BUYER: Martha Plimpton
LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA
PRICE: $1,225,000
SIZE: (approx.) 1,350 square feet, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
YOUR MAMA’S NOTES: New York City born and bred actress, singer and showbiz dynasty scion Martha Plimpton — her parents are Shelley Plimpton and Keith Carradine, who met during the original Broadway production of “Hair” — has expanded her property portfolio to the West Coast, so snitches and swears all but omniscient real estate yenta Yolanda Yakketyyak, with the $1.225 million purchase of a 1950s ranch-style cottage about as high above Laurel Canyon and the Sunset Strip as it gets.
Listing details show the modestly sized house, set on a knoll above the street where it takes advantage of knee-buckling views that sweep over a broad swathe of Los Angeles, has two bedrooms and two bathrooms in about 1,350 square feet that successfully blends original 1950s architectural details such as board and batten exterior siding, wood beamed ceilings and diamond paned windows with modern creature comforts and updated kitchen and bathrooms. Dark stained hardwood floors run throughout open-plan living spaces that incorporate a living room anchored by a rustic, raised hearth red brick fireplace that opens on its backside to a second fireplace that warms a cozy den lined with sash windows and cushioned, built-in banquette seating. The den spills into to a slightly tight dining area and a slightly compact but smartly arranged kitchen with dove grey cabinets, snow-white solid surface counter tops and a vintage range. Both bedrooms are “well sized and bright” according to listing descriptions and the master bedroom has French doors to a trellis-shaded brick veranda. The not quite one-quarter acre lot features several terraces including an inviting front porch plus terraced gardens with mature fruit trees and a detached two-car garage at the street level.
The scratchy-voiced star of and, by our humble and meaningless estimation, the best thing about the sitcom “The Real O’Neals,” now in its sophomore season, lived most of her 40-some years in the same Upper West Side apartment but in 2013 she bought and moved to a four-bedroom Victorian-era townhouse in a landmarked Brooklyn neighborhood that she extensively renovated and described earlier this year in a video tour she gave People magazine as a tchotchke-filled “’farmhouse in the middle of the city.”
In addition to her numerous television roles, for which she has two Emmy nominations plus a win for a guest starring spin on “The Good Wife,” the three-time Tony nominee and Drama Desk Award winner has appeared in numerous theatrical productions and Broadway shows including the late 2014 and early 2015 revival of Edward Albee’s Pulitzer winning masterpiece “A Delicate Balance” with Jonathan Lithgow and Glenn Close.
Listing photos: Compass
