Original Article – https://www.larchmontbuzz.com/featured-stories-larchmont-village/hidden-jeans-opens-on-larchmont-blvd/

Hidden Jeans, a locally owned clothing company, has opened its first retail shop at 130 N. Larchmont Blvd

“We are most well known for our knitwear and jeans,” explained Tiffany Kim, Creative Director for Hidden. “We have lots of different styles, skinny jeans, stretchy jeans, cargo jeans, stiff jeans, dad jeans, flares…basically, we’ve got something for everyone.”

The small store is packed with clothing and fun accessories. In addition to jeans and sweaters, it also has jewelry, fancy and frivolous, in a range of prices, as well as tops, knit skirts and leggings. There are house slippers and denim bags, cards, candles and other gift items for a friend or for yourself.  They even have flowers that the owner, who lives in the neighborhood, brings in weekly, along with a small selection of succulent arrangements.

The store is designed to be warm and welcoming for a wide range of ages and price points, explained Kim, as she gave us tour around the store.

While we there, we ran into Georgianna Gingold, who came in to pick up two knit skirts for her upcoming trip to visit family in Northern California. “I love the skirt, it’s very flattering,” she told us. She’d bought one the other day and came back to get two more in different colors.

Hidden has been open just two weeks but Kim said she already feels very welcome.

“Everyone has been so nice and welcoming, we are very happy to have our first retail location be here on Larchmont,” said Kim.

So be sure to stop in and say hello. Hidden is open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Our hot tips for next year’s biggest interiors trends

(Original Article – https://www.loveproperty.com/galleries/155149/2023-interior-trends-mushrooms-wallpaper-borders-and-vegan-leather?page=1)

Lust Home

Maximalist design, lozenge-shaped furniture and, erm, guacamole green, are some of the legacies left by 2022. But what does 2023 hold in store for interiors? Some of next year’s trends are an evolution of existing styles—increasingly inventive multi-functional spaces and Art Deco-inspired motifs to name a couple. Others—wallpaper borders and lampshades made from mushrooms—may be less expected. As for colours, we’re looking at tones that take their cue from nature and promote wellbeing. Let’s take a sneak preview of what lies ahead…

Trend: Lavender

Annie Sloan

Lavender is no longer confined to the dustier corners of your granny’s wardrobe. It’s been creeping onto the catwalk for a year or so and, as ever, where fashion leads, interiors soon follow. Vibrant purples, such as Pantone’s 2022 colour of the year Very Peri, will soften into more classic, soothing shades in interior design schemes that promote calm and wellness—another growing trend right now. 

Lavender: Make it modern

Drummonds

The key to mastering modern lavender is to incorporate elements of contemporary design throughout your scheme. If you’ve plumped for lavender walls, going too trad with your furniture and accessories could easily lead you into ‘twee’ territory, so throw in some unexpected avant-garde forms or an unexpected dash of a contrasting colour to bring the look up to date. 

Trend: Modern stained glass

Glas Italia

Stained glass isn’t just for Victorian fanlights and churches. Artists are sharing their exciting new takes on coloured glass and shaking up this traditional craft by ditching fussy picture panels in favour of stripped-back, geometric designs. Look out for them in room dividers, shower screens, and lighting, as well as in windows and doors. 

Modern stained glass: Sculptures and artwork

multipleshapes / Etsy

If a large stained glass installation is too big a statement or expense, you can still nod to the trend with smaller, decorative stained glass pieces. Mobiles and dreamcatchers are an obvious match for stained glass, as you can hang them in a spot where they will catch the light and cast a rainbow of abstract shapes around the room.

Trend: Statement stone

West One Bathrooms

Natural stone doesn’t have to be plain and neutral. Designers are turning to the rich colours and striking patterns of raw minerals for inspiration, whether it be on walls, floors, ornaments, worktops, or even sanitary ware. It’s an opulent look that often comes with a price tag to match, but you can get the same effect for less with stone substitutes. The sink shown here, for example, may look as though it’s been hewn from agate but is actually made of porcelain. 

