Friday, May 23, 2014

Orange County Housewife Shannon Beader Needs a Buyer

SELLERS: David and Shannon Beador
LOCATION: Newport Coast, CA
PRICE: $13,498,000
SIZE: 13,306 square feet, 7 bedrooms, 8 full and 5 half bathrooms

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: A little birdie dropped a note in Your Mama's inbox to let Your Mama know that, like so many of the other "Housewives" across this great U-nited States—Real Housewives of Orange County's (RHOOC) Shannon Beador has her nearly new Newport Coast mansion listed on the open market with an asking price of $13,498,000.

As it turns out, Missus Beador—who really is a housewife—and her hubby, David Beador, first listed their custom-designed villa in the exclusive, guard-gated Crystal Cove enclave* in April 2013 with an asking price of $15,998,000. About a month or so ago, the house was de-listed and quickly re-listed with its current and substantially lower asking price.

Missus Beador revealed on RHOOC that she came from a privileged background and, hence, she may or may not be an independently wealthy woman. We don't know. Whatever the sitch, let's just assume her handsome, sarcastic and silver-haired husband, David, brings home a boatload of bacon as the owner a construction company primarily engaged in building freeways.

Property records show the Beadors bought the then still bare .67 acre parcel in July 2006 for an unknown amount. Current listing details show they engaged the undoubtedly pricey services of neo-vernacularist SoCal mansion specialist Richard Krantz to do the architecture and interior designer Robert Ricker to gussy up the day-core with "heirloom and art-quality finishes." The result is a stately, walled and gated four-plus floor faux-Tuscan French farmhouse—it's described in listing details as "reminiscent of European country manors and legacy East Coast mansions"—that was completed in 2012 and spans 13,306 square feet of eco-minded traditional eleganza.** There are at least four fireplaces, about a dozen copper-framed French doors and an elevator that services the basement, main and second levels.

There are six bedrooms and seven full and five half bathrooms in the main manse, including a private, main floor guest suite and a generously proportioned basement level staff room with private entrance, private pooper and walk-in closet. Three decent-sized and expensively decorated children's bedrooms on the upper floor each have a private bath and one of them has a private terrace. The roomy, upper floor master suite encompasses a separate bedroom and sitting room (with fireplace), two private terraces, a sprawling, compartmentalized bathroom and his and her walk-in closets, hers with glass-fronted wardrobes and an adjoining boudoir with spa tub. A stairway just outside the double doors of the master suite lead up to a small office/den/man cave.

While (mostly) stopping short of fussy, the interior spaces are unquestionably plush and largely traditional as evidenced in the fully paneled, double-height foyer and stair hall with its checkerboard black and white marble checkerboard floor, a wrought iron railed marble staircase and antique crystal chandelier that Missus Beador revealed on RHOOC cost $150,000. (Or maybe it was $250,000. We don't recall, do any of you? What ever the cost, listing explain the chandelier is excluded from the sale, so...)

Formal living and dining rooms flank the foyer, the former with a fireplace and a paneled, pass-through music alcove and the latter with a temperature-controlled walk-in wine cellar. Just off the formal dining room there's a fully and expensively equipped center island catering kitchen with super-size pass-through pantry. Right next door to the catering kitchen there's a larger and equally as expensively outfitted family kitchen with chandelier lit center island, top-grade appliances, marble counter tops and lightly faux-distressed, taupe-toned cabinetry. That's right, puppies, this family of five has two, high-cost chef-quality kitchens butted up next to each other. Your Mama is quite sure that people of a certain financial ilk—or those that aspire to a certain financial ilk—can plainly see and can effectively articulate the necessity of side-by-side gor-may kitchens but, to this shade-throwing property gossip, it seems a gross and unnecessary extravagance. Anyways...

The family kitchen opens to a window-wrapped breakfast area that, in turn, merges with a roomy family room with rustic brick walls, semi-glossy distressed wood floors, and a polished and coffered wood ceiling. Tucked behind the built-in entertainment center in the family room is an L-shaped arts and crafts room with 3/4 height bead board paneling, stone tile floors and lots of bead board-accented cabinetry and storage closets.

The fully finished basement level includes a 12-seat home theater with tiered seating, a fitness room, the aforementioned staff suite, an indoor basketball court (!) and, in addition to the three car attached garage on the main floor, a basement-level subterranean garage that accommodates eight more cars. Somewhere in the house—it's not shown on the floor plans included with digital marketing materials—there's a secret, children's tea party room. (How many of the children think the tea party room was designed, ultimately, as a panic room?)

The landscaped grounds include well-watered patches of lawn, formal gardens, an outdoor kitchen, and a pergola bracketed courtyard with swimming pool and spa. The poolside guest house offers a loggia for shaded lounging and a self-contained situation with living room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom with convenient, secondary access from the pool terrace.

An ever so brief and not-thorough perusal of property records indicate Mister and Missus Beador also own some sort of timeshare situation at the Tuscan-style Marriott Newport Coast Villas and she revealed on RHOOC that the couple had already purchased a residential parcel where they planned to build another house but, honestly, chickens, we don't nuthin' about that.

*Crystal Cove may ring a bell with some of the children as Missus Beador's RHOOC cast mate Heather Dubrow and her plastic surgeon husband are in the process of building a new house that Your Mama would bet cash money will top 15,000 square feet. (The Dubrows, some of y'all may recall, sold their previous home in the posh Pelican Crest development last year for $16.45 million and are currently living in a 5,000-ish square foot rental residence while they build their new digs.)

