and slideshow on Harper's Bazaar online.

King of the Hill: Bill Gates Tops Forbes' Rich List

2009-10-01T08:22:00.004-04:00

Forbes just came out with its list of the Richest People in America and we can't believe that WE didn't make the final cut!

As more proof that the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor, Microsoft founder Bill Gates tops the list for the 16th year in a row. Current worth: $50 Billion, give or take a few. Does anyone remember the days when $50 Million was a lot of money? Guess that's chump change now.

So, how's he livin'? VERY LARGE!

Yes, his home consists of ALL that you see in the above photo. You're looking at a 50,000 square foot home with an additional 16,000 square feet of outbuildings and garage space.

This earth-sheltered mansion sits on the side of a hill in Medina, Washington, with a lakefront view. It's a technological state-of-the-art ~~fortress~~ residence designed to look like a Pacific Northwest Lodge. Visitors are given a microchip when they enter the home that records their preferences and alters the home's climate (temperature, sound, and other conditions) to match their preferences as they move through the home.

That's all fine and dandy. We still don't care for the lodge-like SIZE and SPRAWL of this house -- it's too big to feel homey. But we do like certain elements of the pacific northwest lodge STYLE as shown in the top photo and this one below:

The emphasis is clearly on the views of the lake, which must be spectacular!

The interior is consistent with the outside. No surprises here. It has a Frank Lloyd Wright feel, with lots of wood plank, stone, and other natural materials:

There's also an indoor pool, with an architectural ceiling and an underwater sound system (sorry we couldn't find a clearer photo):

All in all, we suppose we like Gates' home and respect it for what it is: a geek's version of a nature lover's paradise. Still don't know if we'd want to live there.

A Fixer Upper for Mad Men's January Jones?

2009-09-30T08:24:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, we saw the home of Jon Hamm, the man behind Don Draper. Today, we look at the home of the woman behind the woman behind the man Don Draper. Did you follow that? Let's try it again: Today, we look at the home of January Jones, who plays Don Draper's wife Betty Draper on AMC's Mad Men. This time, we have photos of the inside!

January plays the part of a young and beautiful yet truly "desperate" housewife so effortlessly that it's hard to believe she's even acting. In our view, that makes her a great actress.

Anyway, she just paid $1.02M for a 2200 sq. ft. mediterranean villa (below) with 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths. We guess she wanted to stay close to her TV husband because she just purchased a home near his, as it is also in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles.

As you can see, her home is nothing like the one she occupies on the show. More proof that she's not Betty in real life!

Real Estalker and everyone else is referring to this house as a fixer up and at first we agreed. The only thing we liked was the front door. Notice the gorgeous fretwork that only needs stripping or a high gloss paint job to bring out its beauty:

Upon closer inspection of some of the other rooms like the living and dining rooms below, we think all that may be needed for them is a good paint job and a new chandelier. If you ignore the decor of the previous owner, you'll see that it's pretty much a blank slate for January to do whatever she wants:

Granted we haven't seen the bathrooms. And maybe this kitchen does need serious renovation:

But it's an otherwise light and airy home that doesn't appear to need much except a good interior designer. Whenever she get's done lobbying Congress to save the sharks (thought we didn't know about that, huh?), let's hope she hires a designer and shows off the end results!

We're Mad for Mad Men's Jon Hamm! Oh Yeah, His House is Nice Too!

2009-09-29T07:35:00.004-04:00

We're completely addicted to AMC's Emmy Award-winning show Mad Men. And Jon Hamm is our drug of choice. Okay, was that way too Hamm-y? All we're saying is, Jon is super sexy and seems to be as mysterious as Don Draper, the character he plays on the show.

Jon lives with his longtime girlfriend actress Jennifer Westfeldt in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles. Thanks to a lead from one of our favorite new sources Aerial Dave (and a little bit of digging on our own) we know that they own this gorgeous Spanish Mediterranean:

Their home lies on a street lined with equally gorgeous homes. According to property records, theirs was built in 1923. Even though it sits on a tiny lot, the home clocks in at a little over 3100 sq. ft. with 5 bedrooms and 3 baths.

Unfortunately for us, Jon and Jen are intensely private. As far as we know, they have never allowed the press into their lovely home. So dear readers if you know where we can get our hands on some shots of the interior, please let us know!

Gosh, we haven't even seen the inside and we already love it!

But who are we kidding, we love him! And he knows why! Get a load of this hilarious SNL video, which has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with houses:

Matt Lauer Buys Waterfront Cottage in Southampton

2009-09-28T06:30:00.002-04:00

We've never been so jealous of a 1,500 sq. ft house in all our lives! This tiny little cape cod style cottage was so appealing to the NBC Today Show co-host Matt Lauer that he paid the full asking price of $2.15 million for it.

