Many real estate agents are inclined to encourage buyers to act fast before a more aggressive buyer snatches an attractive property out of their home buying clutches. However, sometimes it’s patience that wins the game. Just ask Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frucsiante.
Almost 20 years ago the veteran rocker shelled out a tetch more than a million bucks for a 3,800-square-foot midcentury home hidden up a semi-private driveway in a serene and celeb-favored micro-neighborhood at the top of L.A.’s fabled Laurel Canyon.
A few of the many other high-profile showbiz folk who have owned homes in the quietly coveted ‘hood include Sacha Baron Cohen, Bruno Mars, Carol Leifer, Diablo Cody and Charleston Heston, whose former house is still owned by the gun-loving late actor’s family. Swedish pop star Tove Lo owns television polymath Danny McBride’s former house, and Mila Kunis’ former digs are now owned by Muse drummer Dominic Howard, who bought the San Fernando Valley-view spread about six years ago, added a recording studio and now has it for sale at a smidgen under $7 million after he first gave it a go at $7.75 million.
Last year, the newly renovated 1960s era home next door to Frucsiante’s longtime home popped up for sale with a price pushing up on $5.1 million. The celebrated guitarist didn’t immediately move on the property but, instead, waited while the price was chopped of times to its final ask of $4.75 million before he swooped in and scooped it up for the discounted, though by no means bargain basement price of $4.55 million.
With four bedrooms and four bathrooms in about 4,300 square feet, the supremely private pad was listed with Tomer Fridman, newly back at Compass after a short stint at Hilton & Hyland, while Frucsiante was repped by Laura Basset of Compass.
Photos: The Luxury Level
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Image Credit: The Luxury Level Squirreled atop a semi-private driveway shared with the guitarist’s other home, the single-story residence sits in perfect privacy high above the street on an elevated parcel of almost two-thirds of an acre. Renovated for a contemporary lifestyle, with all the bells and whistles one might hope for in a $4.5 million house, the house remains firmly footed in its midcentury shoes. Vaulted ceilings add dramatic volume in the open-plan living spaces that sport white polished terrazzo floors agleam with sunlight that pours in through vast walls of glass that facilitate a classically Californian indoor-outdoor lifestyle.
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Image Credit: The Luxury Level Just inside the front door, an airy and light-filled step-down living room is anchored by whitewashed rough-cut stone fireplace with trendy brass fittings around its extra-wide opening and a cantilevered black marble raised hearth.
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Image Credit: The Luxury Level The fireplace is double-sided and shared with a more intimately sized lounge compete with a wood-clad, and also brass accented, wet bar.
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Image Credit: The Luxury Level Open to the living room, lounge and adjoining dining area, the kitchen is a clean-lined master class in culinary minimalism arranged around a huge island snack bar. Sleek high-end black appliances all but disappear in the unadorned charcoal-colored cabinets that are in stark opposition to the snow-white countertops. Clerestory windows over the sink provide an abstract view of the rugged hillside into which the property is notched.
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Image Credit: The Luxury Level A powder room amps up the glamour with mirrored tiles around a backlit alabaster vanity, while a spacious den is easily transformed into a cozy media lounge or state-of-the-art recording studio.
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Image Credit: The Luxury Level -
Image Credit: The Luxury Level One of the guest bedrooms is en suite, while the other two share a Jack ‘n’ Jill-style bath with high windows over the double-sink vanity that frame a cinematic sweep of the hillside.
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Image Credit: The Luxury Level Tucked back in a wing of it’s own, the primary bedroom is a five-star retreat that spills out to the swimming pool through a room-wide-bank of sliding glass panels. The L-shaped walk-in closet is lined with floor-to-ceiling cabinets.
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Image Credit: The Luxury Level -
Image Credit: The Luxury Level A second double-sided fireplace, this one an asymmetrical affair between the bedroom and bath, adds to the five-star feeling, as does a spacious fitness/massage area lined with floor-to-ceiling windows that look out into a lushly planted courtyard garden.
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Image Credit: The Luxury Level The L-shaped house embraces the backyard area that includes a freeform swimming pool and spa and a tree-framed sunset view across Laurel Canyon.
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Image Credit: The Luxury Level In addition to his side-by-side homes in the Hollywood Hills, Frucsiante also owns another 1960s-era California ranch-style in the decidedly suburban Woodland Hills area of the San Fernando Valley that he acquired in late 2005 for about $880,000.