LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA (Silver Lake)
PRICE: $989,000
SIZE: 1,600 square feet, 2-3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
YOUR MAMAS NOTES: It was only a month or so ago the long-legged blond at Trulia Luxe Living (and the kids at Curbed and etc.) revealed idiosyncratic film and television actor Giovanni Ribisi (Saving Private Ryan, Avatar, My Name Is Earl, Friends) purchased a live-work compound in the Atwater Village area of Los Angeles, CA—more on that later—so it's not much of a surprise to all us naughty property gossips he now has his old house in the nearby 'hood of Silver Lake on the market with an asking price of $989,000.
Mister Ribisi's decision buy a new house may (or may not) have something to do with his recent City Hall nuptials with vaguely androgynous English supermodel Agyness Deyn who celebrity gossip didn't even know he was hooking up with or dating let alone feeling in in a marrying mood about.
Anyhoo, hooray and mavel tov—or whatever exclamations Scientologists like Mister Ribisi shout at celebratory times. Property records reveal Mister Ribisi bought his Silver Lake digs in July 2004 for $700,000 from also-idiosyncratic actor (and Saving Private Ryan cast mate) Adam Goldberg.
The essentially single-story rancher-style residence, hidden from the street behind a two-car garage, high fence and even higher evergreen shrubbery, sits a a tiny .14 acre parcel, was originally built in 1950 (since updated and upgraded), measures in at a modest 1,600 square feet and includes, according to listing information, 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.*
*We're pretty sure, but not positive the house is actually configured with 2 bedrooms plus a third room back behind the kitchen convertible to a third bedroom.
The spare but not bare, open plan main living space has hardwood floors roughly the color of burnt sugar; a not-ideally-located wood burning fireplace; an airy, vaulted ceiling in the living room area; and a bank of custom, wood-framed glass doors that fold back to facilitate easy flow between indoor and outdoor living areas.
The dining room area—with a most-unusual ceiling recess in to which a chandelier is hung—connects to the expensively-equipped, galley-style kitchen finished with coffee-colored cabinets, eggshell-colored counter tops and the full complement of commercial-style stainless steel appliances. A few steps up a family room/den/office/potential bedroom space (with sliding doors to the front courtyard) makes the connection between the kitchen to the direct access, two-car garage.
The bedroom wing on the opposite side of the main living area contains 2 (and maybe three) bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. A good-sized guest/family bedroom at the front of the house—probably occupied by Mister Ribisi's teen-aged daughter when she's staying with him—has a vaulted and dormered ceiling, wide gash of mirrored closet doors and access to a somewhat compact hall bathroom with tile-lined (steam) shower with built-in seat.
The master bedroom at the back of the house also has a wide row of sliding mirrored closet doors and an attached bathroom with free-standing soaking tub (with shower curtain ring) and a single, low-profile rectangular vessel sink on a custom vanity crafted for thick slabs of (probably expensive wood).
More custom, wood-framed glass doors open the master bedroom to a curvaceous, tree-shaded and sun-dappled flagstone terrace with sunken spa. Two steps down the flagstone continues away from the house where it there's a built-in brick fireplace/barbecue (that may or may not be functional) and wee sunbathing deck set into a clearing in the trees. The deck drops off to a lap-length, black-bottom swimming pool that's visually (but not actually) cantilevered over the hillside with an over-the roof- and tree-tops view towards Silver Lake.
Listing information for the gated property shows the low-slung residence was built in 1954, spans 3,886 square feet and in addition to its 2 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms encompasses a glass-walled living room; a party-sized dining room/kitchen combo with banks of sliding glass doors, high-gloss cabinets and stainless counter tops; an art studio/gallery with industrial-sized roll-up door; adjoining office area; a free-form swimming pool surrounded by high hedges and desert landscaping; two-car car port and plenty more space to spread out and park a dozen or more cars.
listing photos (Silver Lake): Extraordinary Real Estate
listing photos (Atwater Village): Crosby Doe Associates