This little charmer has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and a country kitchen. It also has a delightful sunroom with a waterfront view:

The real attraction is this wraparound deck with access to the boat dock and 85 feet of frontage on a pond connected to Little Peconic Bay:

What a perfect little getaway spot! It shows that it doesn't take much to make you happy . . . if you happen to have $2.15 million!

Photos: Sotheby's International Realty/Story source: WSJ

Washington Redskin Fred Smoot Quietly Marries & Puts House Up for Sale

2009-09-28T06:25:00.034-04:00

The Washington Redskins may have lost to Detroit yesterday, but cornerback Fred Smoot has reason to feel like a winner: he got married on the QT the week before last. Incidentally, he also recently placed his 8,429 sq. ft. home in Great Falls, Virginia, on the market for $1.695 million.

For those of you who don't recall, Smoot was the alleged ringleader in the 2005 Minnesota Vikings "Love Boat" cruise scandal. While he was still playing for the Vikings, Smoot along with several teammates rented a boat and hired a bunch of prostitutes for an all-out sex party. YUCK!!!

Smoot later pled guilty to disorderly conduct and public nuisance charges, and the NFL subsequently fined him for about $82,000.

In 2007, he launched his own energy bar called SMACK. We certainly hope that's not in reference to his cruise antics!

Anyway, we dug up the video tour of his house (below). Watch it and you'll see that this is the typically hideous generic oversized home with oversized furniture and ugly decorative elements. Oh, and let's not forget the requisite fancy kitchen with granite countertops.

From here on out, we're going to just start referring to houses like this as "baller chic" to keep from repeating ourselves so much.

Unfortunately, there's simply not much to recommend the house or its interior design. Though we do think the virtual tour provided in the realtor's listing shows the house in a much better light.

So who's the new wifey? Summer Joy Hughes (above), a Georgia lawyer, who probably wants a classier looking crib. Smoot apparently likes to keep his hookers close and his lawyers closer! (Just kidding.)

Congrats to the lovely couple! We'll assume they didn't take a cruise for their honeymoon.

For more details on the house, including the realtor's virtual tour, check out the listing here.

For more details on the wedding, check out the story by The Washington Post's Reliable Source.

Christina Ricci's L.A. Home Up for Sale, Celebrity Home of the Week

2009-09-25T11:20:00.001-04:00

What a beauty this one is! We're not talking about the celebrity. Yes, Christina Ricci -- the brilliant star of several indie movies who first got out attention playing Wendy in the Addams Family movies -- is certainly beautiful in her own way. But her home is gorgeous! And it's for sale!

It's a 2,428 sq. ft. mediterranean home on a sought-after street in The Oaks/Hollywood Hills. It has three bedrooms, three baths, and a pool (shown in both photos below). She's asking $1,549,000.

Lots of our favorite sources, like Trulia, Zillow Blog, and Real Estalker, have done stories this week about this house. So we thought about just skipping it.

But we like it so much, we decided it would be our Celebrity Home of the Week.

Like its owner, this home has quirky charms like white-washed exposed beams on the vaulted ceilings, randomly-placed stairways, and this open-yet-cozy living room (above and in top photo) with built-in bookshelves.

The dining room and kitchen above are also fab!

Even the master bedroom, which opens to the patio and pool, is charming! Likewise for the smaller guest bedrooms:

You'll notice that this house isn't all that big and has a fairly neutral color-scheme. Yet it has loads of style architecturally and interior design-wise. Take note Whoopi Goldberg, THIS is how you do shabby chic!

Congratulations Christina! You have the Celebrity Home of the Week!

See the listing with all photos here.

Caio!

NY Governor David Paterson's Home For Now

2009-09-25T09:51:00.002-04:00

New York Governor David Paterson of course lives in the Executive Mansion in Albany. We're not sure for how much longer though. The unpopular governor and his own "First Lady Michelle" have been quite vocal regarding their disappointment that President Obama has asked him not to seek re-election. They naively think that what the President did was unthinkable.

What they fail to realize however is that it was unthinkable to disclose such communications and, even worse, to fail to honor the President's request. Unfortunately, this is entirely consistent with the way Paterson blunders through his way in office.

But what we wanna know is, have they made any blunders with respect to the Executive Manse?

In December 2008, the New York Times interviewed New York's First Lady about moving from a 2-BR apartment in Harlem to the 40-room Victorian governor's mansion (above). At 29,000 sq. ft. and sitting on three and a half acres, the Patersons certainly had plenty of space to work with.

The previous first lady, former governor Eliot Spitzer's wife Silda, started an eco-friendly makeover of the mansion. According to the Times article, Michelle has continued that effort "using organic cleaners, serving mostly locally grown foods and installing energy-efficient appliances and solar panels on outbuildings."

