Luxe Living

International film star and all-around bad ass Jean-Claude Van Damme bought a Damme nice house in the summer of 2012. Property records show that the star fighter/actor paid $6,000,000 for the sleek waterfront home in Marina Del Ray, CA, in July, though the home was listed for $5,850,000. Luxury real estate can be a real ‘Bloodsport,’ so it’s likely Jean-Claude engaged in a heated bidding war over the incredible pad, as he paid well over the asking price.

Van Damme’s big-time acting dollars were put to good use, though, scoring him a brand new, modern home. The property has six bedrooms and eight-and-a-half bathrooms — including a deluxe master suite with his-and-hers baths and a steam shower. There’s also a commercial elevator, bar, library/office, billiard room, gym, rec room, 3D home theater, state-of-the-art Sonos audio system, eight fireplaces, an exceptional kitchen, open floor plan, and ocean views. But our favorite feature is the rooftop hangout, complete with an organic garden, swim jet hydro spa, fire pits, and multiple waterfalls.

Sounds like Van Damme’s new pad is a good place to “kick” it.

Love him or hate him – there’s no in between – Barry Bonds is one of the biggest sports characters of the last two decades. Rocketing to superstardom in Pittsburgh and helping make a forlorn franchise a regular in the playoffs while winning his first league MVP award, Bonds made it clear he had all the tools to become one of the greats. He took his talents back to Northern California in 1993, where he was born and raised, to play for the San Francisco Giants and resurrected that franchise while winning 6 additional MVP awards (4 in a row at one point), leading the team to the World Series in 2002, and cementing his place in baseball history. Of course, this was before the BALCO scandal and perjury investigation which has cast a shadow over Bonds’ mountain of accomplishments to the chagrin of some and the delight of others. So where does a sultan of swat live?

What can possibly be a large enough space for a larger than life character such as Bonds? Well, how about a 17,100 square foot palace of a home in Beverly Hills?

Word on the street is that Barry is putting his expansive, fully furnished property on the market for a cool $25 million. So what does the home of a baseball superstar offer? Well to start, 7 bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, and a two-story guest house, all situated on a manicured property modeled after a fine Italian Villa, from the olive tree-lined private drive to the Tuscan-style architecture.

The features of the home, like Barry’s 73 home runs in a single season, boggle the mind. With high ceilings up to 30 feet high throughout the grand living and family rooms and special details such as Italian floors and hand-painted murals, it’s a dazzling home. The gourmet kitchen (of course, this is a Tuscan-style home right?), feeds into a roomy dining room that is perfect for entertaining.

Should we stop there? Well, Barry didn’t stop playing until he was 43 and still a dominating hitter, so we’ll keep going. The rest of the home includes a walnut-paneled office and custom home movie theater with seating for 12. If you’re feeling tense the home also features a full service spa, including steam room, jacuzzi and body therapy rooms.

It wouldn’t be California living without some outdoor fun and this home delivers. There’s a full outdoor kitchen with pizza oven and wet bar, manicured lawn, swimming pool, cabana, and multi-use sport court.

In short, this home should be in the hall of fame. Maybe Barry too?

Check out the full listing from The Agency here.

With three properties already on the market, Kelsey Grammer is throwing a fourth into the mix by officially listing the home he recently purchased for new wife Kayte. In April 2012, Kelsey and his fourth wife purchased this six-bedroom Beverly Hills mansion for $6,500,000. It recently went up for rent for $30k a month, and now, it’s officially for sale for  $7,250,000!

Here’s the backstory: Kelsey originally bought the estate for new wife Kayte and their baby Faith as a home base when they relocated from New York City permanently in 2012. Shortly after the move to the West Coast, Kelsey’s show “Boss” got canceled, leaving him to re-evaluate his finances. Rather than stay in the new home, Kelsey decided to move the family into the OTHER house he owns in Beverly Hills that’s currently on the market for $16 million. Ex-wife Camille is pissed about the move, because she’s legally a co-owner and has been paying her half of the carrying costs on the home, which clock in around $40,000 a month. With Kelsey’s new family living in the house, it’s going to be even harder to offload, costing Camille even more money–she even went as far as requesting an injunction from a judge to bar the move! The motion was denied, and Kelsey’s now back in the higher-priced home, new family in tow.

It seems like the war between these two former spouses will never end.

