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

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.

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

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!

NY Governor David Paterson's Home For Now

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.

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

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

Architectural Digest Looks Back at Sen. Kennedy's Washington Home

In honor of the passing of Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy, Architectural Digest is featuring a slideshow of the Washington, DC, home he shared with his wife Victoria. The photos were originally presented along with a story in its November 1999 issue.

As you can see the home is classic Washington, both elegant and traditional. There are formal yet surprisingly fresh rooms, like their morning room below:

And what memories must lie within the photos and artifacts in his personal study.

The Lion of the Senate will be sorely missed. Our condolences to his wife and the rest of his family.

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Edward Kennedy Dies at Massachusetts Home

Longtime Massachusetts senator, brother of slain president JFK, and liberal icon, Edward "Ted" Kennedy has died. He was 77. After a year-long battle with brain cancer, the last remaining patriarch of the Kennedy family passed away late yesterday at his home on the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port (shown above and below).

R.I.P. Teddy.

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Top photo by Tom Tlumackie of the Boston Globe.

Blue Heron Farm: The Obamas' Summer White House

As we reported to you last month, President Obama and the First Family are spending a week on Martha's Vineyard for their summer vacation. They arrived this week at Blue Heron Farm in Chilmark, a white Victorian house that sits on 28+ acres:

Plum TV has a fabulous video of the farm:

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Roy Blunt sells his G-town manse, once belonged to JFK

We've just learned that President John F. Kennedy's first home in Georgetown was recently put up for sale for $1.595M and is apparently now under contract. JFK lived there with his sister Eunice Kennedy (whose funeral service was last Friday) while he was serving as a congressman during the 1940's.

The home currently belongs to Republican congressman and former party Whip Roy Blunt, who put it up for sale so he can return to his home state of Missouri to run for the U.S. Senate.

Nice digs!

More info and photos here: POLITICO: Shenanigans: The lighter side of politics - Roy Blunt, runs for Senate, sells his G-town manse

Jenny Sanford's Comfortable Home on Sullivans Island

Photo by Jonathan Becker

South Carolina First Lady Jenny Sanford is back in the news today as she recently granted an interview to Vogue magazine, in which she shared her views on her husband Governor Mark Sanford's scandalous affair with his South American "soul mate."

As you may recall, Jenny took their four kids and moved out of the governor's mansion into the family's home on Sullivans Island, outside of Charleston. Well, it turns out that the Sanfords had placed their home up for sale earlier this year, prior to the scandal.

We turned up some MLS photos from the expired listing!

From what little we can see, it's a nice home with traditional decor and that perfect screened-in porch (above) to capture the view and breezes of the Atlantic (below):



According to Charleston media, they were asking $3.5M for the 4,474s.f. oceanfront home, which has 6 bedrooms and 5 baths.

But for the embarassment of the scandal, we'd be jealous. Heck, we're jealous anyway! But after all that, she deserves to live in this kind of comfort!

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Celebrity Home of the Week

Well, we knew it would be a tough decision this week. We just didn't know it would be this tough! Let's have a look back at the candidates:


Candidate #1: Shia LaBeouf's Cool Sherman Oaks Home

PROS
* Gorgeous mid-century house. Hollywood style and glamour.
* Shia's a Hollywood Hottie!

CONS
* Shia is at about minute 12 of his 15 minutes of fame.
* The house is so fab, we're just plain jealous! Yes, we reserve the right to 'playa hate.'


Candidate #2: The "Ferris Beuller" House of Glass

PROS
* Another mid-century beauty (albeit probably freezing cold during those Chicago winters).
* Nice period furniture pieces inside.
* It's for sale. So you can own a piece of movie history . . . if you've got $2.3M.

CONS
* Infamous Ferrari is not included in the sales price.
* It's not really a celebrity's house. This actually disqualifies it from winning.
* It's not even the movie house of the movie's only celebrity--to the extent that we're still calling Matthew Broderick a celeb. Remember, it was his friend Cameron's house.

(Cameron was played by Alan Ruck, in case anyone cares and we know no one does.)


Candidate #3: Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's Overpriced New York Home


PROS
* It's a normal person's house. (Of course, Geithner may be a psycho.)
* It's the first house to garner its own segment on The Daily Show.
* It's possibly still for sale on the down low + at a greatly reduced price after that segment.

CONS
* That now infamous royal blue tile in the bathroom could get on our nerves.
* That aqua blue and salmon pink bedroom could make us commit hari-kari!
* It's overpriced, Geithner, you dumba$$! No wonder folks want you fired!


Candidate #4: Whoopi Goldberg's Eccentric SoHo Co-op

PROS
* It's a cool and quirky SoHo loft that happens to be for sale.
* AOL thought enough of it to put it on full blast to its subscribers yesterday.
* Despite our observations, a lot of people seemed to really dig her place.

CONS
* It's a little too quirky for us.
* It's a little too Shabby Chic-y for us.
* Did she ever f*ck Ted Danson there? Ewww!


So after weighing all the pros and cons, we have to call it a three-way tie this week. Congratulations Shia, Tim, and Whoopi. All of you have the Celebrity Homes of the Week!

Ciao!