**Missus Beador is a dedicated and vocal proponent of organic and alternative living practices. So, big as this house may be and as counterintuitive as a 13,000 square foot mansion may or may not be to the principles sustainable living practices, Missus Beador insisted upon non-toxic construction and finishing materials (i.e. non-fiber glass insulation and no-MDF hardwood woodwork) and in installation of a whole house HEPA air filtration system.

listing photos: Sotheby's International Realty

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

tHE cHANDELIER as I recall was a half million but the seller gave her a 50 percent discount so she couldn't resist!!!
Seriously???

Anonymous said...

The "secret room" is labeled as a Storage closet in the second floor Bonus Room.

orange said...

If I had billions I would still not buy that ugly looking house

Anonymous said...

why would anyone buy a house in OC? why not beverly hills?

Anonymous said...

I would like to know that myself: what is the appeal of a multimillion cookie-cutter neighbourhood? Why are these houses as expensive as mansions in Beverly Hills, Holmby Hills and Bel Air? The lots are preposterously small and the houses huge, which is a terrifying combination.

Anonymous said...

To answer Anonymous 10:51:

Newport Beach is 54 miles from Beverly Hills (note as a comparison that downtown Baltimore and downtown DC are only 40 miles apart, and these are two quite different and separate cities).

As such, Orange County really isn't that close to west LA. It's a solid two hours drive during rush hour. So if you're working in OC it makes no sense to live in LA, particularly west LA. And there's a lot of money in OC.

Regardless of your particular views on OC or the house in question, it's a bit unfair to call it cookie cutter. First of all, it's no worse or better than many houses in the West LA neighborhoods. Second, the exterior photographs clearly show the other houses in the neighborhood are quite different in design. So it ain't your typical McMansion subdivision.

If you want to complain about small lot sizes, you must also complain about many houses in Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Holmby Hills etc, which are just as big and on just as small lot sizes...

Anyway, I respect the architectural integrity of the exterior of the house. It's pretty well designed. Simple and not fussy. The interior isn't to my taste, but it's not bad either. I've seen much worse. The upstairs floor plan is a mess, however.

To Mama: the double kitchen does seem excessive. On the other hand similarly large houses built in the 1920s and before also had huge butler pantries to store all the china and silver and to prep for the dinner parties. Judging from the floor plan the catering kitchen is basically the modern version of a large butler's pantry. I will, however, agree that the quality of the cabinets etc is excessive for something that's supposed to just be for the caterers.

Anonymous said...

Thank you, 11:20 PM.

I presumed, of course, that it had something to do with the workplace, yet I didn't know that Newport is such an important business capital.

I just can't agree that any of the Los Angeles neighbourhoods looks like these Irvine Company planned communities. Not even Beverly Park. These Newport ones look too neat and tidy and regular, there is no charm.

The others are much more bushy and don't transmit the impression of uniformity.

The house rules on house design in the Newport communities must be a factor.

Can one purchase two or three lots and merge them? Is it allowed? A few houses seem to be on two lots at least.

This house has a beautiful exterior, if only the lot was a little bigger. I don't like the interiors. I wonder why she is selling. Yes, yes, yes.

Anonymous said...

The grounds and exteriors have a few appealing aspects.

Otherwise this house suggests people who have no idea of how to realize personal utility from their money. In other words, they have money but don't know how to enjoy it ... and themselves. Money, not wealth. Two fancy but denatured kitchens? Please.

It's sad, really, in a Gatsbyesque kind of way. If there were any books in this house (no sign of that from the photos beyond one or two in the corner of the music room), the best one could hope for is that the pages would be uncut. Tears for Jay, Tom and Daisy. Boo Hoo.

Anonymous said...

The grounds and exteriors have a few appealing aspects.

Otherwise this house suggests people who have no idea of how to realize personal utility from their money. In other words, they have money but don't know how to enjoy it ... and themselves. Money, not wealth. Two fancy but denatured kitchens? Please.

It's sad, really, in a Gatsbyesque kind of way. If there were any books in this house (no sign of that from the photos beyond one or two in the corner of the music room), the best one could hope for is that the pages would be uncut. Tears for Jay, Tom and Daisy. Boo Hoo.

Anonymous said...

Ya, 7:42, it looks like a furniture store; nothing more.

Anonymous said...

are they divorceing? they come across as unhappily marrried's
such a huge house and yet they were having an argument in the kitchen while the whole househag women and their husbands could hear them bicker in the dining room

Anonymous said...

ew orange county

Unknown said...

Yes, Orange County really isn't that close to west LA. It's a solid two hours drive during rush hour. So if you're working in OC it makes no sense to live in LA, particularly west LA. And there's a lot of money in OC. I respect the architectural integrity of the exterior of the house. It's pretty well designed. Simple and not fussy. The interior isn't to my taste, but it's not bad either. I've seen much worse. The upstairs floor plan is a mess, however.
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Anonymous said...

To quote Christian in Clueless (The Movie) "HAGSVILLE" Of course I am referring to the house. The entry looks like a funeral parlor.

Anonymous said...

These folks ain't stupid (well...). A couple episodes ago (yes, watch most of the RH's) they hosted a party and took everyone on an 'ooooh and ahhhh' tour. Priceless marketing. Probably why they are on the show.

Anonymous said...

What do you mean, 7:41 AM? Personal utility? How can what you say be illustrated in the photos?

It is so strange to see someone build their dream house and sell it so fast.

There can be many reasons.