Kelsey himself admitted that he has to move back into the higher-priced home he previously shared with Camille because, without income from his TV show, he’s strapped for cash and can’t afford to carry two Beverly Hills mortgages. Hopefully this latest home to hit the market will sell for a profit, and he’ll be back in the money again.

Grammer has other homes for sale in Malibu, Beaver Creek, and Beverly Hills–all three of which he owned with his ex-wife Camille–that must be sold as a part of the pair’s divorce settlement agreement. The faster they’re scooped up, the sooner these two new lovebirds can officially move on with their lives.

Michael Eisner, the man who led Disney as CEO from 1984 until 2005, has just spent $8,200,000 on a stunning estate right next door to his current home in Bel Air. According to public records, Eisner bought the home through a trust and closed on the deal on December 17, 2012.

The home he currently lives in is adjacent to the newly-purchased property, which makes us wonder whether he’ll adjoin the homes and make one large residential compound, or whether one of his children will move in and be a stone’s throw away from dear ole dad!  Eisner has a history of creating massive residential compounds. He also owns a compound on the Encinal bluffs in Malibu, made up of 4 parcels on Pacific Coast Highway.

Public records also show that Eisner spent $1,279,500 on his original six-bedroom, six-bathroom, 12,500 square foot home way back in August 1979.

So what did he just buy from his neighbors for $8.2 million? The just-purchased, next door home is a timeless 1928 Tudor on one acre . The property features a main house, guest house, pool and expansive grounds. The main house’s features include leaded glass windows, hardwood flooring, whitewashed brick, half-beam exterior and interior detail and cross-gabled roof lines. The estate is just inside the historic and East Gate of Bel Air.

Jennifer Love Hewitt has just sold her longtime Toluca Lake home for $2.15M: according to public records, the home just closed on December 13, 2012. Perfect for a party (or family) of five, the spacious 5,921 square foot home features 6 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms. Hewitt has owned the home since 1998, originally paying $1.7M for the private and secure home on one of Toluca Lake’s most desirable streets. The actress just pocketed $450,000 in the deal.

David Zucker, famous in Hollywood for writing, directing, and producing iconic titles like “Airplane!,” “The Naked Gun,” and “Scary Movie,” is selling his sleek, stunning Venice canal home for $3,199,000. Zucker purchased the centrally-located home in April 2007 for $2,850,000.

Situated on the historic Venice Canals on a private corner lot, Zucker’s home is just blocks from the beach and the “coolest street in America,” Abbot Kinney Blvd.  The home is an exceptional light-filled, three-level Cape Cod-style beach house, built in 2002. Well appointed, with beautiful contemporary details, the house has an ideal floor plan, with 1 bedroom/bathroom on the main level and the master bedroom suite, plus two additional bedrooms upstairs. The master bedroom has a sitting area and fireplace, and the second level’s two spare guestrooms are connected by a balcony. On the third level is an enormous family room with large wet bar, full bathroom, and two more large decks–one perfect for outdoor dining and the other great for enjoying the sun with a hot tub, outdoor fireplace, and views of the Venice canals. There’s even a perfect outdoor dining and entertaining area off the living/family room that opens up to the canal walk.

The kitchen has stainless appliances with an open bar and eating area and a fireplace in the living room. The home’s floors are primarily reclaimed wood from a Virginia barn and bluestone slate.

David Kelmenson of Partners Trust Real Estate is the listing agent.

Tongues are wagging at the news that the young, adorable Hollywood “It Couple” Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield have scooped up a Beverly Hills mansion to call their West Coast home base. According to the very in-the-know Real Estalker, the inseparable duo of Emma and Andrew just plopped down $2.5 million for a gated 3,862-square-foot, four-bedroom, three-and-a-half bathroom home once owned by the late actor and comedian Dudley Moore.

Property records aren’t clear on whose name appears on the title, so for now, we’ll have to live with the mystery. What we do know is that their new home is in an excellent Beverly Hills neighborhood. And perfect for an in-demand Hollywood actor and actress, the new home is private and gated.

The traditional-style home features a double-height living room with wood-beamed ceilings and a brick fireplace. The master suite features French doors that open to the backyard and pool. Additionally, the beautiful master bathroom has french windows. Down the hall, two bedrooms are connected with a Jack-and-Jill bathroom, and the guest suite features yet another bathroom. The kitchen comes complete with a Viking stove, stainless appliances, and breakfast room with a fireplace. Rounding out the property, the formal dining room has French doors that lead to the backyard, pool, and decks for entertaining.

Images via the MLS.

