28 Comments

1. 

   arizonadude on June 21, 2009 at 7:48 am

   Happy fathers day to all you dads.I’m going to hit the bbq today and hang with dad.Might watch the race from sonoma later.Going to drink some good wine too.

2. 

   François Caron on June 21, 2009 at 8:06 am

   What?!? All those fishes, and NO POOL?!? Not even a hot tub? Or a pond? Just a lot of dry rocks and a fire pit? Who ever thought this would work?

   Nope! Rejected! Next house please! 🙂

3. 

   JAP on June 21, 2009 at 8:12 am

   How silly. I wonder how much money that cost?

4. 

   The Blur on June 21, 2009 at 8:17 am

   LAME. Someone spent a lot of money to devalue their house. Good call on the “no grass” observation, Jim. Since when is it cool to have no lawn and a massive jungle in the backyard? Probably the only defense to keep neighbors from looking in, I guess.

5. 

   ArtEclectic on June 21, 2009 at 9:32 am

   Jeez. Some of you people are way harsh and have zero imagination. Hell, I’d buy that house JUST FOR the stonework. Although, I do agree…no hot tub or pond?? WTF? And Blur, I’m in the process of ripping out all of the grass in my backyard and putting in jungle — why would adults need grass? What I want out of my backyard is additional living space (this is California, after all, and indoor/outdoor living is precisely why a lot of us are here.) I want seating, entertainment and great places to hang out. Lawns are for front curb appeal….

6. 

   4s Renter on June 21, 2009 at 10:27 am

   So anyone have any ideas of the cost to rip out all the fishes, remorter and stone the wall to clean it up, fill the hole with concrete and try and match the flagstone? Plus, how about demo’ing the fire pit and creating a more simplistic fireplace or demoing the bbq as well and relocating the bbq to the firpit area since the gas line is already there? The fish are bad, the firepit is rediculous and the bbq takes up way too much room. Any guesstimates?

   Jim you missed the dog shite behind the firepit and the inside has been striped of all crown modling and baseboards ( i went through this friday). 499 is overpriced this with avg ppsqft oin comps in the 170-180 range.

7. 

   Dwip on June 21, 2009 at 11:33 am

   Man oh man! I can just see some of you guys standing out front, waving your cane at the neighborhood kids and screaming “keep offen my lawn”! Heh. 🙂

   OK it’s not to my personal taste but it’s interesting, different, and mostly nicely done. Let’s hear it for something different in a uniform sea of blandness.

8. 

   Susie on June 21, 2009 at 11:43 am

   Another JtR classic! Jim, I vote for you including this video in 2009’s Best at the end of the year.

9. 

   Cranky in Michigan on June 21, 2009 at 12:08 pm

   Whooo,hooo! What’s wrong with a jaunty nautical theme?! Needs a mermaid to really make the faux-mosaic piscatine classic retro throwback work. Or, was this art therapy? So many homes, so little time. We splash onward . . .

10. 

    ocrenter on June 21, 2009 at 12:14 pm

    oh boy. looks like the owner bought the place for $400k back in 2002.

    Jim, is this a serial refi’er? looks like he really went down with his fishes.

11. 

    mybleachhouse on June 21, 2009 at 12:32 pm

    The nice thing about stone is it doesn’t have to be watered, mowed, trimmed, pruned or fertilized. This guy must have wanted his yard to look like a Rosarito bar but some how he blew it because it looks like crap.

12. 

    ladydentist on June 21, 2009 at 1:42 pm

    Refreshing!

13. 

    Rob Dawg on June 21, 2009 at 2:23 pm

    “Lobbie?” No way. That’s a Squiddly Diddly. If I were a stone this is where I’d like to go when I die.

    Seriously, the hardscaping is nice but out of scale. Balance balance balance.

14. 

    tj and the bear on June 21, 2009 at 3:24 pm

    Amazingly detailed work, which means somebody had the skills and way too much time on their hands. Wouldn’t mind hiring that kind of craftsmanship, properly directed of course.

15. 