The Patersons also brought furniture from their other home (a 2,600 sq. ft. Colonial in a nearby town) to furnish their master bedroom and third-floor family room. Alas, no photos were taken of these rooms, so we don't get to see any of their personality or taste.

They also scattered a few family photos around the house, like in the drawing room below, but those are barely noticeable:

The article suggests that, in light of the state's difficult economic times, the Patersons haven't done much in the way of decorating (obviously!) and likely won't do anything significant. So the mansion remains a stodgy old "gloomy pile," as it was once described by Teddy Roosevelt.

But at least this shows prudence on the part of this governor. Maybe he'll get to keep his job after all!

To read the NY Times article and see a slideshow with lots of photos of the mansion, go here.

Top photo by Goldfield for the NY Daily News.
Executive Mansion photos by Nathaniel Brooks for the NY Times.

A Miami Condo for Jennifer Lopez & Marc Anthony

2009-09-24T15:12:00.002-04:00

People magazine is reporting that Jennifer Lopez's husband Marc Anthony --who just became a part-owner of the NFL's Miami Dolphins--has bought a waterfront condo in the Icon Brickell building in Miami.

Marc promises it'll be the "sexiest place in town" and we believe him!

The Icon Brickell's main entrance (above) and the pool (below) should give you some idea of what the building has to offer.

We've always liked this stylish couple. We have no doubt their place will be smokin' hot--and family friendly at the same time! Can't forget about their twins!

EXCLUSIVE HOUSE PHOTOS! Sarah Michelle Gellar/Freddie Prinze Jr.'s Home

2009-09-24T10:40:00.006-04:00

Congratulations to beautiful actress Sarah Michelle (Gellar) Prinze and her handsome husband Freddie Prinze Jr. on their new baby girl! Little Charlotte Grace Prinze arrived on Saturday, September 19th. According to People, her parents are "over the moon."

We've obtained EXCLUSIVE photos of their home!

Looks like precious little Charlotte will have plenty of room to grow in her parents' luxury Bel Air home (above). According to property records, the home is nearly 7,000 sq. ft. with 7 bedrooms and 7 baths. Hmmm, 7-7-7! Wonder if they spend a lot of time in Vegas?

The foyer below is unremarkable--even if we visually delete the previous owners' ugly decor. (These photos were taken just before the Prinzes moved in.) What's with the fake flowers over that hideous cabinet anyway? The mirrored-wall behind it only makes matters worse!

We like the wood-paneled study (below) though, which we assume has been redecorated to lighten it up and remove all that dull 1980's plaid:

Freddie (or Sarah!) will need a place to escape during those sleepless nights with the baby. And the study surely looks cozy enough.

While we don't have photos of Charlotte's nursery, we do know that Sarah Michelle purchased most of the furnishing for it from Argington, a children's furniture shop. Here's the stylish crib she selected:

Judging from the crib and some of the other pieces we found on the store's website, we think Charlotte will have a very chic nursery--one fit for a California princess!

We're thrilled for the family and wish them the best!

Top photo by Claire Greenway/Getty Images.

Crib photo by Argington.

VH1 Divas Edition, Part 6 - Where in the World is Jennifer Hudson?

2009-09-23T11:45:00.001-04:00

You knew we'd save the best one for last. In our view, Jennifer Hudson is the only true diva of the bunch from this year's VH1 Divas Live show. At a mere 28 years old, she's managed to do and survive through things that have earned her our respect.

We got our first glimpse of J-Hud when she was a finalist on the third season of American Idol. Though she didn't win, she ultimately became a bigger star than any other Idol before or since. After earning an Oscar and a Golden Globe award for her work in Dreamgirls, she later won a Grammy award for her self-titled album, containing her debut single "Spotlight." She also suffered a horrific family tragedy and emerged as graceful as ever. Finally, as she demonstrated on Divas Live, the girl sure can blow!

So, you ask, where does she live?

All we can say is: Carmen Sandiago and Matt Lauer don't have ANYthing on J-Hud.

First, we know that our girl Jennifer hails from Chicago.

We also know that nearly a year ago, Jennifer went through one of the most horrific tragedies imaginable. On October 24, 2008, her mother and brother were found slain in the home they shared (below) with Jennifer's sister. Three days later, Jennifer's 7-year-old nephew was found slain in an SUV. Her sister's former boyfriend is charged with the triple murders and awaiting trial.

At the time, we believe Jennifer lived separately in a luxury condo in downtown Chicago. But soon thereafter, for safety's sake, Donald Trump graciously put her up in his Trump Tower (below), also in downtown Chicago.

Then we heard Jennifer was moving to L.A. and we temporarily lost track of her.