Statement stone: Lava stone

Made a Mano

Some designers are giving nature a helping hand, transforming stone products with brilliant hues. Danish company Made a Mano are taking advantage of lava stone’s ability to be glazed and fired to create hard-working, aesthetically appealing worktops in more or less any colour you can imagine, such as this eye-popping green countertop. If a lava stone worktop is a bit much for your taste or budget, you can incorporate a little bit of the look using tiles instead. 

Trend: Irregular rugs

Sonya Winner

Rug designers are thinking outside the box with avant-garde creations that play with the actual form of the rug itself, rather than just the patterns depicted on it. These are essentially works of art that you can walk on and they’re appearing in all sorts of irregular shapes, often with a curvaceous, organic feel. Much like a piece of artwork, they can make a great basis for a colour scheme, so if you’re planning a complete room refresh, start with the perfect rug and build your scheme around it. 

Irregular rugs: Pared-back colourways

Baxter

An irregular-shaped rug is also a smart choice if you’re looking for a quick and easy way to add edge to an existing scheme. The very fact of its unusual shape makes it a talking point, but it doesn’t necessarily need to pull focus from the rest of the room. It can be unconventional without being ostentatious, which makes it the perfect choice if you want to up your interior design credentials without resorting to loud style statements or making changes to your space that are difficult to undo.

Trend: Modern Egyptian

Soane Britain

Egyptomania shows no signs of slowing down. This opulent, maximalist style is a sub-trend of the Art Deco revival and was originally inspired by archaeologist Howard Carter’s discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922. The bright young things of the Roaring Twenties went gaga for its lavish looks following the austerity of the First World War, and perhaps today’s designers and consumers are drawn to it for similar reasons.

Modern Egyptian: Hieroglyph patterns

Soane Britain

Going all-out Egyptian may not be for everyone, but you can embrace elements of the trend by incorporating stylised patterns inspired by hieroglyphs into your soft furnishings or combining ochre, gold, turquoise, and clay tones—all colours raided right out of a pharaoh’s tomb. Furniture designers are doing their bit for the movement with contemporary takes on Ancient Egyptian silhouettes.

Trend: Curves

Graham & Green

Interior design has become conspicuously more curvaceous over the past couple of years. Perhaps the comfort of soft, undulating lines holds extra appeal during times of uncertainty. Or perhaps a pent-up longing for glamour and excitement has us clamouring for the streamlined shapes of Art Deco—a huge recent style revival. Either way, it’s clear that curves are here to stay but this year we’ll move into unexpected places such as round cut-outs in side tables and tubular forms.

Curves: Alcove arches

LocusPrintDecor / Etsy

Arches, in particular, are springing up all over the place. The arch is a timeless shape that can also look surprisingly modern depending on how you treat it—fill an arched alcove with bold paint or wallpaper and you’ll give a classic scheme instant contemporary flair. Architects are building arches into their designs in the form of doorways, windows, and niches, but if remodelling isn’t on your agenda, you can create a similar effect using paint or arch-shaped wall stickers, as shown here.

Trend: Wallpaper borders

Hygge & West

Not the chintzy floral bands that were last seen in the 1980s, thank goodness, but a new wave of playful, bold designs that add edge to your walls in more ways than one. Whereas in the past borders were generally used to cover the transition between two-tone walls at dado rail height, today they are also being used to highlight architectural details, such as door frames and windows. 

Borders: Mix and match patterns

Susie Atkinson

There’s no need to stick to just one wallpaper border, either. Mixing and matching different border patterns gives this look a modern remix and is a great way to add character to plain painted walls. A border can create a unique design that’s both easier on the eye—and your budget—than an all-over statement wallpaper. If you want to push the boundaries even further, clash your border design with other patterns in the room for an ultra-eclectic look.