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's House: Round 2

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's tudor cottage house in Larchmont, New York, was up for sale recently, as reported on The Daily Show. After that hilarious negative publicity from the show about the house being overpriced, it appears he's yanked it off the market.

Let's hope he got a contract on it. Then we'd feel like he's actually doing his job to fix the economy.

Anyway, Zillow no longer lists it as for sale. Fortunately, the photos were still up this morning. So we had a look at them:

Well, the house is certainly attractive enough, even if the furnishings are a little boring.

And here's that questionable bathroom:


Actually, it's a little "loud" but it's not so bad. Probably should have just stopped the tile at the tub surround and gone with beadboard behind the sink and toilet. Perhaps the tile original to the house. Then, it would be a cool feature.

His other bathroom, though, is obviously totally renovated. We like the bench and mosaic tile in the shower. See:

Now here's a bedroom that could have used a better paint combo:
Folks, don't think we're soft on the Obama administration. We'll call it like we see it. The bottom line is, this is a pleasant and comfortable-looking home.

Geithner gets points for normalcy. Unlike Karl Rove's house (which was nice enough too), we don't get the impression that a pompous person lives there.

The Daily Show: Tim Geithner Can't Sell His Home

Saw this hilarious segment about Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner last week on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Seems the guy doesn't know squat about money issues when it comes down to selling his own home (shown above).

Watch and judge for yourselves:

The Daily Show: Tim Geithner Can't Sell His Home

Meanwhile we'll try to dig up the rest of the photos of the house, including that crazy bathroom mentioned in the segment!

Jenny Sanford Moving Out Of Governor's Mansion

We figured it was just a matter of time. South Carolina governor Mark Sanford's wife Jenny is moving out of the governor's mansion. She'll be staying at the family's home on Sullivans Island.

Jenny made it clear from the get-go that she wouldn't "Stand By Her Man" through all of his bullshit with his South American "soul mate."

But we'll say what Jenny won't: "Adios m$therf#ck@r!"

More details here: Jenny Sanford Moving Out Of Governor's Mansion. AP Photo: Mary Ann Chastain.

Federal F*CK-UP Part III: This Just In!

Speaking of scoundrels!!! Can you name the one who owns this freezer? You guessed it! Former Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson. The Washington Post reports that he was convicted of corruption charges yesterday in a case made famous after the feds raided his home on Capitol Hill and found $90,000 in his freezer. He faces up to 150years in prison.
Hmm, they should have also convicted him of having no taste. Judging by his kitchen, above, his DC crib sucks. And his Louisiana mansion below is beyond gawdy!



Sometimes it seems like all southerners want to live either at Elvis' Graceland or Gone With the Wind's Tara--or as in this case both!

Federal F*CK-UP: Part II

So Karl Rove hasn't effed up lately, we suppose. And he isn't even a politician. More like a parasite. Yeah, we know: same thing. But Rove did enough harm to our nation's government in the past to forever wear the title of Federal F*CK-UP of the Century. Now it looks like he's bailing out of Washington D.C. for good.

According to the Washington Post, Rove has placed his digs up for sale for nearly $1.6 Million. He bought it for $799K eight years ago. Naturally, we wanted to check it out.

Well, the living room below has the typical pomp and circumstance of Washington: chintz and books. It's the oldest and lamest way to say upscale preppy and educated.

And the master bedroom? More books. And the library? Books of course . . . and booze.

And a bonus room? Take a guess! You got it! Still more books!

We can't say whether this house is worth the asking price. The bottom line is, when the final pages are written on Rove's chapter in history, his house will probably end up on the national historic register as home to a famous scoundrel. That alone is worth something.

Federal F*CK-UP: Part I

Ah, politicians. Can't live with 'em/can't send 'em to Mars. Usually, we would feel sympathy for someone facing foreclosure, but WTF?!! California congresswoman Rep. Laura Richardson --who has an M.B.A. -- surely has some explainin' to do.

First, she bought her house in Sacramento with no money down and a subprime mortgage. Then, she didn't even bother to maintain her home, pissing off the neighbors by failing to mow the lawn or remove garbage and rotting fruit. In fact, the Sacramento department of code enforcement declared her home a "public nuisance" and "blighted."

She also failed to keep up the mortgage payments, ultimately owing $40K more than the purchase price of the home, $535K. After the bank foreclosed on the property, an investor bought it for $338K and started renovations. But, in an unusual act, the bank rescinded the foreclosure and withdrew the sale, apparently giving Rep. Richardson some sort of preferential treatment.

Needless to say, Richardson is now the subject of a House ethics committee investigation.

Too bad. The house looks sorta cute. (Photo by Randy Lynn Beach for the L.A. Times.)

Let's Dish the Dirt on Celebrity Homes!

ALL celebrities, some rich and some not-so-much, HAVE to live somewhere . . . .

Some celebrities live in beautiful homes . . . .

And some . . . well . . . not-so-much!

Here at CELEBRITY DIGS HQ you'll get the latest scoop on celebrity homes found in shelter mags and pulled from other news sources.

Naturally, we'll tell you which celebrity homes we really DIG! And we'll even take a few "digs" at celebrity homes we really hate!

Can't wait to dish with you!

--Celebrity Digger (C.D.)