By the time we caught up with her again, Jennifer was engaged to David Otunga, a Harvard Law School graduate best known as "Punk" from VH1's I Love New York reality series. Not surprisingly, we pretty easily tracked Otunga from Cambridge to New York and Chicago.

Next thing we know, Jennifer's pregnant. And then she was spotted out and about in TAMPA of all places! And we heard that she was shopping for a bed!

Turns out that Otunga just got a new gig as a professional wrestler for the Florida Championship Wrestling division of the WWE. His division is based in Tampa. You can go ahead and laugh now.

The last piece of info we have is that Jennifer had her baby (a boy named after his dad) in an L.A. hospital. Congrats to her!

So we're guessing she's bi-coastal--with homes in both L.A. and Tampa.

We also think she's leasing because we can't find any property records in either of those areas. Smart girl. The housing economy has yet to fully recover.

VH1 Divas Edition, Part 5 - Adele Chooses Notting Hill for Home

2009-09-23T11:40:00.001-04:00

This year's VH1 Divas Live show included two british singing sensations, Leona Lewis and Adele. While we thought Leona's voice was okay, we must admit we found Adele's to be quite soulful and beautiful. So we at least understand why she was included on the diva list.

At 21 years old, Adele Laurie Blue Adkins is yet another youngster. Until last year, she lived with her mum. But, unlike the slightly younger Jordin Sparks and much younger Miley Cyrus, Adele was ready to fly the coop.

In July 2008, Adele bought herself a one-bedroom flat in London's posh Notting Hill. She finally moved into it in November 2008.

Adele describes her new home as looking like "it's straight out of the film [Notting Hill starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant], in a row of white houses."

We haven't seen any photos of her apartment yet, so we'll have to placate you with this exterior shot (above) of a row of white houses on a Notting Hill street.

Cheers to Adele!

VH1 Divas Edition, Part 4 - Jordin Sparks' House

2009-09-21T08:45:00.002-04:00

Nope. Beyonce hasn't been eating too many biscuits. If you saw the VH1 Divas 2009 show last week, then you know that it was Jordin Sparks who strutted on stage looking like an oversized version of your girl Bey. With all the sexy gyrations a normally modest, slightly heavy, wholesome teenager can muster up.

It just so happens that Jordin also belted out the national anthem at last night Dallas Cowboys-NY Giants game.

The Cowboys may have lost, but we actually thought it was Jordin who was off her game when it came to singing the anthem.

She can't blame it on the acoustics either. That new Cowboys Stadium cost a whopping $1.2 BILLION dollars--so you know they've got a kick-ass sound system!

Our discerning ears tell us that this sugary sweet 19-year-old singer still hasn't come into her own yet. It might take moving out of her parents' home.
Yes, the daughter of former NFL player Phillipi Sparks reportedly still lives in the same home (above) in Glendale, Arizona, purchased by her folks back in 2003 for around $900K. Here's a larger (albeit hazy) view:

At more than 4,000 sq. ft., there's plenty of room for Jordin along with her mom, dad, and brother.

What there isn't room for is growth and maturity--the kind that gives a singer that soulfulness of experience in her voice. This used to be what was required for diva status. Maybe VH1 sees or hears something we don't.

All we can say is: Call us when you get your own crib, kid.

VH1 Divas Edition, Part 3 - Kelly Clarkson's Home

2009-09-21T08:00:00.003-04:00

How can we not love Kelly Clarkson? She was our very first American Idol, beating out Justin "I can't sing, but I'm cute" Guarini for the title. She also tore it up in her duet with Melissa Ethridge at last week's VH1 awards.

Last year, Kelly reportedly bought this 5,470 sq. ft. home in Nashville for nearly $1.5 million: At first blush, the house seems pretty unremarkable--just like Kelly's forest green dress at the VH1 show. But upon closer inspection, we find it to be quite tasteful, understated, and elegant--just like her dress!

This is a classic stone cottage that's large enough to feel comfortable. Yet it's cozy enough to feel like you have a REAL home. What's not to like?

Okay, so we don't like the kitchen:

And, yes, the house has a couple of generic rooms like these:

But, please remember, these photos are from the realtor's listing and she's not responsible for the bland traditional decor of the previous owners. Perhaps she's punched it up a bit since she bought it.

Whenever she's bored with the inside, all she has to do is step out to this fabulous screened-in porch with a stone fireplace and vaulted ceiling:

We love it!

VH1 Divas Edition, Part 2 - Leona Lewis' House

2009-09-18T14:25:00.012-04:00

British singing sensation, and newly-crowned diva, Leona Lewis definitely did her thing on stage last night at the VH1 Divas Live show.

Leona is one of four of the new crop of VH1 Divas who owe their fame to Simon Cowell. You probably already know that the other three -- Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, and Jordin Sparks -- all got their big break as contestants on FOX's American Idol. Kelly and Jordin actually won during their respective seasons.

