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A HOUSE BUILT BY CHIPMUNKS
By Nancy Kates, WSJ.com
http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/a-house-built-by-chipmunks.html
September 12, 2011
The Chipmunks creators' home sits on a lush eight acres that overlooks
the Pacific Ocean.
Photo: Ethan Pines for The Wall Street Journal
Ross Bagdasarian Jr. didn't plan to build his career on furry cartoon
creatures with high-pitched singing voices. But when his father died
unexpectedly in 1972, the law-school graduate said he felt compelled
to revive "Alvin and the Chipmunks," the franchise that had been his
dad's life's work.
The decision was amply rewarded. After a hit television show, records
and two commercially successful movies featuring Alvin, Simon and
Theodore belting out squeaky covers of contemporary pop hits, the
chipmunks are now a billion-dollar empire. Mr. Bagdasarian, 62, lives
with his wife and collaborator, Janice Karman, in a 10,000-square-foot
peachy pink stucco Mediterranean style house on a terraced green hill
overlooking the ocean in Montecito, CA. "For us, building this house
gave us the opportunity to do something really the way we wanted to
see it," he said.
See Slideshow: 'Chipmunks' Estate
Brightly colored and carefully manicured, the home's exterior almost
looks like a house in a Disney movie: painted orange stone corbels
surrounding turquoise doors and windows and clay-red roof tiles. The
swimming pool is surrounded by huge boulders with a waterfall
flowing into it; the property is loaded with pink bougainvillea,
purple jacarandas and lots of lemon, lime and orange trees.
The blue swimming pool is surrounded by boulders and a lovely
waterfall.
Photo: Ethan Pines for The Wall Street Journal
Inside, the five-bedroom home is decorated with whitewashed and
bleached barnyard floors, sisal rugs, antique English furniture and
crystal chandeliers. A common theme is flowers: They're carved on the
limestone fireplace mantles, sculpted in the wrought iron frame of
the glass-topped coffee table and stitched on the fabric of the sofas,
chairs and curtains. Ms. Karman said she started loving flowers when
she discovered a sole morning glory outside the Culver City housing
project where she grew up.
The other theme, naturally, is the Chipmunks, who are the stars of
the property's two-story office and pool house. In one room, Mr.
Bagdasarian has recreated his father's office, with his father's
desk, chair and clock. The shelves are filled with Alvin and the
Chipmunks paraphernalia, from lunch boxes to marionettes, inflatable
swimming rings, Halloween masks and boots, spanning from the 1950s
to the present.
Cabinets display thier collection of teapots covered with roses.
Photo: Ethan Pines for The Wall Street Journal
He said the room is a tribute to his father's work; he himself works
downstairs, in a room kept purposely dark behind closed blinds. He
calls it "my zone." "I like to work in this atmosphere. I can
concentrate better."
In 1958, Mr. Bagdasarian's father wrote his hit "The Chipmunk Song,"
speeding up his own voice to create the three characters. He won three
Grammy awards, and the Chipmunks briefly starred in a television show
in the early 1960s. But by the time Mr. Bagdasarian Sr. passed away,
in 1972, he had retired the franchise.
The younger Mr. Bagdasarian, who met Ms. Karman in 1975 in a
health-food restaurant, convinced her to help him revive the
Chipmunks. In 1981, the couple produced a television show with the
characters, which led to a weekly television show in 1983.
Working long hours, they decided they wanted a weekend place away from
Los Angeles. In 1984 they bought eight acres in Montecito for about
$1.4 million and Ms. Karman set to work sketching her ideas, modeling
it loosely on the homes they'd seen in Provence. The house ultimately
took five years and about $10 million to build. (A nine-bedroom home
on four acres nearby is currently for sale for $29.5 million.)
Flowers are a common theme: they're stitched on sofas, chairs and
curtains.
Photo: Ethan Pines for The Wall Street Journal
The couple enjoyed their Montecito house so much they decided to live
there full-time; they stay in hotel rooms in Los Angeles, 92 miles
away, a couple of days a week. Their film "Alvin and the Chipmunks"
was released in 2007; it grossed more than $360 million world-wide.
"Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" grossed more than $450
million. The couple is currently working on the third film, "Alvin
and the Chipmunks: Chip-Wrecked," due out in December.
Now that their two real children have left home, Mr. Bagdasarian and
Ms. Karman they say they may remodel the interior. But the eternal
children of the house, the Chipmunks, aren't going anywhere. "We think
of them as kids, not as cartoon characters," said Ms. Karman. Vanessa
Bagdasarian, 25, their daughter, confirms this. "They were always
the more successful siblings," she said.
