If you’re a Netflix junkie like Yolanda (or even if you’re not), you should already know that Stranger Things is pretty much the hottest TV series around. The ongoing, creeptastic sci-fi horror thriller — the third season is set to debut this July — ranks as one of Netflix’s most-watched shows ever and has tallied 31 Emmy, four Golden Globe, three Grammy and six SAG noms in the 2.5 years since its premiere.
Stranger Things has also made a bonafide star out of teenage actress Millie Bobbie Brown. And it’s made the previously-unknown Duffer Brothers — the creators and co-exec-producers of the series — very rich young men indeed. So when Petey Pikachu tattled that Ross Duffer has shelled out the big bucks for a major residential upgrade, Yolanda just couldn’t resist blabbing about it.
Petey Pikachu’s peeps provoked a peek at property records, which very clearly confirm that Mr. Duffer (via trust) paid $5,400,000 off-market for a grand ol’ house on one of the finest streets in Los Feliz.
Well, glory be! Stranger Things has been a goldmine for our boy. Check out that sweet new pad! But first, a wee background on Mr. Duffer (and his brother).
The Duffer twins — who may or may not be identical — will turn 35 next month. Unlike those rather unusual Winklevoss twins, Mr. and Mr. Duffer don’t still room together. But until very recently they did live within walking distance of one another. More on that later.
Born and raised in the suburban Durham, North Carolina, the brothers moved to Orange County in the mid-2000s to study at Chapman University. And in late 2015, Ross Duffer tied the knot with Leigh Janiak, a young lady who also works in the entertainment industry. The couple have no children, but their new Los Feliz casa has plenty of space for rugrats. Just in case they’re planning to start a family.
Speaking of which…
Records show the 1928 Mediterranean in question has changed hands multiple times since the turn of the millennium. Back in 2001, it was owned by a non-famous couple. Then came writer Ian Gurvitz, who lost the house in his divorce. His ex — an interior designer — sold the spread to a portfolio manager at the semi-secretive Capital Group, who dumped it at a loss to apparel entrepreneur Mark Werts.
Our Mr. Werts and his wife completely redid the so-called “French Moroccan” house in a “high fashion” manner, oh my! Check out the fanciful decorating scheme in photos below.
In May 2017, the Wertses sold the house for $3,835,000. The next owner was blogger/influencer-turned-fashion designer Anine Bing, a young mom who has nearly 650,000 followers on the Instagram contraption. She and her husband Nicolai Nielsen have quickly made many millions of dollars by hawking her attractive yet pricey pieces — which include $99 t-shirts. But we digress.
Ms. Bing was born in Denmark and raised in Sweden. As such, she’s got a typically Scandinavian sense of style — clean lines, functionally minimalist, elegantly simple. Think how the new Volvos look inside — y’all get the picture. So obviously our gurl redid everything before flipping the property to Mr. Duffer.
Although the most recent transaction went down off-market — therefore there ain’t no official listing photos — Ms. Bing recently had the house photographed for My Domaine. And by her own admission, she did not hire an interior decorator for the remodel — “By doing it ourselves without an outside expert, it just feels like a real home with real things,” she explained.
Check out the result (below). We’ll let y’all decide amongst yourselves whether the before or after decor is superior. But it’s worth noting that Ms. Bing turned a huge profit on this place — the most recent sale price of $5.4 million is nearly $1.6 million more than she paid less than two years ago.
All images taken by Jenna Peffley via mydomaine.com.
The newly contemporary interiors span almost 6,000-square-feet of living space with 5 beds and 6 baths. That square footage includes the detached guest house, which is situated atop the two-car garage near the back of the property.
Naturally the .42-acre lot is completely walled and gated for security. There are tall hedges around the estate’s perimeter, a pool and formal rose gardens. At the time of Ms. Bing’s purchase, the property also featured a children’s playhouse and a putting green in the front yard, although Yolanda would wager both those things are long gone.
Mr. Duffer’s new property is situated in the most star-studded pocket of Los Feliz — directly below the mouth of Griffith Park. In fact, Griffith is so close that it would take him (and Ms. Janiak) less than five minutes to stroll up to the Greek Theater, where they can catch an open-air music performance.
As for the house itself, it backs up to an even larger estate designed by venerated architect A.F. Leicht and owned by art therapist Muna El-Fitura. At the time time Ms. El-Fitua bought the house, in late 2014, her $8.3 million splurge ranked as the most ever paid for a home in Los Feliz.
Just across the way from the Ganiak-Duffers are a whole slew of houses owned by famous folks: Megan Ellison, Tim Disney, Jim Parsons, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Kirstie Alley, Adam Sztykiel and DJ Mark Ronson are all neighbors within sugar-borrowing distance.
And then, of course, there’s the celebrity feline P-22 — the world’s most famous mountain lion. He’s lived in Griffith Park forever, and he keeps his celebrity neighbors safe by patrolling the streets of Los Feliz. Gobbling up a prowler or two — y’all know how he do.
Before buying their big new mansion, Mr. Duffer and Ms. Ganiak bunked up in a decidedly unglamorous rented apartment. The somewhat dowdy digs are also located in Los Feliz, albeit in a rather ho-hum (and traffic-jammed) southern part of town.
As for Matt Duffer, he still resides in a rented apartment just a few blocks away from his twin’s old place. At least that’s what Yolanda thinks — although we wouldn’t be surprised if he’s already in escrow on a big bachelor pad somewhere. But if Mr. Duffer is still house-hunting (and reading this story), might Yolanda suggest Jim Parsons’ pedigreed house? He’s absolutely desperate to unload the thing. It’s been price chopped from $9 million to below $7 million! And it’s basically right across the street from your bro!