Anyhoo, turns out that Leona Lewis got her big break on X Factor, the English version of American Idol, on which Simon Cowell is also a judge. Like Kelly and Jordin, she ultimately won the competition.

In addition to obtaining a record contract, Leona also got Simon as a mentor. She became a huge British/international star. He eventually brought her to the States to make her an American star (a status that is strangely always above the realm of "international star").

We know, we know, get to the point! Where does she live?!!!

Where else? Los Angeles of course! According to the L.A. Times, she lives in a 2BR/2BA contemporary home (below) in the Hollywood Hills that reportedly costs nearly $9,000/month.

Rumor has it that Simon bought this place for her and that she leases it from him. Hmmm, wonder what his girlfriend (who looks a little like Leona) thinks of that?

Up next: Kelly Clarkson's home.

VH1 Divas Edition, Part 1 - Miley Cyrus at Home

2009-09-18T10:28:00.019-04:00

If you missed last night's VH1 Divas Live, which felt more like a teen edition, you didn't miss much. Except an apparently drugged out host Paula Abdul nearly falling on her ass during one of her lousy opening song and dance numbers. She redeemed herself, though, with a pretty good imitation of Ellen DeGeneres dancing through the audience aisles.

Anyway, this year's crop of divas -- Jennifer Hudson, Jordin Sparks, Kelly Clarkson, Leona Lewis, Adele, and Miley Cyrus, ranging in age from 16 to 29 years old (Isn't there a minimum age for divas?) -- belted out their hit songs pretty decently. They also sang duets with big music stars like Stevie Wonder, Cyndi Lauper, India Arie, Martina McBride, Melissa Ethridge, and Sheryl Crow, ranging in quality from outstanding (Wonder/Hudson) to piss-poor (Lauper/Lewis).

So all we really wanna know is, how do these divas live?

Up first is the home of, ahem, diva Miley Cyrus aka Hannah Montana. She lives in this 5BR/6BA mediterranean style home in North Hollywood:

At 16, she's the youngest of the diva bunch, so naturally she lives with her parents. Her dad is one-hit-wonder country singer Billy Ray "Joe Jackson is my Idol" Cyrus, who co-stars with her in Disney's Hannah Montana show. Here's the whole family in their kitchen below:
Miley's bedroom is allegedly inspired by the Hotel Viceroy. While we're sick of hotel-inspired houses, we do like the capiz shell chandelier:

And what teenage girl wouldn't want a dressing room like this of her own:

Up next in Part 2: Leona Lewis' home.

NFL's Chris McAlister Selling His Home, Headed for Oakland?

2009-09-17T12:00:00.011-04:00

The Baltimore Sun recently reported that former Baltimore Ravens cornerback Chris McAlister (whose contract was terminated earlier this year) might be picked up by the Oakland Raiders. In what is perhaps not a concidence, the Pasadena-born baller is also selling his home in Beverly Hills.

He's asking $7.9 million for this 1990 French-normandy 5BR/7BA mansion, which clocks in at a whopping 9,375 sq. ft. Last week, the L.A. Times reported that he's selling and plans to move to Maryland. Guess they thought the Ravens were bringing him back. Looks like he's headed for the Bay instead.

Anyway, the realtor's site is still under construction, but the Times published a few photos along with its story.

Unfortunately, despite the home's description, the front has that typical generic mega-mansion look (above).

But, even though we don't really care for mega-mansions, we do like the views from the bathroom and the rear terrace:

So, if you happen to have $7.9 million lying around, maybe this house is worth a look. For a couple of additional photos and more details about the house, check out the Times' story.

House Photos: Shaun Dixon.

Bill & Hillary Clinton: They're Gonna Need a Bigger House!

2009-09-17T10:57:00.011-04:00

The New York Post's Cindy Adams reports today on Page Six that ex-Prez Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary ("He's not the Sec'y of State, damn it, I am!") are house-hunting in Westchester County, NY. Cindy says they want a bigger place, enough for his-and-hers quarters.

After all their history, it wouldn't surprise us that Bill and Hill would want to be as far apart as possible if they're going to be in the same house. And we guess their Chappaqua house (above) in Westchester County isn't big enough.

But, according to TMZ, they were spotted just last month holding hands while on vacay in Bermuda! Check it out:

We're still scratching our heads! Like, was that a photo op or what?

Top photo credit: Mike Albans

John Krasinski Says 'Away We Go' -- He's Selling His West Hollywood Home

2009-09-16T14:09:00.019-04:00

John Krasinski -- that cute guy from The Office and the recent flick Away We Go (who isn't even all that cute, but that's what makes him so cute!) -- is moving on. He's asking $1,245,000 for his little english country-style 3BR/3BA house in West Hollywood.

