The Studio City neighborhood of the San Fernando Valley, and more particularly the Fryman Canyon enclave of Studio City, was once thought to be a rather déclassé alternative to 90210 for folks who couldn’t quite muster up the cash to live in that world-famous zip code. But no longer. Home values here have skyrocketed over the past few years, to the point where the affordability aspect of buying on the Valley side of these hills has been completely eroded. And Studio City boasts countless mega-rich celebrity residents: George Clooney, Bruno Mars, Chloe Moretz, Teri Hatcher, Leah Remini, Lana Del Rey, Clayton Kershaw, Geoff Johns, and Miles Teller, just to name a few. All of those have chosen to forego the 90210 to reside in the 91604. Why? Space, privacy, ease of access to the Valley, the studios, and the Burbank airport. Plus there’s lots of fantastic dining options on Ventura Boulevard.
So Yolanda knew we had to put everything else on the back burner to write about how 29-year-old Seattle-based DJ/music producer Ryan Lewis recently slammed down $4,425,000 (through a blind trust) to purchase a deceptively modest-lookin’ mid-century ranch house near the entrance to the Fryman Canyon ‘hood.
As y’all should know, we don’t really follow current pop culture/music. Yet even an ignoramus like Yolanda had heard of Mr. Lewis. He’s one-half of the busted-up musical duo called Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, and he released those painfully catchy songs called “Can’t Hold Us” and “Thrift Shop”.
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It is Yolanda’s understanding that Mr. Lewis does not actually sing or even rap. Macklemore did all the lyrics. Our Mr. Lewis is the DJ. You know, that guy who presses the buttons on the laptop. Right?
Well, whatever. In any case, Mr. Lewis’s semi-annoying produced songs have got him a $4.4 million house in Studio City’s best area. Records show he must’ve wanted this place pretty badly, too, because he paid a downright shocking $226,000 more than the asking price.
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The single-story, corner lot sprawler is all but invisible from the roads that surround it, thanks to a tall ivy hedge and blacked-out driveway gates. The 1948 U-shaped structure centers around an inner courtyard with pool. The front door opens to a den, which in turn connects to the spacious living room.
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Said living room is equipped with a fireplace, ebonized hardwood floors, and a triple set of French doors opening into the courtyard. Connected to the living room is a formal dining room that leads to a long and narrow kitchen tricked out with fancy stainless appliances, a wood-topped center island, and more dark hardwood floors that contrast nicely with the off-white color scheme.
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Oh dear, did we neglect to mention? The den has a built-in bar for when Mr. Lewis invites Yolanda to his housewarming party (hint, hint)! Less exciting but still cool are the “raised veggie beds” outside that supply the kitchen with homegrown fresh edibles. But not the kind of edibles y’all are thinking of, you naughty boys (and girls)!
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The inner brick courtyard isn’t especially attractive but it does have some nice tile work. Pity about that icky-looking green pool water, though. Anyway, if Mr. Lewis is a sports fan, he’ll most assuredly enjoy the full-size tennis court that double as a basketball court but is unfortunately not north/south in its orientation.
Pity. But you can only do so much with a .53-acre lot, right?
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Speaking of the lot, it also encompasses a petite guest house with one bedroom and one bathroom, bringing the total square footage of the mini-compound to 4,490-square-feet with 4 beds and 3.5 baths.
Thanks to our friend Vlad the Revealer at Celebrity Address Aerial, Yolanda has learned that Mr. Lewis continues to own at least two homes in his native Seattle. The first is a 1919 Craftsman in the desirable Ravenna neighborhood that he picked up last August (2016) for $1,165,000.
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There are lustrous hardwood floors and an original covered porch on the premises. The property also comes equipped with a two story guest house/studio with its own garage parking. There are a total of 5 bedrooms and 4.25 bathrooms in a big-but-not-huge 3,040-square-feet of living space.
It would appear that Mr. Lewis is downsizing in Seattle to spread his wings down in LA. His former main residence in his hometown (which he still owns) is a much grander 7,610-square-foot oceanfront mansion in the Magnolia area of Seattle that he bought back in early 2014 for $3,300,000 and has since extensively remodeled.
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For what it’s worth, Yolanda actually thinks Mr. Lewis’s big ol’ beast of a house is quite impressive. There are cathedral-like raised ceilings, a home theater, gold leaf details everywhere, a massive stone terrace overlooking the water, and a spectacular library with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves filled with real books. Or if they’re not real books, they’re an excellent facsimile.
Poor rich Mr. Lewis’s Seattle mansion has been languishing on the market for nearly a year (since August 2016) with an asking price of $7,450,000. Won’t one of you rich-ass Northwesterners come take it off his hands, pretty please?
Listing agent (Studio City): Jenna Cooper, Compass
Selling agent (Studio City): John Podhor, Nourmand & Associates
Listing agent (Seattle, Ravenna): Christopher Haynes, Windermere R.E. Shoreline
Selling agent (Seattle, Ravenna): Mary Jane Powers, Ewing & Clark, Inc.
Listing agent (Seattle, Magnolia): Casey Price, Windermere Real Estate M2 LLC