Trend: Wild Wonder

Dulux

The natural world has had a huge influence on interior design lately. A combination of being stuck indoors for multiple lockdowns and increasing awareness of the need to protect our planet has sparked an appreciation of nature that designers are reflecting in organic forms and leafy hues. Ever the trendsetters, Dulux’s colour of the year for 2023 is a ‘glowing and uplifting’ shade combining gold and green that goes by the name of Wild Wonder. 

Wild Wonder: Colour clash

Dulux

Depending on the light and how you use it, this shade can look more yellow, beige or olive and is a soft neutral perfect for pairing with pops of vibrant contrasting colour such as electric blue or coral. With Wild Wonder, the Dulux colour experts aimed to offer a ‘connection with nature that brings a sense of natural magic into our homes.’ It’s an understatedly clever colour that somehow manages to be both earthy and zesty at the same time and sits equally comfortably amid a muted palette, as in the previous picture, or in contrast to bold flashes of colour, as shown here.

Trend: New sustainable materials

Sebastian Cox

A growing focus on sustainability has seen designers and scientists working together to come up with planet-friendly interiors products. Many of them have looked to the natural world for ideas and the result is a thrilling surge of unexpected and inspired homeware. Two leading materials are mycelium lampshades and furniture, which is grown in moulds from the ‘roots’ of fungi, and Solidwool – a composite material a bit like fibreglass but made with the wool of Herdwick sheep.

New sustainable materials: Fruit leather

Starck

The leather industry is one of the most environmentally damaging on the planet so it’s perhaps unsurprising that eco-conscious designers have focused their attention on sustainable, vegan alternatives. Pineapple leather—or Piñatex—was first embraced by fashion and is now finding its way into home accessories and furniture. French designer Philippe Starck, meanwhile, has created a furniture collection upholstered in Apple Ten Lork, a vegan leather made from apple cores and skins.

Trend: Paprika

Paint & Paper Library

At the opposite end of the spectrum from laid-back lavender is another of next year’s hotly-tipped hues—paprika. More vibrant than terracotta but less in-your-face than orange, paprika is an energising shade that is surprisingly easy to work with. If you team it with more muted tones in the same colour family it takes on a reassuring, earthy persona. 

Paprika: 70s colour combos

Annie Sloan

Paprika and lavender—a dream team or an assault on the eye? It’s certainly not a look for the faint-hearted, but it does tap into the kaleidoscopic colour combinations of the late 1960s and early 1970s, which have enjoyed a resurgence in bolder homes. The key to pulling off this look is to use the colours in equal measure. If one colour is relegated to a mere accent, it will stand out for all the wrong reasons.

Trend: Multi-functional spaces

Duravit

Whether out of necessity or a desire to deliver more flexible ways of living, homes have to work harder today than ever before. Home offices have been squeezing into unexpected nooks since the pandemic, and home improvers are getting increasingly creative in their approach to multi-functional spaces. This could be using portable furniture on wheels that will work as a desk, a kitchen island or a dining table, or bathrooms that double as libraries.

Multifunctional spaces: Sleeping nooks

Dwell

If you’re short of a spare room but have an awkward alcove that you’ve always wondered what to do with, a sleeping nook could solve two problems in one. We expect to see these sneaking into the savviest design schemes in 2023. When you don’t have guests staying, cover it with an attractive throw and some scatter cushions so it can double up as a day bed or reading corner.

Trend: Oversize lighting

MarrakecharTreasures / Etsy

Supersize lighting looks set to take over our ceilings. And we’re not just talking chandeliers. Think classic pendant designs blown up on an extreme scale in spaces that you might not expect, such as above a kitchen island. This look may not be for the more traditionally inclined, but it’s certainly a way to create a talking point with your design scheme.

Oversize lighting: Small spaces

KES Lighting

If an enormous pendant feels a bit overwhelming but you’d still like to give oversized lighting a try, go for an airier design that leaves open space between the solid elements but still takes up maximum space. That way you can make a bold statement without blocking sight lines or natural light—especially important if you’re working with a smaller room.