    Erica Douglass on June 21, 2009 at 9:21 pm

    I’m going to be the weirdo here. I actually LIKE the fish work. It’s eccentric and unique, but colorful, so it gets a thumbs-up from me. (Of note: My living room is decorated with Romero Britto paintings. http://britto.com/ )

    Of course, I wouldn’t pay $499K for a tract home in SEH. But those fish things are cool.

    -Erica

16. 

    The Blur on June 21, 2009 at 9:52 pm

    Art Eclectic,

    In retrospect I guess yard vs. jungle is more of a personal taste thing. I just really like the idea of an open yard and space for dogs, kids, etc. The home I rent has a tiny “backyard” of patio and thick jungle that makes me feel cramped, so I’m probably jaded. No lawn seems pretty common these days so people must like it.

    As for the fish . . . well, I gotta stand by my previous comments.

17. 

    Mr. B on June 21, 2009 at 10:06 pm

    I don’t know who the guy who did it is, but he should check in here. Looks like he can do nice work. I would guess it’s more than a little expensive, and that he took it off his taxes because he could use it as a showroom for his work. :.

18. 

    Mcjdawg on June 21, 2009 at 10:08 pm

    Only thing missing is Big Mouth Billy Bass singing “Don’t Worry, Be Happy!”

19. 

    tj and the bear on June 21, 2009 at 11:29 pm

    Erica,

    We’re big Lassen & Wyland fans here — can’t get enough ocean / whales /dolphins, etc.

20. 

    shoppingaround on June 22, 2009 at 6:30 am

    So, I guess now that you’re all inspired, Jim did a little upgradin’ this weekend? 😉

    Actually, I’m with ArtEclectic& Dawg, the stone work itself is nicely done and there is definitely some great entertaining space, but man! balance is surely missing.

    And the fish would be the first things to go for me.

21. 

    Former RB Resident on June 22, 2009 at 7:16 am

    I’m with Francois. No Pool? That stonework isn’t really my thing, but it wouldn’t be terrible if you had a nice pool complex in the back. All that build up with the fish to have no pool is Alamo disappointing.

22. 

    Rob Dawg on June 22, 2009 at 9:05 am

    TJ,
    You’ll be interested to know we own museum print 46/50 of Wyland’s “Killer Whales (A-5 Pod)” 1987.

23. 

    ARK on June 22, 2009 at 9:24 am

    DWIP, How refreshing to hear a positive comment! Agree with you 100 percent.

24. 

    Kwaping on June 22, 2009 at 10:03 am

    Hey Jim and others,

    Thanks for the Father’s Day wishes! Right back at ya. 🙂

25. 

    ArtEclectic on June 22, 2009 at 11:40 am

    Not every buyer has kids and a dog 😉

    I look at that back area and can imagine a nice outdoor dining set, a couple bottles of good Shiraz, steaks coming off the grill, and the sun setting as a bunch of cool lighting comes on. Add in a water feature for ambient noise and a jacuzzi for two hidden in the back…heavenly. A perfect playground for grown-ups.

    If it were me, instead of an awning I would have put in a pergola running all across the back and retractable sun shade on the underside.

26. 

    3clicks from da Beach on June 22, 2009 at 11:49 am

    Flood the back yard with 4″ of water and there is your ankle deep water feature. Drop in two beach chairs with a table in between for your drinks and you are good to go. Don’t forget the cocktail umbrella 😀

27. 

    Mike Johnson on June 22, 2009 at 6:19 pm

    It’s nothing I would pay to have, but I’d definitely take that over dirt & dying grass & faded brokedown Big Wheels. I’ve seen far worse decorative stonework on multimillion dollar homes.

    I pity people who are afraid to customize their house because it might affect resale value. I want to live in my home now, not in some theoretical house I might own in the future.

    If this guy was a flipper who thought he’d make a mint with this kind of work, then we’d be justified in laughing. But this was somebody’s home.

28. 

    4s Renter on June 22, 2009 at 9:23 pm

    The backyard is 20 feet deep from the house. And on the side of the house that Jim began the tour on is a Jacuzzi master control box, so it seems that hole was the pool or jacuzzi. I wish he showed the inside – almost every room had nice thick crown and baseboards and the residents ripped them out..

    Corp owned – wonder if someone was fired, got pissed and drunk and ripped out the stuff he or she liked.