Friday, April 30, 2010

Madonna of Madrid Lists Los Angeles Hideaway

SELLER: Penelope Cruz
LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA
PRICE: $3,695,000
SIZE: 3,334 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: This morning Your Mama received a lovely missive from Big Dave at Celebrity Address Aerial who pointed our beady little eyes in the direction of a "Balinese Modern" style residence above Los Angeles' Sunset Strip owned and listed for sale by freakishly fetching actress Penelope Cruz, a.k.a the Madonna of Madrid.

Unlike all these talent free pretty faces that inhabit Tinseltown–you know who you are ladees–Miss Cruz is a force to be reckoned with on the silver screen earning an Oscar for her part in Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona plus two additional nominations for Nine and Volver. She also appeared in All the Pretty Horses, Vanilla Sky, Gothika and Los Abrazos Rotos, her fourth film with Oscar winning and flaw-less filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar.

The never married Miss Cruz tends to keep her private life private but according to all the gossip glossies she has a penchant for coupling up with her high profile co-stars such as Matt Damon, that creepy Tom Crooz character with whom she is still palzee-walzee, and her current beau–the most handsome, sexy and talented of them all–Oscar winning actor Javier Bardem (Vicky Cristina Barcelona, No Country for Old Men, Before Night Falls, Jamón Jamón)

Property records show that Miss Cruz, who speaks an impressive four languages, purchased her Sunset Strip area residence in May of 2005 for $3,138,000. Apparently Miss Cruz only used the property as an occasional crash pad because in 2008 she put the place out for lease at $14,500 per month and the property is still listed as available for locations shoots through at least one of the many location agencies in Los Angeles. This is sort of strange for a ladee known to protect her privacy and personal life like a mama bear protecting her cub.

Anyhoo, listing information and property records for Miss Cruz's crib both agree that the single story house measures 3,334 square feet and includes 3 bedooms and 3.5 poopers plus a room for the maid or office use. Carved wood doors open from the street into a small courtyard with fountain that leads to the front door. Due to the parcel's pie shape, the interior spaces are punished with some awkward angles and odd relationships between rooms, i.e. the living, dining and family room areas. Some of the wacky angles and relationships are soothed by the uniformity of the bamboo floors laid throughout the house and when the house was fully decked out with Miss Cruz's combination of Bali meets Hollywood glam there was a flow to the spaces that made them feel more appropriately positioned.

The good sized gourmet kitchen has all the expected high grade appliances and granite counter tops but we're a little concerned about the pea soup green colored cabinetry, a color that unfortunately repeats itself on the wood frames surrounding the windows and French doors in the rest of the house. Maybe in real life that hue works better, but in pictures it's kind of bone chilling.

Miss Cruz's boo-dwar opens to the back yard through French doors and includes a wall of wardrobes and dressing area with a full length mirror perfect for the pre-red carpet dress checks, sitting area, and a bathroom commodious enough to contain an antique dining room table and two slip covered chairs. We're not sure exactly why Miss Cruz would want an antique dining table in her pooper but perhaps she like to take her morning tea near the terlit or play Canasta with her assistant before she steps into the shower.

The house wraps around a large terrace at the back of the house. A classic kidney shaped swimming pool is surrounded by several lounging locations and a swatch of grass that gives way to a down slope and downtown views.

Miss Cruz's nearby neighbors include writer/producer Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Charlie Wilson's War) and Guinness heiress Evgenia Citkowitz and her man-mate actor Julian Sands (Boxing Helena, 24, Lipstick Jungle) who made the knees of Your Mama and everyone else we knew buckle with desire back in 1985 when he starred as George Emerson in A Room With A View.

photos: Sotheby's International Realty / Brett Lawyer

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

So...i'm going to buy the house and Your Mama won't. lol

Brian said...

Shittastic interior! Makes me wanna take a gallon of red paint and just throw it somewhere.

Kimberly said...

