LOCATION: Austin, TX
PRICE: $1,475,000
SIZE: 5,200 square feet, 4 bedroom, 5.5 bathrooms
YOUR MAMAS NOTES: We apologize in advance for being a bit flat and little slow to get back up in the celebrity real estate saddle after the Memorial Day hiatus, most of which Your Mama spent sauced up on gin & tonics, nursing ailing pooches, watching tomatoes ripen and entertaining the in-laws. We are, needless to day, in need of a holiday from the dead veterans-honoring holiday.
At some point during the still-a-bit-fuzzy-in-our-mind weekend we received a short communique from The Bizzy Boys at Celebrity Address Aerial that Michael Lee Aday—much better known as the comfort food-named actor and hard rock musician Meat Loaf—bought new digs in an affluent and fairly new development in the scenically stunning Hill Country just to the west of Austin, TX. At first Your Mama wondered why Mister Meat Loaf and the missus would relocate to Austin. Not that there's anything wrong with Austin we just didn't catch the connection until we learned from our research that Mister Meat Loaf was born and bred in Dallas. He's a Texan and once a Texan perhaps always a Texan.
Anyhoo, property records reveal in mid-March (2012) Mister Meat Loaf and his missus Deborah Gillespie—using the same trust in which their previous crib in Calabasas, CA was held—spent $1,475,000 to acquire a newly constructed, hacienda-style contemporary on a slightly elevated, 1.1 acre knoll with long and lovely southern vistas over the rolling, oak tree carpeted hills.
Listing information indicates the rambling, single-story residence measures about 5,200 square feet with 4-5 bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms. Listing information also shows construction was completed in 2012 and that the house was built with weather and fire resistant materials, energy efficient systems and environmentally sensitive doodads and gewgaws such as a rainwater collection situation.
The long, gated driveway curves up to a motor court around which the low-slung, red tile roofed residence and attached two-car garage angles itself. Plans included with marketing materials we cajoled up out of the internets call for an additional, detached two car garage opposite the house that may (or may not) be convertible according to community guidelines to a guest house, recording facility, Pilates studio or what have y'all.
The angled and unusually-shaped residence has a somewhat unorthodox layout that leaves the two primary public spaces with flexible (if somewhat vague) purposes. Sable marble tile floors in the foyer extend into an intimately-scaled space (with mantel-free fireplace) optimally utilized as a "formal" sitting/living room or a "formal" dining room.
The sable marble floors continue into a much larger, flexi-use space with two entire walls of Bauhaus-ian, almost-floor-to-ceiling windows fitted with EZ clean glass, whatever that is. The bigger room, with a bit of built in cabinetry and shelving along one wall, could be used as an over-sized "formal" dining room, a living/family room or an informal, combination living/dining area.
The larger flexi-use space opens, loft-like to the cook- and family-friendly eat-in kitchen well equipped with medium-grade stainless steel appliances, granite and marble counter tops, a double-wide center work-island with snack counter and window-lined breakfast nook with wide Hill Country view.
The master suite, well-placed for maximum privacy from other inhabitants of the house, occupies its own wing off the front foyer with a large walk-in closet and attached bathroom with double sinks, soaking tub, separate shower, enclosed cubicle for the crapper and heated marble floors. Clear at the opposite end of the house two of the three additional guest/family bedrooms open directly to the back yard while all three have a walk-in closet and private facility.
Off the lengthy, zig-zaggy corridor that connects the public rooms with the service areas and guest/family bedrooms, a den/study/office/library could be utilized as a formal dining room but the attached walk-in closet and private pooper make it far more suitable as a full-time sleeping chamber for a family member, a guest suite, or domestic quarters.
Almost every room in the house opens to or looks out over the back yard hemmed in and defined by a low-stone wall constructed of locally sourced stones. A lofty dining/lounging ramada stands adjacent to a plunge-sized swimming pool set into the craggy canopies of the properties numerous and ancient-looking oak trees.
The gated, master-planned development features a number of residents (and their guests) only amenities that include a community center that can be reserves for parties and other events; outdoor grilling facilities; a resort-style swimming pool; a couple of ponds stocked for easy-fishing; a children's playground with sport court; and 80 (or so) acres of nature preserve laced with stone pathways for strolling, bird-watching and jogging. For all that, according to listing information, homeowner association dues run $125 per month.
Mister and Missus Meat Loaf had their David Dalton-decorated suburban (mc)mansion near Calabasas, CA photographed for the April 2008 issue of Architectural Digest. A little more than two years later, as do many celebrities who have their private homes featured in the high-gloss property porn publication, Mister and Missus Meat loaf pushed their Calabasas crib on the open market with a $3,200,00 price tag. Your Mama (dissed and) discussed the 7,142 square foot Spanish-style casa in spring 2011 and property records indicate the 7 bedroom and 7 bathroom mansion, situated in a small and upscale, gated development just off Mulholland Highway, sold for $3,065,000 in late May 2011.
listing photos: Dara & Associates via Redfin
P.S. We'd like to wish a heartfelt happy birfday our boozy, spandex-sporting b.f.f. Fiona Trambeau. She may be a boiling cauldron of turmoil and trouble who frequently puts Your Mama's life in danger but she's a treasure worth every single minute we've ever spent holding her wig up out of the terlit.