Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Gossip Girl Creator Stephanie Savage Moves On

SELLER: Stephanie Savage
LOCATION: Canyon Drive, Los Angeles, CA
PRICE: $924,500
SIZE: 2 bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms
DESCRIPTION: ...Inside the Roaring '20s home are gleaming hardwood floors, soaring ceilings, a charming dining room with period built-in book cases, a living room with fireplace, a kitchen full of stainless-steel appliances, and a unique screening room. A walled and gated outdoor living area is perfect for entertaining.

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Listen puppies, Your Mama has got places to go and people to see today so, like it or not, we've got to be brief this morning. Thanks to a gorgeous gal we'll call Smart Sue we've learned that Gossip Girl co-creator and executive producer Stephanie Savage has listed her somewhat modest house in Los Angeles' Bronson Canyon area for $924,500.

The Gossip Girl crazy train (which Your Mama never got on) is not the first boob-toob juggernaut to fill Miss Savage's coffers with mountains of money. A quick and cursory run through Miss Savage's resume reveals that she also wrote for and produced The OC (another crazy train we refused to board) as well as acting as an associate producer for the film Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle which was directed by her former producing partner McG.

Property records show Miss Savage picked up her petite property on Canyon Drive in March of 2006 when she forked over $895,000 for the 1,318 square foot house. A few flicks of the well worn beads on our bejeweled abacus reveals that after paying taxes and real estate fees Miss Savage is likely to lose money on this property even if she manages to sell it for its current asking price.

Listing information shows the decidedly unpretentious residence includes just 2 bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms. Other features include a large living room with vaulted ceiling, wood burning fireplace, dark wood floors and arched french doors leading to a small brick terrace all done up and did over like an outdoor living room. The children will note that Miss Savage's living room and dining room both prominently feature books. Your Mama's decorating rule #4 clearly states, "No house is a home without books."

The wee kitchen has been outfitted with all manner of up to date stainless steel appliances, however it looks like someone chose to cheap out on the counter tops and installed very ordinary white tiles.

Upstairs in the slightly too gurlish for a grown up master bedroom a pretty pink Chinoiserie style chandelier has been hung over the bed which has been dressed like a bed from a W hotel. It's a bit difficult to tell from this angle, but trust Your Mama when we tell you that whimsical chandelier is not centered over the bed which from other angles gives the otherwise simply dee-luxe a not very pleasant off kilter feeling. A sky lit bathroom is shared by the two upstairs bedrooms and is way to small for Your Mama's fat ass.

The listing states the house includes a "unique screening room." Hmm. Well, all the children with eyeballs can easily see that what is "unique" about Miss Savage's screening room is that you can't stand up in it. Okay, you can stand up in some of it. Listen puppies, Your Mama and the Dr. Cooter enjoy lying down while watching a Project Runway marathon just like everyone else, but we also like having the not very novel option of sitting up straight without banging our noggin on the ceiling.

Given her serious success, we presume (but can not confirm) that Miss Savage will be moving up in the real estate world as did her former producing partner, the in demand director McG, who recently forked over 5,750,000 smackers for a hacienda-style house on Hollywood Boulevard that was once owned by hotel honcho Brad Korzen who is, of course, married to bigwig interior designer and hair crimping queen Kelly Wearstler.

According to listing information and property records, Mister McG's new brick built and tile roofed compound (shown above) includes a 2 bedroom and 2.5 bathroom main house with glittery views and, adjacent to the swimming pool and spa in the front courtyard, a 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom guest house with private entrance.

22 comments:

Alessandra said...

For what it is, I like it. Simple, unpretentious and charming.

Angelle Haney Gullett said...

Except for the fairy-sized screening room (the 6-ft-songwriter would surely object), I also realy like this place. Very livable, human dimensions.

And under $1 million, no less!

Anonymous said...

The first reasonably priced home I've seen posted in quite some time. Looks like this 'gossip girl' has her head screwed on straight.

Love the brick with ivy "look"...

Anonymous said...

That is what is really called a "starter house" in Los Angeles. And in a nice neighborhood to boot (unless you are a screamingly pretentious queen who has to live within 5 minutes of WeHo).

Anonymous said...

With few exceptions, I LOVE this house. When can I move in?

Anonymous said...

This house has some potential. The tile counters and the bathroom tile must go, though. Also, the screening room has to be redone. But I don't think using book trees on either side of your fireplace says much about book loving.

Mama's Kiwi Kid said...

I really like this one. After some minor tweaking in the kitchen and bathroom, and viola! it would be perfect.

Totally LOVE the donkey grey walls in the dining room.

Anonymous said...

The book trees frame a fireplace - NOT a television. Perhaps she likes reading more than you think.

Love the living & dining areas but agree the kitchen & bath need some work. The screening room is just to odd for words.

lil' gay boy said...

What a charming little bijou residence; with just enough things to be updated to justify the expense of personalizing it, we're good to go.

The "screening room" is fixable, the white tile a no-brainer, and the bath can always be done up according to taste.

The lush lot is a plus, as is the whimsical chandelier over the outdoor seating.

Enough room for entertaining and books; when do I pack?

;-)

Anonymous said...

The screening room is partially made up of the crawl space over the garage. Richard Thomas (John Boy Walton) used to own this during the 70's...

Anonymous said...

Fabulous, tasteful and well priced.

Anonymous said...

All the books in the dining room make me think someone actually likes to read, not just impress people with their books.

And the era of the house would have had tile counters so they don't bother me in the least.

I would do up the crawl space end of the "screening room" to be like a big bed and call it a day.

Anonymous said...

I love this house - simple and unpretentious (unlike some of the others we see...ugh). A few cosmetics applied to the kitchen and bath would make them perfect, but they're not terrible now. I wouldn't like crawling up on risers in the "media room" to watch TV, so I'll admit that room is sort of odd, but something could be done to fix that. I wonder if that's the second bedroom and was modified? Love the curb appeal, too. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

I like the countertop. I am glad a few tiled coutertops still exist in this world.

What I am tired of is all of the granite, corian and other exotic stone countertops you see in EVERY house. They were cool before every house, including section 8 homes, seemed to have them.

Anonymous said...

Anon 12:32 - you've obviously never had your coffee maker overflow onto a white tiled & grouted counter.

I am in total agreement with you on the proliferation of corian & granite though.

lisa @ luxe said...

such a charming house...love the backyard seating area...oh, and McG's hacienda is 2DIE4!!!!!
kisses from las vegas

Anonymous said...

This is one of the most charming houses I've seen in a long time. Straight forward, unpretentious, lots of charm - very livable. I imagine myself padding around early in the morning with a cup of coffee, having friends over for a dinner on the patio followed by coffee/wine in the cozy livingroom, complaining to my Honey about the small kitchen, but loving it all nonetheless. It's a "real" house, not overly done up or overly staged - very inviting. Good for her.

Anonymous said...

1:14 - People actually used to clean the grout (and set up their coffee maker properly).

Anonymous said...

Anon 5:11 - Hopefully June Cleaver is looking for new digs in LA

Anonymous said...

This house is amazing, minus the tiled countertops. Why do people even have these? Imagine how much crap is just lying between the tiles in the grout. And it looks hideous too.

Anonymous said...

Yes, granite is so overdone and I think looks cheap. And section 8 has them too!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Considering that the kitchen remodel dates to 1985 I would say it has stood the test of time and looks pretty darn amazing-I should know-I was the owner. Wish we had never sold it!