Hallmark Star Ashley Williams Buys 1970s LA Fixer-Upper

Following Ashley Williams on Instagram? Then you likely know she’s lived in around 29 Airbnbs ever since the Coronavirus pandemic hit back in 2020. You’re probably also aware that the prolific actress/producer — who just so happens to be the younger sister of fellow thespian Kimberly Williams-Paisley — has since rectified her nomadic residential situation, having picked up a permanent Los Angeles home in a particularly leafy neighborhood of Studio City last summer.

Williams and her film producer husband Neal Dodson paid just over $2 million for the dated postmodern dwelling, which was built in the early 1970s and is currently undergoing an extensive renovation that Williams is busy chronicling on social media — giving folks an inside look at the construction zone where she’s now living, and offering a fun side note that her family has tucked “secret wishes and messages to their future selves” behind the already finished walls.

Though the property soon will be completely reimagined, the listing describes the dark wood-sided structure as “a captivating, custom-built residence celebrating famed postmodern architecture,” complete with four bedrooms and three baths in a little more than 2,400 square feet of living space.

Sited on a hillside parcel spanning almost two-third acres, the two-story house is fronted by a wide driveway that passes by woodsy landscape before emptying out at a motorourt and an attached two-car garage. A bright orange-hued door opens into the main level, which before photos show as having a staircase-clad foyer that flows to living and dining rooms, plus a breakfast nook and an adjoining kitchen that will be totally redone and include a nifty appliance garage, per Williams.

There’s also a bedroom that could easily double as an office space and full bath on the bottom floor; and upstairs is a loft space and three bedrooms, including a master retreat with its own bath. Though the outdoor work has yet to begin, the private backyard is surrounded by towering trees and did host a covered al fresco dining patio that’s since been demolished. But there is a grassy lawn, which has ample room for the cold plunge bath that the lady of the house has previously alluded to on Instagram. We can’t wait for the big reveal!

A “How I Met Your Mother” alum, Williams is probably best known for her lengthy relationship with The Hallmark Channel, where she stars in movies, produces, directs, writes and also founded the “Make Her Mark” women’s directing initiative. As for Dodson, he has produced and written the films “Margin Call,” “All is Lost” and “A Most Violent Year.” The couple previously owned an Upper West Side apartment in New York that occupied the same floor where Yankees legend Babe Ruth once lived.

The Studio City listing was held by Michael J. Okun of Sotheby’s International Realty; Garrett McKechnie and Mia Capanna of Sotheby’s repped the buyers.