We're guessing he needs a bigger place since he just got engaged to actress Emily Blunt of The Devil Wears Prada fame. This one's pretty small at less than 1,300sf.

It's also possibly a little overpriced to be located right across the street from an apartment complex. But at least it sits behind a tall hedge, giving it that feeling of seclusion.

Unfortunately, the house has been stripped bare of all personality in preparation for sale. Krasinski actually could have benefitted from a home stager to give the house some warmth. Notice how there isn't a single tchotchke on any table surface below?
And although the kitchen and bathroom are perfectly adequate, both look like standard Home Depot specials from earlier in the decade:
Nevertheless, the home has its small charms like the built-in china buffet in the dining room:

But, again, how about putting something on that dining table and buffet, like some freakin' china?!!!

Oh well, we get the feeling John was more of a chinese food take-out kind of guy anyway. And he's so cute (did we say that already?), we'd buy his house if we could!

If you want to see more of his home, here's the listing. We wish him luck!

R.I.P. Patrick Swayze Dies of Cancer at 57

2009-09-15T11:15:00.010-04:00

Popular movie actor Patrick Swayze, who rose to fame for both his acting and dancing abilities in the 1987 movie classic Dirty Dancing, died after a 20-month battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 57.

In the words of Jennifer Grey, his costar in that film: "Patrick was a rare and beautiful combination of raw masculinity and amazing grace." We agree.

Patrick went on to star in numerous other films, most notably Ghost with Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg. He also recently starred in the well-received A&E TV drama The Beast.

Patrick spent his later years living with his wife of 34 years, actress Lisa Niemi (shown with him above), on ranches in both California and New Mexico, where they raised Arabian horses. The California ranch is below.

Our condolences go out to Lisa and their entire family.

R.I.P.

Kanye West: Is This the Home of a Jerk?

2009-09-14T09:41:00.019-04:00

Well, oops, Kanye West did it again! He has clowned at the MTV VMA's so many times now. Is anyone surprised about what happened last night?

By now everyone knows that he interrupted Taylor Swift as she was accepting her Moon Man award for best female video. Kanye insisted that Beyonce deserved to win it based on her video for "Single Ladies." Even if we agree with him (and we do!), what a freakin' jerk!

Of course, it made us think, where does he live anyway?!!!

Turns out that Interior Design magazine featured the interior of his Hollywood Hills home a while back.

We were surprised to find that we liked a lot of things we saw, including the entry shown above.

Kanye has amassed an extensive furniture and pop art collection, like Burton Morris' Jetsons pieces above and the blue Eero Koivisto chair. And we especially dig Andy Warhol's classic Campbell's Soup cans over a vintage Louis Vuitton steamer trunk in his kitchen below:

But, as much as we like Ernie Barnes, the famed artist who did the murals seen on the classic TV show Good Times, we do NOT dig the mural he painted on Kanye's dining room ceiling:

Not only is it unattractive and goofy (Kanye is depicted as an angel a la Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel), but it speaks to Kanye's messiah complex.

For more photos of his home go here.

All in all, we found Kanye's home to be a bit sterile, as if it were a museum. Look but don't touch! Composed but artificial. That, along with the bizarre mural, serves as solid proof that he is a soul-less ego-maniacal JERK!

All interior photos by Art Gray.

Exclusive Details: La Toya Jackson's Las Vegas Condo Headed for Foreclosure

2009-09-11T12:59:00.013-04:00

TMZ reported today that Michael Jackson's sister, La Toya Jackson, may lose her Las Vegas condo if she doesn't come up with the cash to pay her mortgage by the end of the month. According to TMZ, La Toya owes nearly $750,000 on her condo, located in the swank Regency Towers (below) in Las Vegas. TMZ also includes a statement reportedly issued by her representative:

"La Toya has an extensive real estate portfolio and her advisors directed her to the business decision to let this particular property [] go to short sale . . . The property was also something she got during her divorce from Jack Gordon and she has no attachment to it."

We believe her! For the most part, that is.

We located the property records ourselves and found that it was recently placed up for sale at a list price of $205,000, but it is now temporarily off the market.

If she owes almost $500,000 more than the condo is even worth, perhaps it is a smart financial decision to just let it go.

The thing is, technically a short sale happens when the bank allows you to sell your home for less than what you owe. In this instance, TMZ reports that La Toya's condo is slated for auction on September 30.

That would be a FORECLOSURE, NOT A SHORT SALE!!!

Anyway, La Toya is scheduled to appear on ABC's 20/20 tonight in an interview with Barbara Walters. We'll see if she discusses any of this.

In Remembrance: September 11th Attacks

2009-09-11T06:31:00.001-04:00

On September 11, 2001, in a series of coordinated suicide attacks using four hijacked commercial airplanes, members of Al Queda killed nearly 3,000 people along with themselves on U.S. soil.