Trend: Patterned stainless steel

Stala

Not long ago stainless steel was only to be found in professional kitchens or the homes of the most committed industrial minimalists. Its cold, blank surfaces are too sterile for most people to live with on a daily basis. That could be about to change thanks to a handful of forward-thinking kitchen companies who have begun embellishing their stainless steel units and worktops with patterns, from zigzags and stripes to wood effects and polka dots.

Patterned stainless steel: Laser etching

Stala

A variety of techniques are being used to create these steel effects, from classic circle brushing to the more futuristic laser etching used by Swedish brand, Stala. While the patterns add character and even playfulness to the metal, an all-over steel kitchen may still be a little too clinical for most. Throw some natural wood and organic curves into the scheme to soften steel’s hard lines and you’ll have a cutting-edge kitchen that’s both inventive and inviting.

Trend: Mushroom motifs

Lust Home

While scientists are busy growing fungi furniture, mushroom motifs have started popping up throughout the rest of the interior design world. Wallpaper designers in particular seem to be using mushrooms as muses and you’ll find them in all shapes, sizes, and colours, from earthy woodland tones to bold, psychedelic hues.

Mushroom motifs: Shapely stools

Nordic Nest

Mushroom lamps have been with us since the Atomic Age and have boomed once more amid the mid-century modern craze of the past decade. But keen trend spotters may have clocked fungi-like features starting to appear in other homeware recently, from ornaments and dinnerware to tables and stools. And of course, mushroom lamps aren’t going anywhere, though they may get a modern colour makeover with contemporary hues like plaster pink and navy blue taking over from atomic orange.

Trend: Luxe laundry rooms

COD Kitchen Appliances

Laundry rooms used to be a place to shove all the ugly appliances and odd socks that would otherwise be cluttering up your kitchen. Then lockdown left a lot of people stuck at home wandering around the same few rooms day after day. Some of them stumbled upon their utility room and realised the design potential of this once-overlooked space. Since then, luxe materials such as marble and brass have been adding a touch of much-wanted glamour to doing the washing and ironing.

Luxe laundry rooms: Bespoke boot rooms

Edward Bulmer

At the top end of the scale are ultra-bespoke utility spaces in which everything has its right place. Handmade cupboards hide away washing machines, cleaning products and any other unsightly reminders of daily chores. Footwear is stacked neatly on bespoke shoe racks. Any practical products on display have been carefully chosen to fit the premium aesthetic—think a vintage-style feather duster in a country scheme or a streamlined iron tastefully mounted on the wall in a modern laundry room.

Loved this? Check out more interior design ideas for your home

Original Article – https://beverlypress.com/2022/10/west-hollywood-offers-free-tree-program-for-residents/

The city of West Hollywood is holding a tree giveaway program in which residents and property owners can receive one free tree and one water bag. The deadline to apply for the tree giveaway program is Thursday, Dec. 1.

The program is open to all West Hollywood residents and businesses with suitable tree planting conditions. Participants will select a preferred tree species and alternative choice from a list of more than 50 types of trees. The list also provides a hyperlink to review tree species information including characteristics, preferred site conditions, sun exposure, water rating, canopy size at maturity, native tree status, and types of wildlife it will attract. Overall, the list has 42 climate-appropriate and nine California native tree species from which to choose. Changes to preferred species will not be accepted after the application deadline.

All trees will be in a 15-gallon container and approximately 6 feet tall. The application form requires participants to agree to a tree steward pledge and the city’s waiver of tree liability. Participants will also be asked to select a pick up date on the application form: either Jan. 13, from 7-11 a.m., or Jan. 14, from 8- 11 a.m. at 7317 Romaine St. City staff will work with participants that require special accommodations in advance of tree pick-up dates.

The city’s tree giveaway program webpage offers information about the program and application process, as well as educational information about how to plant and maintain young trees. For information, visit wehoforms.seamlessdocs.com/f/WeHoTrees.

