LOCATION: los angeles, ca
PRICE: $1,975,000
SIZE: 2,968 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
YOUR MAMAS NOTES: much to your mama's surprise, much lauded and deservedly applauded 4-time grammy-winning canadian-born crooner k.d. lang has long lived in a modest, rustic-modern, quasi-craftsman ranch-style residence above los angeles' laurel canyon. it seems, however, she's ready to move on because the thickly-treed and privately situated hillside property was listed this week with an asking price of $1,975,000.
property records we peeped are a bit unclear but it appears to your mama that miz lang, an out lesbian, staunch animal right activist, and practicing buddhist who often but not always articulates the spelling of her name in all lower case letters à la idiosyncratic poet e.e. cummings, acquired her laurel canyon crib in early 1999 for an unknown amount of money. miz lang occupies the premises, as far as we know, with her also buddhist lady-mate of 10 or so years jamie price.
after buying the .36 acre spread miz lang had the interiors of the cabin-ish crib worked over in the late 1990s by then l.a.- now new york- and paris-based interior designer valerie pasquiou who has also done up day-core for other tinseltowners and high profile peeps such as sitcom star lisa kudrow (web therapy, friends), her hollywood highness sharon stone, fashion photographer turned handbag and shoe designer monica botkier, fashion executive serge azria, design writer and editrix extraordinaire sue hostetler, well-connected french comedienne and movie star michèle laroque, and motion picture literary agent robert bookman who lives in a roland coate-designed spanish hacienda-style mansion once owned by reclusive billionaire howard hughes in los angeles' affluent hancock park 'hood. miz pasquiou's own chic, cozy and all but undecorated tin-roofed loft apartment in new york city's soho neighborhood was photographed for loft life in early 2009.
miz lang's laurel canyon hideaway was photographed for metropolitan home magazine in 2001 but listing photos suggest to your mama that some of miz pasquiou's dee-voonly uncomplicated, kick-up-your-feet contempo-cozy day-core has since been altered or replaced, possibly but not necessarily with the assistance of miz pasquiou.
listing information shows the single-level residence was originally built in 1940, measures 2,968 square feet and includes a total of 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
a row of high hedges, mature trees and other jumbled foliage comes together in a thick kerfuffle of leaves to completely shield the house from the prying eyes of paps and other passers by. A simple swinging wooden gate opens to the tree-shaded front yard where flagstone pathways criss-cross a rather anemic lawn and connect the entry gate to the front door and the gated flagstone driveway.
inside the the day-core is decidedly simple and even spare but abundant natural materials used in the architecture keep it from feeling overly spartan, bare or coldly minimal. a trio of boxy, low-slung seal gray sofas sit on a rich red carpet the living room area warmed by wood floors, a massive stone fireplace and hand-hewn wood beams, doorway frames and lintels. a second stone fireplace anchors the voluminous dining room where cushioned built-in benches line one wall and a long row of wood-framed french doors open the room to the rustling tree tops and small deck peppered with clusters of potted plants.
the simple but fully-equipped eat-in kitchen has mexican paver tile floor, wood-beamed ceiling, at least two dutch doors–and who does not l.o.v.e. a dutch door?–tile counter tops, and raised panel wood cabinetry with glass uppers.
the surprisingly spacious master suite boasts a third, massive stacked stone fireplace, a heavy-beamed wood ceiling, and a wide bank of french doors that lead out to a secluded cobblestone terrace laid in a zen-like pattern of concentric circles. the attached bathroom has concrete walls, double sinks, wood-beams across the ceiling, a jetted tub and an over-sized shower stall with built-in bench, barrel vaulted ceiling and we, four-pane window for proper moisture ventilation.
in addition to the master bedroom, two small but adequately sized guest rooms–one with deep window seat and the other with knotty pine paneled walls and ceiling–share a single bathroom.
a shrubbery shrouded stone staircase leads down from the house to a free-form swimming pool and raised spa surrounded by flagstone terracing and a wide wood deck that sets sunbathers into the tree tops. tree shaded lounging areas offer respite from the almost always shining and often scorching southern california sunshine.
the house was reportedly once owned by hunky (and closeted) homosexual matinee idol rock hudson and later by oscar-nominated lyricist gerry goffin (the loco-motion, (you make be feel like) a natural woman, one fine day, saving all my love for you, theme from mahogany: do you know where you're going to?).
miz lang's current celebrity (and "celebrity) neighbors are many: nepotistic young actress rumer willis bought the house next door in june 2010 for $971,500, soo-blime stockard channing is a couple doors down from there, musician paul doucette (matchbox 20) and the original valley girl moon unit zappa live across the street, and box office superstar comedian will ferrell owns a sprawling hillside compound just down the road he bought back in 2006 from comedienne/chat show host ellen degeneres
listing photos: prudential california realty
