SELLER: Neil Patrick Harris and David BurtkaLOCATION: Studio City, CA
PRICE: $1,599,000
SIZE: 2,408 square feet, 3 bedrooms 3 bathrooms
YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Now that actor/singer/presenter Neil Patrick Harris and his singing and dancing man-mate David Burtka have settled with their twin babies into their new (and newly remodeled) 2.1 million dollar digs in Encino, CA they've hoisted their previous L.A. residence in the hills of Studio City, CA on the market with an asking price of $1,599,000.
We've discussed Mister Harris ad nauseum on several occasions so we'll suffice to sum up his professional life succinctly and incompletely by saying only that he's successfully steered his child super-stardom as a geeky teenage doctor prodigy (Doogie Howser, M.D.) into an enviably successful and adult career on television (How I Met My Mother), Broadway (Cabaret, Assassins) and the silver screen (the Harold and Kumar Go to... film franchise).
Property records show that the out, proud and a-list homosexual–presumably with some sort of input from Miss Burtka–purchased the modestly scaled 1950s shingled ranch-style residence in Studio City in the spring of 2007 for $1,500,000. Although the house remains largely as it was when purchased Misters Harris and Burtka did have some work done on the landscaping, the hardscaping and the kitchen, which was completely remodeled and now looks suspiciously like the over-processed custom kitchens of about a bazillion mcmansions in a gajillion upscale gated tract developments. It even has a massive Medieval-looking pot rack that looks to Your Mama like it's aching to brain some naughty chef.
What was not changed, apparently, is one of the guest bathrooms done up in high-glitz and garish with mirrored walls, ceiling and vanity, rust colored marble floors and counter tops, peach colored sheers over the window and–the real cherry on the decorative cake–a twinkling chandelier. It's just awful and beyond gaudy but it's also, because it is so bodly tacky, magnificent from an anthropological point of view. At first we couldn't figure out why a couple of youngish gays would keep such a tragedy and then we kept looking at the listing photo of the bathroom and it slowly dawned on us that we too would keep it intact. We'd just leave the door open and rope it off and let guest peer in like it was the decorative arts wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Anyhoo, the according to listing information the 2,408 square foot house sits up a gated drive and has three bedrooms and three bathrooms, pitched and beamed ceilings, dark-stained hardwood floors with a red over-note, multi-paned windows and French doors and a couple of fireplaces.
A slim corridor runs along the rear of the house where there is a built in barbecue center that opens out to a lovely oval swimming pool and raised spa, both surrounded by an expansive brick terrace. A pergola-shaded dining terrace has sparkly and long if not exactly jet liner views of the San Fernando Valley.
Now then, it's back to Your Mama and the Dr. Cooter's scheduled vacation...
listing photos: Engel Multimedia for Prudential California Realty