Dear, I think it will be fun visiting your blog. We have been desperately seeking our place under the sun...stalking a piece of property.

I am looking for some new fresh blogs to follow today. I am on a scavenger hunt for blogs. I am now going to follow yours. I have loved the moments I have gone through your blog so far.

Warm wishes to you and your family! From Contessa Grigia at Terra Del Sole

Ellie Mae said...

i'd love getting paid to play canasta with miz cruz! Where do I apply?

Anonymous said...

The interiors look exactly like my veterinarian's clinic.

Carla Ridge said...

Love her, think she's fantastic, but this house could not have LESS personality. No, scratch that -- it's flat out whatever the spanish word for 'ugly' is.

Anonymous said...

Love the entry gate. The end.

Anonymous said...

OMG....b-o-r-i-n-g. I'd end up having to gouge out my left eye with a Sharpie if I had to live in that place. I'm SO disappointed in Miss Penelope.
xoxox LaLu

Anonymous said...

Nice house, but the entry is the only remarkable thing about it. You'd think that hanging around Tom Crooz, she'd have befriended at least one nice gay decorator!

Little Debbie said...

it looks like nobody lives there. Something is not quite right.

Madam Pince said...

Mama, I agree with you about those pea green cabinets -- bone-chillin' indeed.

Dogatella Davinci said...

This house has very weird angles and very weird neighbors.. next to alan s....no thank you... he must be sad having paid $6,400,000 for the same house.next door..... I believe the pee soup was the result of the (blind...? not sure decorator ) he lost his dog (pr stunt) while finishing the house. its still odd and the view is only seen after climbing the neighbors roof top,

Khont Katrashian said...

also , the drive past the "renters" on clark does nothing for values.. I looked at a house up the hill to buy, once my "up the butt bob" video made me millions but the family nixed the idea... my slut of a mother said nothing but beverly hills for my gal, so it was, but it was a sweet cliff may at the end of devlin.. since leveled... ahhhh los angeles and its dedication to restoration.

Jacky Postalgold said...

Hmm..the interior does look quite bland!definately would suite a Penelope Cruz fan rather than a home buyer

Anonymous said...

How very austere...But what bothers me most is the outrageous price -I guess folks will pay that much to live near the Robert Wagners and Sandy Duncan's of the world (pulleeze!) but for $3.7 million you don't get no diving board in your pool nor dishwasher in your kitchen? Where I live, in Topeka Kansas, I got all those and a 2 car garage for $137,000.

Tom Thumb said...

Topeka, Kansas?

There's a reason Topeka, Kansas is so much less expensive than L.A.

Fewer people actually want to live there.

I'm not dogging Topeka, Kansas. I've never been to Topeka, Kansas. But it doesn't take a brain surgeon to understand that Topeka, KS isn't exactly one of the world's most recognized urban places.

Anonymous said...

Debbie, considering that Penelope spends most of her time in Europe, she probably did hardly live there. That's probably why she is selling it. She doesn't spend enough time in LA to justify owning a home.

The article also says that she started leasing it out in 2008 which is probably another reason why it doesn't look like anybody lived there.

pollylanda said...

did a personal inspection on this one today again..........not good, very very small unattractive view, hope the neighbor lets her cut the bushes or view is gone,
brett, come on, touch up all the peeling paint on all the outside doors, cost maybe $20 bucks. weird rooms,catacolms,the best part of the house is the entry, high ceilings, the rest cannot be salvaged, very 1984 Kress showroom looking, spend $3600,000 for land, no views, not good

Lydia said...

She has so many homes... Other articles read that she barely spent time in this certain LA home. So don't be surprised that it's more so on the empty/bland side. She probably just bought it for some time and convenience.

The only way I'd buy a 3 Million dollar house from Penelope Cruz is if she's part of the house, a Roomie. I'd love to meet her one day, see how much we have in common, I look up to this woman! :)