Original Article – https://therealdeal.com/la/2022/10/18/onni-group-to-build-art-deco-tower-in-mid-wilshire/

The Vancouver-based firm has unveiled plans for a 45-story, mixed-use housing tower at 5350-5376 Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile, Urbanize Los Angeles reported. The project will preserve century-old Art Deco storefronts.

The company paid $30 million last May for the 1.4-acre site between Detroit Street and Cloverdale Avenue.

Plans call for a 45-story building with 419 one- and two-bedroom apartments above 2,700 square feet of ground-floor restaurants. A parking garage above and below ground will serve 443 cars.

Requested entitlements include Transit Oriented Communities incentives for higher density in exchange for 47 affordable apartments set aside for extremely low income households.

The proposed project is down the street from a future Wilshire/La Brea subway station.

The 530-foot-tall project, designed by Downtown-based MVE + Partners, reimagines Art Deco design from the past century with symmetry, geometric lines and repeat patterns. The glass building will feature layers of protruding balconies beneath a crown containing five penthouses.

The 708 Cloverdale project, as it is known, will include a gym, sky lounge and pool deck.
Onni intends to preserve 42,000 square feet of commercial buildings along Wilshire Boulevard, including an Art Deco building that houses a U.S. Post Office that inspired the new design.

“Architect Edward Sibbert’s use of strong vertical lines and Art Deco details has heavily influenced the framing at the tower,” according to the project description. “As the gateway to Miracle Mile east, the new tower will serve as an elegant beacon that will highlight an entry to the collection of cultural arts buildings, museums and public art spaces within Miracle Mile.”

It will join Onni’s plan to revamp the Wilshire Courtyard complex with 2.3 million square feet of offices at 5700 and 5750 Wilshire Boulevard, for which it paid $630 million before the pandemic, according to The Real Deal.

It will also add to a 42-story residential tower in the works at 5411 Wilshire Boulevard proposed by developer Walter N. Marks, and a 125-room hotel and condominium complex at 639 South La Brea Avenue, north of the new Metro stop.

The media-shy Onni Group is run by the family of the late Inno De Cotiis, an immigrant to Canada from Italy who died in 2020.

Other Onni projects include the conversion of a Long Beach strip mall into multifamily housing, a 347-unit residential tower in the Arts District and the redevelopment of the former Los Angeles Times building in Downtown L.A.

Original Article – https://www.loveproperty.com/gallerylist/107857/marilyn-monroes-beautiful-houses-from-her-honeymoon-home-to-her-final-la-mansion

The jaw-dropping homes of Marilyn Monroe

Archive Photos / Stringer / Getty Images

When it comes to silver screen stars, they don’t get much bigger than Marilyn Monroe. Her legacy lives on, with Netflix movie Blonde currently making headlines, while earlier this year reality star Kim Kardashian wore a crystal-encrusted dress to the Met Gala that had been previously worn by the starlet to serenade President John F. Kennedy. Over the course of her glamorous career, the icon went on to call more than 40 places home. From high-end hotels to small apartments and sprawling Spanish-style mansions, let’s take a look inside some of the jaw-dropping properties where Marilyn lived. 

Where did Marilyn Monroe live?

Baron / Stringer ; Getty

Having spent much of her life wandering from house to house until her untimely death in 1962, Marilyn Monroe surprisingly only ever owned one home, which she bought in the last year of her life. The star lived in the sprawling Beverly Hills mansion for just six months before she passed away, but the iconic star wasn’t born into such a palatial property.

Where was Marilyn Monroe born?

Hulton Archive / Stringer ; Getty

A world away from the glitz and glamour that would come to surround her, Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jeane Mortenson on 1 June 1926 in Los Angeles. Her mother, Gladys Baker, suffered from mental health problems and her father was absent from the star’s life from the beginning. Marilyn had two half-siblings, Berniece and Robert, the latter of whom passed away in 1933. Marilyn only found out about Berniece when she was 12 years old, with the pair meeting for the first time in 1944. 

Where was Marilyn Monroe from?

