Shonda Rhimes—best known as ABC’s prime asset—has picked up another property in the Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. The writer, producer and editor, whose credits include the trio of wildly successful and concurrently-running programs ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ ‘Scandal,’ and ‘How to Get Away with Murder’ has been active as a buyer in the area over the past few years. The $4.6 million represents the latest in a string of residential property purchases for the writer and producer in the desirable area of L.A.
The most recent of Rhimes’ residential acquisitions is an English-style country house set behind a gated entrance and a flagstone motor court. Its interior living space measures up at just a little less than 5,000 square feet, with five bedrooms and 4.5 baths throughout.
The house dates to the 1920’s, although it has seen a fairly recent and comprehensive renovation. The exterior features a brick façade and a covered, gated drive; a fountain rests amid the landscaping in front of the house, presenting an imposingly traditional streetside view. In the back, the pretense is dropped, and a guesthouse weighted with two large attached pergolas and pool come into view, along with a rear view of the house presented more simply in stucco.
The main residence features absolutely stunning original hardwood, which strongly distinguishes the house; the renovation brought marble tiles into the foyer for a first impression that’s slightly stiff. The home’s 1920’s and English-style layout means compartmental, and the rooms flow into each other as discrete statements, although the renovation presumably opened things up somewhat, increasing a sense of flow between day room, living room and library.
The home’s fireplaces and coffered or plank ceilings are charming, and the new windows and French doors bring in a great deal of natural light. The kitchen goes for antique-look while maintaining current fashion in renovations; cabinetry and vent are rendered in distressed wood, and an earthy red island cap.
The master bedroom is truly cozy, offering the steeply pitched roof to express the ceiling, as well as a fireplace and a window seat. Clerestory windows in a guest bedroom and master bath also enhance the overall charm of the place; engineered, but with a fine idea of purpose and direction, and tastefully executed.
Rhimes founded Shondaland Productions in 2005, and through that company has created and/or produced programs ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ ‘Private Practice,’ ‘Scandal,’ and ‘How to Get Away with Murder’; the Shondaland Production ‘The Catch’ premiered last year on ABC, and ‘Still Star-Crossed’ debuted on the network last month.
