Monday, March 4, 2013

Musician Orpheo McCord Lists Contemporary Cottage

SELLER: Orpheo McCord
LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA
PRICE: $787,000
SIZE: 672 square feet, 2 bedroom, 1 bathrooms

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Your Mama knows we're probably gonna take some flack from some of the children for discussing this itty-bitty micro-compound in L.A.'s quickly gentrifying but still boho-chic Silver Lake area rather than having a go at Mary-Louise Parker's (re-)listed 10-room residence in lower Manhattan for the third time in a year—Your Mama discussed the Gramercy Park duplex in September 2012 when it was listed for the second time—or the nearly 10,000 square foot Atlanta (GA) mansion that Allen Iverson lost to the gaping maw of foreclosure or even Zsa Zsa Gabor's somewhat bedraggled estate in Bel Air that was, after a long slog on the open market, recently put into escrow by an as yet unidentified buyer.

However, this one's for us because, well, because Your Mama has a special affection for petite but well-planned residential spaces and—as it turns out— the unusually Lilliputian home is owned, as per property records, by multi-talented musician Orpheo McCord who shakes his proverbial money makers for one of our fave bands. Quite like the not quite famous reality tee-vee producer we discussed earlier today, Mister McCord's is hardly a household name, especially for—say—gangsta rap fans or Top 40 followers. He is, however, the marimba playing percussionist and occasional vocalist of the arty-farty L.A.-based musical collective known as Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros,* a 10-plus member band that hasn't risen to pop music mass consciousness yet but one that Your Mama—thank you very much, as if anyone cares—likes more than a little bit.

Property records indicate Mister McCord acquired his Silver Lake micro-compound in February 2007 for $665,000. The eensy-weensy main house, perched high above street level single car garage on a downright puny .06 acre parcel, was originally a 1920s Spanish bungalow but was re-worked—so our online research reveals—by the folks at Design Built, Inc. into an airy if highly compact and very contemporary cottage with two bedrooms and one bathroom efficiently wedged into what the L.A. County Tax Man shows is a microscopic 672 square feet.

Obviously this is not a house in which to raise a big family but for a single person or an in-synch couple this is really no more—or less—than is required for a comfortable urban lifestyle. Indeed, Your Mama would live here in a heartbeat, especially since it's walking distance to the hipster swarmed Sunset Junction shopping and dining area where a person so inclined can pick up a $38 pound of extra special coffee beans at Intelligentsia, snag a cute little knick-knack for your b.f.f. at ReForm School, purchase some hardcore fetish wear at Rough Trade—that last one is a maybe NSFW link, children—and finish up a damn fine steak frites at perennially popular eatery Cafe Stella.

The main, open plan living space, indisputably tiny and arguably even a bit cramped, is finished with high gloss wood floors that also horizontally clad one entire wall in a more modern take on wood paneling. Aluminum framed floor-to-ceiling windows face south for maximum solar exposure and open to a small deck with over the roof-top sky views.

At the back of the main living area that a compact, galley-style kitchen has lustrous custom cabinetry, quartz slab counter tops, (middle-grade but perfectly adequate for this price range) stainless steel appliances and a cleverly cantilevered breakfast bar that separates the kitchen area from the living room. A glass door makes a convenient exit from the kitchen to a supermodel slender deck that runs along the back side of the house.

A sliding wood panel separates the living room from one of the bedrooms that listing photos show has a built-in walnet—or maybe it's teak—wardrobe cabinet/dresser and another full wall of aluminum framed south facing windows. Listing photos show Mister McCord—or perhaps a property stager, we don't know—has sparely furnished to room as a home office.

The master bedroom—if it can properly be called that since it's hardly if at all bigger than the office/bedroom and doesn't have an en suite facility—opens through a floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors to that supermodel slender deck that wraps around the side of the house and steps down towards the entry gate.

