Around Town - Sunday Afternoon Musicale

Really, this has been a weekend of music and WOW houses for me. 
Sunday afternoon I attended a small private afternoon musicale with a piano recital by Steve Hall. 
This lovely event was held at magnificent California Mediterranean home.
It was a lovely way to spend an afternoon and the hostess was so gracious to open up her exceptionally beautiful and tastefully decorated home.
Since she shared it with us, I thought that I would share it with you.
Here it is.

The recital was held in the living room, which was great because it was appropriately sized for a small group and it had rather exceptional accoutiscs.

I sat in this hallway between the living room and the library where I could admire the Second Empire furniture and the Impressionist paintings.

After the recital was finished we wandered around a bit to see more of the house.
Here is the library.

Then we went downstairs for the reception with champagne and hors d'oeuvres in the more casual entertaining areas, decorated with less formal furniture and modern art.

With our coup de champagne in hand we admired the pool and the gardens.  Everything was so green and the roses were still in full bloom.

Like all major homes it had all the accoutrement's, like his and hers gyms. 
A spa complete with hair salon set up, jacuzzi, mani-pedi set up, etc.

 And indoor lap pool, yes, with double tv's.

 A screening room, naturally...this is LA after all.

And of course a full underground garage, which I didn't see, but I did wonder where all the cars were parked.

Now, if this house appeals to you, you are in luck.

It is on the market for $50 million.

Happy Monday!

Downsizing - The Bel Air Way

 

Well this is good to know

America's most expensive mansion just sold

Mohamed Haddid the former owner of the Ritz Carlton Hotels was asking a mere $72 million for Le Belvedere, his 48,000 square foot pied a terre in the hills of Bel Air. The actual sale price is unknown but it had to be north of $50 million.

 

In addition to its 10 bedrooms and 14 bath rooms, the little country cottage boasts a gym, a 20 car garage, an indoor theater that seats 50

and a Moroccan room with a Turkish bath because what fine Bel Air home doesn't need that!

Hadid says he chose to sell because he is "downsizing" his life. He's also confident that the properties he builds are unique enough to lure buyers, even in a down market.

"These are very special homes. I can pretty much ask for anything I want," he says. "There are certain properties that are so unusual, people are afraid they will lose the opportunity to buy them. Even if the market is 5% or 10% below, people with substantial funds will come in and say, 'let's do this now.'"

 
Over at Drudge Millionaire's Riches are Returning to Pre-Crises Levels
Ultra-high-net-worth individuals with more than $30 million to invest saw their wealth rise by almost 22 percent in 2009, faster than other millionaires, according to the report, which attributed the gain to a “more effective re-allocation of assets.” 

It's good to know that everything is back to pre-crises status quo...except of course for the 2.3 million jobs that have been shed since 2009.

Around Town - Bel Air Magazine Event For Children's Hospital

I totally feel like I've had an all media week...first an interview with an accessories editor of a local luxe magazine, then a meeting with the managing director of a major Asian newspaper, rounded out by last night's party-fundraiser hosted by Bel Air Magazine for Children's Hospital. 

I didn't even know that there was a Bel Air Magazine...I mean seriously, how many high end luxe magazines can the city of Los Angeles support between Angelino, LA Confidential, Genlux, C, and the rest of the high end group.  Well anyhoo, the magazine does exist, and as you can imagine it is full of high end real estate and luxe travel and product ads.  

The event was held at a swanky Bel Air estate which also just happens to be on the market 

for the very small sum of $26 million.  Here's a photo of the house from the MLS.

 

And here are a couple of photos from my iPhone.  

The views from the veranda and the sunken pool were magnificent but it was all rather surreal and deja-vu-ish as the house was a couple of houses down the hill from my first house in Bel Air, and few houses up the hill from my last house in Bel Air.  And looking around at the items at the silent auction, and then at the majority of the crowd at the party, platinum blonded mini skirted twenty something girls, euro types and associated wanna be's, all I could think of was "there goes the neighborhood"...but you know, in a good way, as it was all for charity.

Naturally, I had no idea what to wear to this type of event, so I stuck with my stalwart Kevan Hall dress from 2 seasons ago, simple black mules, a Karen Millen jacket and vintage Gucci snakeskin bag.

 

And for jewelry I opted
for yellow and blackened gold flexible tubogas choker necklace and matching bracelets with diamonds, and a big pair of diamond earrings.

Diamond Necklace and Bracelets in Black and Yellow Gold

Thankfully the weekend is finally here, with no more events planned except for a family barbecue for Father's Day, and I can spend it dressed in my cargo shorts, birkenstocks and t-shirt!