The hijackers crashed two airplanes into the twin World Trade Center buildings in New York, collapsing both. They crashed another one into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington, DC. They crashed the final one into a field in rural Pennsylvania after a struggle ensued with the passengers and crew.

All onboard the four airplanes died in the attacks, along with those who were trapped in the buildings. Hundreds of rescue workers (firefighters, emergency workers, police officers, and paramedics) also died during rescue and recovery efforts. It remains unclear how many others died of illness resulting from exposure to dust from the WTC collapse.

Since then, several memorials have been erected in various parts of the country to honor the victims.

Construction of a national memorial is currently underway in the spot where the WTC buildings stood. An artist's rendering is depicted above.

Now, in addition to having a home in our hearts and minds, they will have a symbolic home that reflects their absence.

Grammer Rules! Contractor Loses Lawsuit Over Kitchen Work

2009-09-11T06:30:00.001-04:00

TMZ is reporting that Kelsey Grammer (television star of shows like Frasier, Back to You, and the upcoming Hank) and his wife Camille won a lawsuit brought by The Last Detail, a company that claimed the Grammers owed them $150,000 in construction costs. The court even threw in the kitchen sink, ordering the company to pay damages to the Grammers.

According to TMZ, Kelsey says he fired the company for "'non-performance' after they tried to overcharge him for the work" on kitchen of their home in Malibu.

Yada, yada, yada. You just wanna see the house, and especially the kitchen, right? Well, we've got it!

We dug up this video from NBC's Today Show, where Kelsey and Camille are interviewed inside their Malibu home:

Enjoy!

Alec Baldwin's NYC Coop Up For Sale

2009-09-10T10:33:00.017-04:00

Alec Baldwin -- star of NBC's 30 Rock and dozens of feature films -- has placed his coop in the El Dorado building on Central Park West up for sale. He's asking $7.5 million for this 3BR/4.5BA gem, which boasts an eat-in kitchen and maid's quarters.

Notably, his home doesn't appear to be "staged" with generic furniture. Instead, it looks like his furniture pieces were acquired over time and reflect his own sensibilities of comfort and style.

For example, the living room (above) has two blue lounge chairs that look a little worn.

And it's nice to see he has family photos in the dining room (above). It's unexpected and incredibly normal. This room is obviously not just for show.
Of course, we realize it's the beautiful New York skyline and Central Park reservoir views (above and below) that will sell this place.

Honestly, after viewing the interior photos of his home, we feel like we know Alec a little better now. After all the madness we read in the tabloids, it's a nice reminder that he's human and lives like a normal (albeit very rich!) person.

His home is tranquil, traditional, and far from the artificiality of so many other stars' homes. We love it!

All home photos courtesy of Corcoran Realty.

Inside Madoff's Homes & Boats in NYC & Florida

2009-09-09T10:04:00.007-04:00

CNN Money tours Bernie Madoff's Manhattan penthouse, Palm Beach property, and boats. All go on the market this week. Both residences are expected to fetch $7M.

Here are a few shots of the Manhattan penthouse.

As with the Montauk property we featured previously, this living room supplies more proof that he has boring taste in home furnishings:

The Palm Beach home (below) is likewise prety unremarkable in terms of decor, though we do like the vaulted ceilings and the simple main entry (bottom photo).

Go here for the article and plenty of photos.

A Peek Inside the Obamas' Vacation House

2009-09-08T14:09:00.010-04:00

Architectural Digest has an exclusive look at the vacation house used by President Obama and his family this summer. We always wondered whether it was one of those giant structures with huge impersonal rooms. And we were relieved to find out that it is NOT!
As you can see, it is tastefully simple. The dining room above is obviously "nothing fancy." Likewise, for the bedroom below:

We think this porch speaks volumes about what this home really offers: a quite place to connect with your family. Sigh! We wish we could see more celebrity homes that looked like this, instead of the vulgar mansions of today. But then we'd have nothing to dish about!

All photos by Richard Keith Langham.

Photographer Annie Liebovitz to Lose Her Homes?

2009-09-08T12:37:00.008-04:00

Famed photographer Annie Liebovitz could lose the rights to her photography works as well as her homes if she doesn't cough up $24 million+ TODAY!

Leibovitz (shown above with her iconic photograph of Demi Moore) borrowed that amount last year from Art Capital Group using her homes and her rights to her photographic works as collateral.

She owns three townhouses in New York's West Village (including the one shown above) and a 228-acre country estate in Rhinebeck, NY. She has reportedly been in dire financial straits for quite a while and recently dealt with the deaths of her parents as well as her lover, Susan Santog.

Let's hope she comes up with the money fast!