At the back of the house, planted terraces stair step up the steep hillside to a larger, more entertainment friendly deck where the architect/designer installed a privacy fence of horizontal wood cladding that mimics the wall in the living room. A few more steps up is a detached, flexi-use ancillary structure that currently houses a simple two-room recording studio but could easily be used as a writing room or other home-based office situation, a yoga and meditation suite, a fitness space and aerobics studio, bathroom-free guest quarters or any other thing a person might imagine.

We're not sure if his decision to sell his bantam abode in Silver Lake is related but property records show Mister McCord—who previously owned a home in the remote, cedar-scented San Jacinto Mountains town of Idyllwild, CA—recently spent almost $800,000 on a charming but woefully dated hacienda style house with two bedrooms, two bathrooms and an in-ground swimming pool in a Ojai, CA.

Not that anybody gives a toxic dump's worth but besides Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros also others on regular rotation on Your Mama's music box right now include Linda Ronstadt, The Black Keys, Broken Bells, Miike Snow, Julian Doré, Robert Plant and Allison Kraus' 2007 album Raising Sand, the Alabama Shakes, Jack White's Blunderbuss and—always—a little Nina Simone for good measure.

*Just for your musical edification, puppies, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros have been touring for a couple of years, they're hardly a stranger to the public eye—they were on Letterman for chrissakes—and there is no such person named Edward Sharpe associated with this band.

listing photos: Sotheby's International Realty

31 comments:

Rosco Mare said...

Thanks for the Gabor day-core porn, Mama Dearest.

Her neighbors, and many in her circle refer to the, ahem....prince, as "von A-hole."

On another note, I really like the tiny house featured in this post

Anonymous said...

Mama huge fan of your work....and I mean HUGE....but when u need wikipedia to figure out who a person is and a Reality TV producer....these are lame listings

Anonymous said...

I actually prefer these more down to earth ones. As long as they're not McMansions! All about the micro-compounds.

Anonymous said...

Oh Mama-lama I LOVE your whole playlist. I've been listening to so much Alabama Shakes, Black keys, Edward Sharpe, And Ms.Ronstadt is a mainstay.

The house is cute, just wish the living room was a little wider.

Anonymous said...

Mama Did you see The Alabama Shakes preform live on SNL? Christoph Waltz hosted. They(lead singer Brittany) were transcendent.

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Lukey said...

Jeez Mama - I do love me some Broken Bells. Nice choice there. Can't say I care much for the rest of your list - except, of course, Jack White, who is a musical genius of immense proportions. This house seems to pack an awful lot into 672 square feet on .06 acres. Kudos to the designers!

Anonymous said...

Confidential to Rosco Mare:

Zissele, you may know that Miss Gabor's "prince" purchased his title from a financially-challenged family, descendants of minor monarchy generations ago. In this instance Zsa Zsa certainly married beneath her for the very sake of blind true love.

Miss Gabor is one of the very few among the highest pinnacle of true Hollywood royalty. The Rabbi is praying that the purchaser of Zsa Zsa's beloved home will recognize, revere, and preserve her magnificent Hollywood Regency mansion, a historical oytser, along with its priceless and impeccable decor of palatial regalia.

Rabbi Hedda LaCasa

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Anonymous said...

Very nice work, impressive!

Homelife Lettings

Anonymous said...

Your Mama, Wall Street Journal is reporting that a Microsoft executive is selling in Yarrow Point, WA, I'd like to know more!

Anonymous said...

Mama huge fan of your work....and I mean HUGE....but when u need wikipedia to figure out who a person is and a Reality TV producer....these are lame listings

I actually prefer these more down to earth ones. As long as they're not McMansions! All about the micro-compounds.

I like both, but wish Your Mama covered Paris just as much as she does London, not to say anything about Côte d'Azur or the massively expensive world of Hong Kong real estate.

Anonymous said...

Loved Zsa Zsa's house, except the horsehead on the table made me think of the Godfather movie.

What a beautiful home, yes, it should be preserved. And when it comes to Zsa Zsa, who's been around for about 300 years, it seems, they don't make them like her anymore

Anonymous said...

