Through the keyhole

A Malibu property that was owned jointly by Luke, Liam and Chris Hemsworth has sold for $4.9 million. The brothers purchased the property in 2016 for $3.45 million.

Luke 40, Chris 37 and Liam 30 have had stellar careers in film and television since Luke began acting in an Australian soap opera in 2001, and the younger brothers followed in his footsteps. Born in Melbourne, Luke and Chris live on the coast in Byron Bay, Australia with their wives and three children each. Liam also returned to Australia after his seven-month marriage to Miley Cyrus ended. As the youngest and now unattached, it is not known if Liam plans to stay near family and friends, though rumor has it that he may have also recently invested in property in Byron Bay.

Always close as children and teens, it’s not surprising that the three partnered to buy a family-vacation home with views of the Santa Monica Mountains and the Pacific Ocean surrounded by peaceful nature. The 4,612-square-foot, four-bedroom, four-bath home was an ideal getaway for family get-togethers and near the film studios. Striking modern architecture in an open floor plan captures the views and optimizes California indoor/outdoor living. Securely gated and with a long drive to the entrance, lush landscaping and exterior lighting create a welcoming ambiance for both residents and their guests. Wide sweeps of polished concrete floors set off the white walls that offer space for art collections and the open floor plan that spills out onto the dining terrace offer room for entertaining either dining or enjoying conversation around either of the two firepits. Included are a sauna, a 750-bottle refrigerated wine cellar, a home theater and a library with built-in bookshelves. The chef’s kitchen includes restaurant-quality appliances. Below the entertainment terrace, lawns and landscaping step down the hill with a peek of horses through the back hedging. The master suite has Calcutta gold marble in the bath and two walk-in closets.

Eric Haskell of The Agency represented the sellers while Chris Cortazzo and Susan Saul represented the buyer.
Source: www.theagencyre.com

Historic Vanderbilt Mansion Spans Two Towns – 46 Bedrooms!
One of America’s most historic homes: a Vanderbilt-family home that played a key role in the creation of the League of Nations is so large that it spans two towns, is the largest American Shingle-Style home in the country, and landscaping designed by Frederick Law Olmstead is now for sale for $12.5 million.

Built in the Berkshires by philanthropist William Douglas Sloane and Emily Vanderbilt, granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt, Elm Court Estate was designed in 1886 by the architectural firm Peabody & Stearns with the grounds done by Frederick Law Olmstead – well known for his work on New York’s Central Park.

A less ornate style than the Vanderbilt family’s more-famous Biltmore House in North Carolina, the 89-acre Elm Court Estate spans both Stockbridge and Lenox, Massachusetts. Its shingle-style evolved from America’s New England architectural movement of the late 1800s modeled after Colonial American architecture. The home, which is registered as a National Historic Landmark, got its name from a large elm tree that stood at the entrance to the mansion, but later succumbed to disease. Constructed as a summer home for family and friends, Elm Court Estate was the meeting site for the Elm Court Talks in 1919 which led to the creation of the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations.

In the effort to keep up with the high costs of running the large property after the original owners passed, their children turned it into an inn in the late 1940s. During the 1950s, it hosted events, dinners and overnight guests. Elm Court Estate finally closed its doors and was boarded up until 1999 when descendants of Emily Vanderbilt began to renovate the estate.

At 55,000 square feet and 106 rooms, much of the renovation of the three-story home has been finished with the main living areas and 13 bedrooms completed. The original details such as the intricately-carved-plaster ceiling in the dining room, the herringbone-wood floors and the fireplaces have been preserved and a new chef’s-island kitchen installed. There is a large mahogany butler’s pantry with a charming window seat and room for casual dining. All rooms are spacious enough for grand-scale entertaining. The grounds contain more buildings including the larger butler’s house, gardener’s cottage, multiple long greenhouses with one large enough to grow taller fruit trees. There is a caretaker’s house, carriage house and stable and two barns.

The Vanderbilt Berkshires Elm Court Estate is listed at $12.5 million by Timothy Lovett of Berkshire Property Agents in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.
Source: www.berkshirepropertyagents.com

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