UPDATE: We've heard that a hearing has been set for October 2nd, though technically that doesn't alter the payment due date. We've also heard that her properties are worth $40+ million and her works are worth $50+ million. We're guessing she'll let the houses go if things get really nasty.

UPDATE (9/11/09): We've heard that Art Capital Group has dropped the lawsuit and agreed to restructure the loan. So dear Annie is safe for now!

WTF? Squatting Real Housewife Now a Thief?

2009-09-08T12:00:00.002-04:00

Or at least that's what TMZ says about Real Housewives of Orange County's Lynne Curtin. We previously reported that the homeowner had to call the sheriff to evict this alleged squatter after she failed to pay $12,000 in back rent. Now it looks like she made off with $5,000 in furniture, including a bookcase, credenza, and armoire. Seems the only things she left behind were holes in the walls, trashed carpet, and damage to the travertine bathtub. Real class!

We're still waiting to hear her side of the story, though. Lynne, we're ready to talk anytime you are!

For more on this story go here: Evicted 'Housewife' Accused of Looting

Celebrity Home of the Week: Madoff's Beach House

2009-09-04T11:44:00.005-04:00

On behalf of all the victims of Bernie Madoff, we declare his beach house our Celebrity Home of the Week.

It's not glamorous. In fact, it's a great fixer-upper, with a little character and a great view. Let's get it sold so that perhaps the victims can get some of their money back!

CHOW & Ciao!

Ben Stiller's Mediterranean House Up For Sale

2009-09-04T10:38:00.025-04:00

Funny film star Ben Stiller has placed his Spanish mediterranean style Hollywood Hills home on the market for $12.5M. He shares this home with his wife, actress Christine Taylor (above) -- who co-starred with him in Dodgeball, Zoolander, and Tropic Thunder -- and their two kids.

Although the listing provides few glimpses of the home's interior, we dug up some interior shots on our own. It just so happens that their home was featured in the book, So Chic: Glamorous Lives, Stylish Spaces by Margaret Russell, editor in chief of Elle Decor magazine.

Check out the study above and the living room below:

We must admit we never particularly cared for the interior design of this home. We always thought it was a little too dark. Looks like they were trying for some sort of moorish/moroccan feel, which contributed to the overall darkness.

Nevertheless, we bet it's a very relaxing environment. There are lots of outdoor spaces like this to unwind:

If you want to see more photos of the outside, definitely check out the listing. The grounds are especially lush!

Real OC Housewife Is a Squatter!

2009-09-03T07:38:00.007-04:00

This b!tch has some nerve! We previously reported to you that Jane Curtin of Bravo TV's Real Housewives of Orange County was evicted from the home she rents on the show. Well, TMZ is reporting that she won't get out!

So the owner is now forced to ask the sheriff's office to physically throw her a$$ out!

The crazy thing is Curtin only owes $12,000--which isn't a heckuva a lot of money. What gives?

DJ AM Dies, Mom Wants to Close Real Estate Deal

2009-09-03T07:17:00.007-04:00

Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein, who along with Blink 182's Travis Barker famously survived a Learjet crash that killed four others nearly a year ago, was found dead last Friday in his New York City apartment. It has yet to be determined whether it was a drug overdose or suicide.

TMZ recently reported that Goldstein's mom wants to be named special administrator of his estate so she can sell his house in Los Angeles.

For more on the story and photos of the house, go here: DJ AM's Mom Wants to Close Real Estate Deal

R.I.P. DJ AM

Will Whitney Houston's New Album Sales Keep the Mortgage Paid?

2009-09-02T07:57:00.029-04:00

Unless you've been under a rock, you know by now that Whitney Houston's new album, I Look to You, dropped this week. So far, it's been met with lukewarm reviews.

We listened to a little of the footage of her concert in Central Park yesterday, which aired this morning on ABC's Good Morning America. Whitney was still not quite at the top of her game to us.

No matter though. Judging by all the fans who showed up, her album sales will be through the roof!

Good thing. Because Whitney could apparently use the money. Living with a drug addiction and that co-dependent husband Bobby Brown is what put her on the road to nearly losing both of her homes to foreclosure.

Back in 2006, her $1.39M mansion (above) in the Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta, Georgia -- where Whitney and Bobby filmed their TV reality show Being Bobby Brown -- was in foreclosure. Luckily she was able to sell it for $1.19M before the bank got around to it.

But who can forget this photo below from the National Enquirer of that bathroom in her house during the drug days?

Then, there were the reports that her $6M estate (below) in Mendham, New Jersey, was also in foreclosure for a period in 2006 because she owed more than $1M in back taxes.

Now that she's ditched her two DH's -- her Drug Habit and her Deadbeat Husband -- it looks like she's on the road to an amazing comeback. Let's hope that voice comes back too!

Good luck Whitney!