Ashley Benson Finally Sells Celeb-Pedigreed Pad Above Sunset Strip
SELLER: Ashley Benson
LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA
PRICE: $2,650,000
SIZE: 3,085 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms
YOUR MAMA’S NOTES: It took more than a year and a couple of price chops but blonde bombshell “Pretty Little Liars” star Ashley Benson has finally sold her showbiz-pedigreed pad above L.A.’s Sunset Strip for $2.65 million. The former soap story actress — she was on “Days of Our Lives” before she landed on the short-lived series “Eastwick” and then on “Pretty Little Liars” — purchased the 3,085-square-foot, white stucco 1930s French Normandy-style cottage in October 2012 for $2.2 million and first set it out for sale in early 2016 with an asking price of $2.995 million. Previous high-profile owners of the three-bedroom and 3.5-bathroom residence include pop singer Kylie Minogue, who owned it in the early 2000s, and musician Dave Stewart of Eurythmics, who briefly owned the property in the mid 2000s and, coincidentally, has his current Hollywood-historic home in celeb-favored Toluca Lake up for sale at $5.65 million.
A brick path passes through a walled, gated, secured and tree-shaded courtyard on its way to a charming turreted entry. Beyond a jet black front door a chandelier-lit foyer leads to formal living and dining rooms, both with ebony wood floors, the former lined in picture windows and the latter featuring a coffered ceiling and fireplace sheathed in shimmering bronze glass tiles. There’s also a snug wood-paneled library that looks slightly too slender to be practical, a low-ceiled den/family room with fireplace, and a kitchen snazzily renovated by a previous owner with slab marble counter tops on snow-white cabinetry, a large center island with snack bar and an adjoining breakfast area. A cozily compact guest bedroom secreted up a narrow private staircase has a Juliet balcony that overlooks the front courtyard and a second guest bedroom was furnished as a home office while the master suite offers a raised tray ceiling, generous closet space, built-in bookshelves and storage, a remodeled bathroom with freestanding soaking tub and a spacious private terrace with through-the-trees city lights view. A small but smartly configured and hedged-ringed backyard offers multi-level flag stone terraces, a dark-bottom swimming pool and an elevated spa backed by a fence painted in an amusing if not likely to please everyone’s persnickety tastes pink and white vertical stripes.
The last couple of years have been a bit of a wild and costly real estate ride for the “Spring Breakers” star. In the fall of 2015 she shelled out $4.15 million for a 6,131-square-foot ersatz Mediterranean residence in Beverly Hills that she almost immediately flipped back on the market at $4.395 million but didn’t sell until May 2016 when it went for $3.812 million, a bank account busting $338,000 loss not counting carrying costs, real estate fees and any improvements that may have been made.
Listing photos: Compass
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