Living With The Stars

Well, not really but probably as close as any of us will get in this lifetime. The following homes are currently up for real estate grabs and once housed people we’ve all seen on the tele. I thought it would be a fun to peak inside the houses and get an idea of how these celebs live/lived.

First up is Hollywood royalty and the definition of va-va-voom Ms Marilyn Monroe. A few months back there was reports your final resting place could be above the buxom blonde since the urn space went up for sale. If that wasn’t enough, the ultimate fan can now live in the house where she lived and died in too. (I wonder if Megan Fox is at all tempted?) Ms Monroe sadly passed away naked in her bed after an alleged overdose of sleeping pills in this very house back in 1962. Personally, the idea freaks me out to live in a house where anyone died, even Marilyn. Better to think about the good days.

This Brentwood, Los Angeles Spanish-colonial home has an asking price of $3.6 million which is a big leap from the $90,000 Marilyn paid back in 1962. She was only here for six months before she passed on.

Love the shingles on the roof, so California.

As you will see in a photo a ways below, the tile surrounding the fire place is original from when Ms Monroe lived in the home however the wall has been blown out for a larger living space.

Can’t you picture Marilyn pouring herself a tall glass of lemonade to go sit out by the pool in this kitchen? Love the rustic beam and glass cabinets.

With four bedrooms, three bathrooms and an outdoor swimming pool, this Spanish revival has over 23,000sq ft of land and is referred to as “crown jewel” of the neighbourhood.

Below are some shots of the home from when she was residing in it.

This first picture is the entrance to the home. That bench was actually up for auction awhile back. Love the record player on the ground, very retro.

And here’s the original living room shot where you can see the tile around the fireplace and the wall that once stood in the room. The stool in front of the fireplace you see was also up for auction at one time.

Allan Grant took one of the last photographs of Marilyn Monroe,
in her Brentwood home in 1962. Beautiful.

Dr. Phil’s home is also up for sale after a lot of whispers about his marriage to Robin being on the rocks.

The listing price for the Mediterranean style home is $16.5 million. Huge price tag yes but at least the house is large enough to somewhat merit the moola. With 11,000 sq ft. the home holds eight bedrooms and seven bathrooms. The master bedroom has two bathrooms, a sitting area, a dressing room and a private balcony. Hard to believe there’s any fighting in an oasis like that. The house reportedly also has staff quarters (a must for the crazy rich I guess), his and her offices, a pool room, a theatre room, a guest house, a swimming pool and a home gym. God forbid Philly get chunky when he does so much lecturing about it on his show. “You’re fat cuz you wanna be fat!” Ahh classic Philster.

I remember watching an episode of Dr. Phil a few years back and the interior of the home was featured courtesy of Robin. She said that she is constantly renovating the home. As soon as she finishes a room she would start back up again. I mentioned this to my mom about it and she “wisely” declared that it was a sign that all was not right in their marriage because she couldn’t just enjoy their home and settle in. Now let me just say, my mother (like many mothers) is a bit of a know-it-all Nancy but I guess she called that one if the rumors are in fact true. Who needs Dr. Phil when you got mama?!

Now for a home that was owned by two…err I guess three celebs. Singers Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey and then later Malcolm in the Middle’s Justin Berfield.

OR

Built in 2001, this Calabasas, California home was first made famous by Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson during the filming of their MTV hit Newlyweds. I’ll admit I did watch the show and took pleasure in the antics of Jessica acting like a twit and Nick getting annoyed by her. Cut me some slack though, I was only around 14ish-but even then I knew it wasn’t going to last for those two. I doubt it helped them to have cameras in their face for first two years of the marriage.

After the pair split in 2005, Nick stayed in the house and Jessica moved in with her parents. The house was eventually sold to Malcolm in the Middle star Justin Berfield in 2006 for $3,400,000.

Actor Justin Berfield has now placed the five-bedroom, 6,483-square-foot house on the market for $3,995,000. Loving the foyer!

