English screenwriter and award-winning veteran sketch comic Laura Solon is packing her bags and dipping her real estate toes across the pond; property records show she’s ponied up $1.6 million for a heavily modified 1922-built Tudor Revival spread in the quaint enclave of Altadena — out in L.A.’s San Gabriel Valley and just a quick skip north of Pasadena.
Sited mid-block on a quiet street littered with other equally charming homes, the new Solon digs were previously owned by the noted, late ceramicist Gifford Myers and appear to have undergone a significant remodel and expansion in the 1950s. But the house still retains its original pitched roof, and a red brick walkway that leads past a broad lawn, up a stairway to the front door.
A proper foyer guards the fireplace-equipped living room, which contains honey-hued hardwood floors and opens to the dining area and eat-in kitchen, where there are sage green cabinets, a butcher block-topped island and decidedly vintage appliances. Wooden double doors swing open into a spacious sunroom, which is “perfect for a studio,” per the listing, and is currently outfitted as an office/lounge/informal dining area combo. At the far side of the room, glassy French doors allow access to a terracotta-tiled courtyard with plenty of space for alfresco entertaining or moments of quiet reflection.
Certainly the property’s most wow-worthy feature, however, is its cavernous upstairs “loft,” which spans 1,100 square feet and is entirely devoted to the titanic master bedroom. Vaulted ceilings and exposed wooden beams lend the space a distinctly industrial vibe, while sets of French doors open to two slim terraces with views of the front and backyard.
Other amenities include two guest bedrooms downstairs and a detached one-car garage that sits behind the house. Despite the relatively generous quarter-acre lot, the property is not currently outfitted with a pool, though the grassy backyard offers plenty of space for that addition — should Solon and her longtime partner Dan Purcy desire it.
The house is also walking distance to the verdant Altadena Country Club, in addition to being just minutes away from the varied shopping and dining destinations of Old Town Pasadena, the concerts and games of the Rose Bowl, and the beauty of San Marino’s iconic Huntington Library.
Solon, now in her early 40s, achieved U.K. fame in the mid-aughts for her BBC radio sketch comedy show “Laura Solon: Talking and Not Talking.” Since 2019, she’s been the co-writer and co-showrunner of “Back to Life,” the critically acclaimed BBC comedy series that premiered on Showtime in the U.S. late last year. Last December, Variety named her one of the “10 Brits to Watch” in 2020.
Steve Clark of Compass held the listing; Joanna Suhl and Brad Holmes, also of Compass, repped Solon.