By Nancy Kates, WSJ.com
http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/a-house-built-by-chipmunks.html
September 12, 2011
The Chipmunks creators' home sits on a lush eight acres that overlooks
the Pacific Ocean.
Photo: Ethan Pines for The Wall Street Journal
Ross Bagdasarian Jr. didn't plan to build his career on furry cartoon
creatures with high-pitched singing voices. But when his father died
unexpectedly in 1972, the law-school graduate said he felt compelled
to revive "Alvin and the Chipmunks," the franchise that had been his
dad's life's work.
The decision was amply rewarded. After a hit television show, records
and two commercially successful movies featuring Alvin, Simon and
Theodore belting out squeaky covers of contemporary pop hits, the
chipmunks are now a billion-dollar empire. Mr. Bagdasarian, 62, lives
with his wife and collaborator, Janice Karman, in a 10,000-square-foot
peachy pink stucco Mediterranean style house on a terraced green hill
overlooking the ocean in Montecito, CA. "For us, building this house
gave us the opportunity to do something really the way we wanted to
see it," he said.
See Slideshow: 'Chipmunks' Estate
Brightly colored and carefully manicured, the home's exterior almost
looks like a house in a Disney movie: painted orange stone corbels
surrounding turquoise doors and windows and clay-red roof tiles. The
swimming pool is surrounded by huge boulders with a waterfall
flowing into it; the property is loaded with pink bougainvillea,
purple jacarandas and lots of lemon, lime and orange trees.
The blue swimming pool is surrounded by boulders and a lovely
waterfall.
Photo: Ethan Pines for The Wall Street Journal
Inside, the five-bedroom home is decorated with whitewashed and
bleached barnyard floors, sisal rugs, antique English furniture and
crystal chandeliers. A common theme is flowers: They're carved on the
limestone fireplace mantles, sculpted in the wrought iron frame of
the glass-topped coffee table and stitched on the fabric of the sofas,
chairs and curtains. Ms. Karman said she started loving flowers when
she discovered a sole morning glory outside the Culver City housing
project where she grew up.
The other theme, naturally, is the Chipmunks, who are the stars of
the property's two-story office and pool house. In one room, Mr.
Bagdasarian has recreated his father's office, with his father's
desk, chair and clock. The shelves are filled with Alvin and the
Chipmunks paraphernalia, from lunch boxes to marionettes, inflatable
swimming rings, Halloween masks and boots, spanning from the 1950s
to the present.
Cabinets display thier collection of teapots covered with roses.
Photo: Ethan Pines for The Wall Street Journal
He said the room is a tribute to his father's work; he himself works
downstairs, in a room kept purposely dark behind closed blinds. He
calls it "my zone." "I like to work in this atmosphere. I can
concentrate better."
In 1958, Mr. Bagdasarian's father wrote his hit "The Chipmunk Song,"
speeding up his own voice to create the three characters. He won three
Grammy awards, and the Chipmunks briefly starred in a television show
in the early 1960s. But by the time Mr. Bagdasarian Sr. passed away,
in 1972, he had retired the franchise.
The younger Mr. Bagdasarian, who met Ms. Karman in 1975 in a
health-food restaurant, convinced her to help him revive the
Chipmunks. In 1981, the couple produced a television show with the
characters, which led to a weekly television show in 1983.
Working long hours, they decided they wanted a weekend place away from
Los Angeles. In 1984 they bought eight acres in Montecito for about
$1.4 million and Ms. Karman set to work sketching her ideas, modeling
it loosely on the homes they'd seen in Provence. The house ultimately
took five years and about $10 million to build. (A nine-bedroom home
on four acres nearby is currently for sale for $29.5 million.)
Flowers are a common theme: they're stitched on sofas, chairs and
curtains.
Photo: Ethan Pines for The Wall Street Journal
The couple enjoyed their Montecito house so much they decided to live
there full-time; they stay in hotel rooms in Los Angeles, 92 miles
away, a couple of days a week. Their film "Alvin and the Chipmunks"
was released in 2007; it grossed more than $360 million world-wide.
"Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" grossed more than $450
million. The couple is currently working on the third film, "Alvin
and the Chipmunks: Chip-Wrecked," due out in December.
Now that their two real children have left home, Mr. Bagdasarian and
Ms. Karman they say they may remodel the interior. But the eternal
children of the house, the Chipmunks, aren't going anywhere. "We think
of them as kids, not as cartoon characters," said Ms. Karman. Vanessa
Bagdasarian, 25, their daughter, confirms this. "They were always
the more successful siblings," she said.