This is such a great house. I have a special affinity for Silver Lake. My first visits to LA as a much younger gay man in the 80s I stayed with gay friends in Silver Lake. Oh Zsa Zsa..the woman has balls. Remember when she b*tch slapped the police officer? That is why she has hung in there as long as she has. I hope she outlives that scary husband of hers and he gets nothing.

Anonymous said...

$1,171 per square foot and it doesn't even have a toilet? Hell-LAy real e$tate truly has gone in$ane.

lil' gay boy said...

What a gem! Even more bijou than Hyacinth Bucket's weekend flat...

Strikes a nice balance for a small lot -- instead of cramming too much into too small a footprint, the designers wisely chose to forgo some amenities (such as a second pooper) for a little sanity.

Anonymous said...

"Even more bijou than Hyacinth Buckets weekend flat.." Its BOUQUET!! And this property has taller ceilings than hers..better to host candle light suppers!!

I so appreciate you LGB!!

Anonymous said...

Please post more micro-compounds.

This is a "feasible fantasy" on my Hollywood assitant budget.

Rosco Mare said...

Confidential to Rabbi LaCasa:

My dear rabbi, as we approach the Easter and Passover high holidays, let us pray that prophetical real estate developers' bulldozers will pass over Zsa Zsa's historic house, and that an appreciative buyer will respectfully update it with the help of a nice gay or otherwise decorator recommended by our Mama Dearest.

Mazel tov

Anonymous said...

Amen, Brother Rosco, Amen.
Rabbi Hedda LaCasa

LGCL said...
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Sandpiper said...

Love this little place. Amazing what they've done with 675 square feet. I'm with Mama. Little more can be said except-wow!
As for Zsa Zsa, she's created quite a stir. I've had the opportunity to know her. She was a blast in earlier years. Have been a guest at her home. It was not the garish mess as we've seen online. Z had


impeccable taste. She's be swearing like a fish wife to see how "bastardized" it has become, including the mayhem when used as a film set. She must have been relocated. Not pointing fingers, but looks like his royal magesty may have also divested her jewelry and who knows what else. Think I saw her prized diamond necklace on TV at a red carpet event. And, what's up with those new horsies? Too Freudian for me.
Hey LGB! We've gotta chat! Still have my email?

Silly Sandpiper said...

To mama: Couple of editing missteps. Yikes.Children, I think contex still understood. Sorry.e

Silly Sandpiper said...

To mama: Couple of editing missteps. Yikes.Children, I think contex still understood. Sorry.e

lil' gay boy said...

Hey little birdie!

Don't have your email here at work -- will check at home!

Anonymous said...

Shalom Sandpiper:

The Rabbi is hesitant to respectfully address you as Feigel, Yiddish for Birdie, a female name. May she? She has been even more unsure of addressing LGB as Der Kleine Feigele, The Little, Little Birdie, as Feigele is also an endearing euphemism for a gay boy or gay man. Nu?

The Rabbi takes comfort in the knowledge that you and so many of the Kinderlach recognize Zsa Zsa's esquisite taste in fine and decorative arts, if not necessarily in men. We all pray for her complete healing. And by the way, Miss Gabor's "prince" also sold her fabulous fur coat collection, and did not donate the proceeds to PETA. Oy a shande (disgrace of cosmic magnitude).

Rabbi Hedda LaCasa

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lil' gay boy said...

Oh Rabbi, you can call me whatever you like (except late for dinner..)

Bah dumph, dum..

Sorry, in a corny mood today.

My understanding is that our beloved Zsa Zsa was last reported in a nursing home, and had at least one leg amputated, poor dear. Perhaps it's better she remain unaware of the "prince's" shenanigans.

Rosco Mare said...

Shalom Rabbi LaCasa

Selling ZZG's fur collection, and who knows what else, explains how von A-hole funded the expensive Sunset Strip billboard I saw on Oscar night. A waste of geld (I'm learning!)of a very high magnitude.

Maybe a celeb will acquire ZZG's house, and our Mama Dearest will kindly blog one of her informative updates for her appreciative children.

Happy to have you call me "zissele."

Mazel tov

Anonymous said...

Got to say, even though it is the size of my master area, I rather like this place.

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