The home includes a five bedrooms, seven bathrooms, an infinity pool, a music studio, open floor plan, a wine cellar, a gym, a chef’s kitchen, walk-in closets, a vaulted entryway with a wrought iron staircase and a fountain. The house itself is a gated property on a 0.51-acre which is 22,141-square-feet and sits within a larger gated community. That’s a lot of gates.

If you’ve seen the Newlyweds you know Jessica cannot cook. However, I do remember a hired chef coming in to cook and killing lobsters by snapping their necks which horrified me since I’ve always been a huge animal lover…even the creepy animals.

You never got to see the master bedroom in the show. You did see a lot of Nick trying to talk Jessica into going up to it for some no-no time. Pretty large space, I would love to get a crack at decorating it.

The last house isn’t really classified under your typical “celeb” home but it is famous or should I say, INFAMOUS MUA HA HA HA!… I’ll stop that now. If I thought living in the home Marilyn died in was creepy then this one is utterly bone chilling. Of course I’m referring to the Amityville house, which is best known for the six gruesome 1974 Defeo family murders that were later determined to be committed by the lone survivor of the house, oldest son Ronnie Defeo Jr.

It’s tough to imagine such horror taking place in such a sweet looking home. The story was written into a book by Jay Anson and later retold in documentaries and movies, most recently in the Ryan Reynolds version where he portrays George Lutz who lived in the home with his family a year after the Defeo murders. The Lutz family claimed to experienced some paranormal phenomena themselves and fled the home less than a month after moving in leaving everything behind but the credibility of their claims has been subject to some question. The home has since never had an reports of “spookyness” so who knows what the real deal is. Regardless, there’s no denying this house has a very unsavoury past. One that I personally, could not disregard even if I could afford the home.

The asking price of the home is $1.5 million. Back when the Lutz family purchased it they paid $80,000 which was considered a huge bargain for the times. I guess it’s hard to unload a house with so much baggage.

The charming 3-story waterfront colonial houses five bedrooms, 3 and a half bathrooms, a boathouse and has over 0.25 of an acre according to it’s listing.

Wouldn’t you question every creak and bump in the night? Maybe I’m just a big wiener but all I see is horrific terror; I can’t get past it. Kudos to the brave people that can though.

See the actual listing here

Let me explain this next picture because it had and still has me shaking in my fuzzy socks:

I first saw it on TV when a documentary or something to that effect was discussing the murders. This could all be a complete lie and obviously there is a large chance it is but even going on the small chance that it’s not, I was thoroughly freaked the heck out. Based on the reports of paranormal activity, the documenters set up cameras in different rooms of the home that took a picture every few seconds. Everyone then left for the night and came back the next day. When they looked at the camera footage they found this picture of a what looks to be a curious young boy poking his head out of a bedroom in the hallway. The house was supposedly completely empty all night so this boy is assumed to be a ghost. They also showed a picture of one of the Defeo children next to the photo as a reference to which child they think it could have been and the resemblance was undeniable. I believe the room he is in was also his and his brother’s bedroom when they lived in the home if I’m not mistaken. I’m a horror movie addict and so so rarely do I get scared but ghosts or anything paranormal will have me quivering under my Ikea duvet faster than you can say “Boo!” True or not, this picture is terrifying and I was debating on whether or not to post it just based on the fact that I hate seeing it.

Because of that and because I just plain love to see this, I am now going to show you the biggest reason why (even if you hate horror movies!) you should definitely see the Ryan Reynolds version of the Amityville Horror:

Reynolds plays a mentally deteriorating psycho in the film yet somehow you find yourself forgiving him for those indiscretions and picturing much happier scenarios involving yourself, him and a batch of chocolate pudding. Pardon me for that…. I went to a dark place. I just love a beefcake with a beard. If you’ve seen my fella you know I think there’s nothing sexier than a big burly guy with facial scruff. Sweaty six packs don’t hurt either.

So what do you think? Could you live in a house where someone died like Marilyn or the Defeo’s home? Or will you stick to homes of simpler things such as broken marriages like Jessica and Nick’s or (allegedly) Dr. Phil and Robin’s? Weigh in and tell me your thoughts!

On another note, it's not too late to enter my blog giveaway. It's a great giveaway but you can't win if you don't enter!