As a comedian, actor, voice-over artist and author, Tim Allen has been entertaining audiences for years. But he’ll always have a place in everyone’s heart as the bumbling, yet lovable Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor in one of the greatest sitcom hits of the 1990′s - Home Improvement. It’s safe to say the royalties of that show, plus his work in major motion pictures, continue to pay off for Allen much more than any hosting gig for Tool Time ever could have. Case in point: the recent purchase of a rustic $1.4 million Los Angeles retreat just off legendary Mulholland Drive.

It’s doubtful you’ll encounter the partially obscured face of Wilson just across the fence from this property, but we think the Taylor family would still feel at home in this serene ranch-style retreat in the Hollywood hills. The 2,604 square foot home includes 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms and custom Vermont pine floors with wood finishes throughout. The open floor plan, which connects the living room, dining room and den, features French doors and a wall of windows that open onto stunning views of the canyon.

The chef’s kitchen features an expansive stone island that seats ten and the requisite Viking range. Additional amenities include a stone fireplace in the living room, a built-in, high-definition television and sound systems throughout the house.

Once outside, it’s hard to imagine Al uttering the words, “I don’t think so, Tim,” as you gaze at the canyon from the full-length deck in the yard that features a fire pit, water feature and luxurious outdoor shower. Sorry Al, I’m siding with Tim on this one.

Maroon 5 frontman and ‘The Voice’ judge Adam Levine has just bought himself a new little ditty – a $4.8 million-dollar home in the Beverly Hills area.

Levine’s rocking new Beverly Hills pad is a historic estate with panoramic canyon views located atop the famed tennis court row of Benedict Canyon. The property clocks in at 3.6+ acres and the actual home is situated on over 1 flat acre. Known as the “Benedict House,” this property offers complete privacy and seclusion behind the gates of Wallingford Estates, a community of about 14 homes.

As the anchor property of the Wallingford development, it remains the prized gem of the neighborhood. Located down an incredibly long, private, gated driveway with a large circular motor court, Benedict House was called “a perfect family home” in the listing information. Should Adam not be content with the existing property, his new home sits on a wonderful site with more than enough room to build a 20,000 square foot house. The existing 6,500+ square foot ranch home and guest house consists of 6 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms and is meticulously maintained. The house boasts an enchanting living room, formal dining room, cooks kitchen and family room. It’s also got a spare den/office, and an expansive studio space which can be easily adapted to a screening room, music studio, or extra bedroom space.

Looks like the perpetual bachelor has just bought himself the perfect family home.

Britney Spears has reportedly bought a chart-topping new home in Thousand Oaks, CA. First reported by the in-the-know Real Estalker, Spears and fiancé Jason Tratwick are smack in the middle of escrow on a 5 bedroom, 7 bathroom, 8,456 square foot home that was listed for $8.5 million.

Rumor has it that she was given away by her new neighbors, who were so excited that the pop star and X Factor judge would be moving into the hood that they couldn’t keep their mouths shut about the pending sale.

Brit Brit’s new house is not the cliffside Malibu mansion she’s been passing off as her “judges home” on the recent episodes of X Factor. In fact, Britney’s new family home is along the lines of what we’ve seen her live in before. She, Jason and the kiddos have an affinity for big, sprawling mansions with tall ceilings, neutral colors and massive outdoor living areas. This new Thousand Oaks home is no difference – and doesn’t disappoint. The massive home is exactly the kind of home you’d expect the Princess of Pop to live in. She’s putting that $15 million dollar X Factor paycheck to good use on this one.

Completed in 2010, the single-story home is multi-winged and located behind the 24-hour guarded gates of the Sherwood Country Club. It’s a a true one of a kind modern mediterranean masterpiece and only the finest materials were used to construct/design this spectacular estate.

The many luxe attributes of this home include vanishing pocket doors, limestone and custom oak flooring, soaring beamed ceilings and a grand master suite with his & her bathrooms and two massive walk in closets.

Two separate offices, a massive, temperature controlled wine cellar, home theater bonus room and more complete the open, desirable floorplan. The exterior was designed to mimic a resort, and no doubt Britney’s two young boys will go crazy for the infinity pool, manicured lawns, rose garden, outdoor fireplace and BBQ area.

Built on two lots, Britney’s stunning new estate sits on over 1.4 acres. Her new neighbors are tennis champ Pete Sampras and his wife Bridgette Wilson, who are actually trying to sell their $20M estate.

This neighborhood just got a lot more exciting.