Silver Screen Collection / Contributor ; Getty

Just two weeks after she was born, Marilyn was taken to the foster home of Ida and Wayne Bolender by her mother Gladys. Over the next seven years, the young star kept in touch with her mother and the pair saw each other often. Marilyn stayed with her foster parents in their modest home until she was seven years old.

Where did Marilyn Monroe grow up?

Trulia / Google Earth

Pictured here, Marilyn’s childhood home with the Bolenders was in the city of Hawthorne in southwestern Los Angeles. She lived in the 1,300-square-foot home with Ida, Wayne and her foster siblings. Marilyn then moved in with her mother in the summer of 1933 but it wasn’t all plain sailing, with Gladys suffering a nervous breakdown in 1935. Monroe was eventually moved to the Los Angeles Orphans Home Society for two years, before living with family and friends in numerous homes across Los Angeles. 

Marilyn Monroe’s first marital home

Loopnet

 At just 16, Marilyn, still known as Norma Jeane, married high school sweetheart James Dougherty in 1942. The couple lived in this small apartment block for just one year until they moved on in 1943. Home to eight small apartments, the Sherman Oaks property would have been the perfect starter house for the newly married couple. 

Marilyn Monroe’s first marital home

Apartments.com

It’s not known which of the apartments Monroe and her new husband stayed in, but it may have been a similar layout to this space. This unit comes in at just 600 square feet and has one bedroom and one bathroom, as well as a small balcony that overlooks the street below. 

Marilyn Monroe’s first marital home

Apartments.com

Today, the shoebox homes in the block boast modern wooden floors, air conditioning and compact kitchens that sit open-plan to the living areas. In the summer of 1943, the couple moved on from their snug starter home and rented out a bigger house in the San Fernando region of Los Angeles. 

Marilyn Monroe and James Dougherty

Silver Screen Collection / Contributor ; Getty

After their brief time in the San Fernando Valley, the young couple upped sticks to Santa Catalina Island where Dougherty was enlisted in the Merchant Marines. However, in 1944 he was shipped out to the Pacific and Monroe had to move in with her in-laws. As Marilyn’s modelling career started to take off, the couple began to have differing views over her future and parted ways in 1946. 

Marilyn Monroe’s Burbank apartment

Trulia / Google Earth

After her divorce, Marilyn stayed at the female-only Hollywood Studio Club for less than a year in the late 1940s, a residence for women who were in the motion picture business. She then rented a space in this apartment building in Burbank for the summer while the couple who owned the property were on holiday. The home was close to the Warner Brothers Studios, and it was during this period that Monroe embarked on her acting career with roles in Dangerous Years and Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! and went to change her name to the now-iconic Marilyn Monroe. 

Marilyn Monroe’s Beverly Hills pad

Coldwell Banker

After her stay in Burbank, Monroe moved into the West Hollywood apartment of actor John Carroll and stayed for just five months. Then in 1949, she upped sticks again to this home, a stone’s throw away from the celebrity property hotspot of Sunset Boulevard, with Johnny Hyde, an American talent agent. Married at the time, Hyde later left his wife for Monroe. The talent agent was also said to have encouraged the young star to dye her hair platinum blonde.

Marilyn Monroe’s Beverly Hills pad

Coldwell Banker

The nearly 5,900-square-foot home has five bedrooms and six bathrooms and was built in 1941. With a grand sweeping staircase taking centre stage in the hallway, the property is undoubtedly glamorous—befitting of a rising star like Marilyn Monroe.

Marilyn Monroe’s Beverly Hills pad

Coldwell Banker

The plush two-storey residence boasts a spacious backyard with a swimming pool, a sun terrace and a guesthouse. To avoid gossip and rumours surrounding her affair with Hyde, Monroe later left the home and moved into the luxurious Beverly Carlton Hotel.

Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio’s love nest

Coldwell Banker

Following a stint living with fellow actress Natasha Lytess after parting ways with Hyde, Monroe met New York Yankees baseball star Joe DiMaggio in 1952 and the pair became inseparable. For six months, they rented a sprawling property in West Hollywood, before moving into this glamorous Hollywood Hills home, a year before they tied the knot in January 1954. 

Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio’s love nest

Netflix / Matt Hanning

In one of the dozens of locations used in the making of Blonde, Netflix’s new biographical drama that tells the story of her life and death, 
 some of Marilyn’s real homes were used. This picture shows Ana de Armas as Marilyn and Bobby Cannavale playing Joe DiMaggio recreating a famous photo of the couple during their brief but passionate marriage.

Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio’s love nest

Coldwell Banker

Built in 1938, the spectacular property sits behind gates in the exclusive Outpost Estates and overlooks the breathtaking Runyon Canyon. With just over 3,300 square feet of interior space, the home is spread over two floors and offers four bedrooms and four-and-a-half bathrooms. 

Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio’s love nest

Coldwell Banker

The beautiful residence boasts classic Mediterranean architecture and features a sun-soaked terrace that’s accessed through sliding doors from the main living space. Elsewhere, the plush estate also has a two-car garage, a luxurious swimming pool and a spa in the backyard.

Marilyn Monroe’s New York stint

Sunset Boulevard / Contributor ; Getty

In September 1954, around eight months after marrying Joe DiMaggio, Marilyn headed to New York for the filming of The Seven Year Itch. One of Monroe’s most famous movies, it features the famous scene where her dress blows up over a subway grate. Not long after, having been married for just 274 days, the couple divorced in October 1954.  

Marilyn Monroe’s West Hollywood penthouse

The Agency

Following her separation from DiMaggio, Marilyn moved into this elegant apartment building in West Hollywood. Known as Granville Towers, the French Normandy-style property is no stranger to celebrities. Over the years, the likes of Nicole Scherzinger and David Bowie have owned pads in the complex. In fact, Marilyn’s apartment was most recently owned by actor Portia de Rossi, wife of Ellen DeGeneres. The penthouse is currently on the market for $2.3 million (£2m).

Marilyn Monroe’s West Hollywood penthouse

The Agency

The 2,032-square-foot penthouse apartment dates back to 1930 and Granville Towers was actually designed by iconic architects, Leland Bryant and Samuel Coine. Historic and highly elegant, the home boasts gorgeous structural elements, floor-to-ceiling windows and sprawling views. Resident amenities include a 24-hour doorman, a clubhouse, pool and spa. Though it’s been modernised over the years, it isn’t difficult to imagine how the apartment might have looked in Marilyn’s day. 

Marilyn Monroe’s West Hollywood penthouse

The Agency

The master suite is certainly fit for Hollywood royalty. The lofted space is one of two bedrooms in the apartment and boasts a soaring ceiling, sitting area, walk-in closet and an open-plan, wall-less ensuite bathroom. Elsewhere, Marilyn had access to a large lounge with city views, a compact kitchen and a chic dining room. Yet a little less than a year after she moved in, the star left Hollywood and headed for New York City, where she married her third and final husband…

A New York/LA nomad

Gene Lester / Contributor / Getty Images

During this time in her life, Marilyn Monroe still considered New York to be home but would have to travel back to California for her many business commitments. She would rent out houses and apartments around LA, sometimes using them for press photos and publicity shots. This photo shows her in 1956.

Becoming a serious actress

Archive Photos / Stringer / Getty Images

In this photo from 1956, Marilyn invited the press into her Los Angeles rental, her home-from-home while she was away from New York. This shot was taken at a party for the film Bus Stop, which garnered excellent reviews and a Golden Globe nomination for her role as Chérie.

Marrying Arthur Miller

Bettmann / Contributor / Getty Images

Marilyn was introduced to playwright Arthur Miller earlier in her career and following her divorce from DiMaggio, the two reconnected and embarked on an affair. Following Miller’s divorce from his wife, they married in 1956 at a courthouse in White Plains, New York. This picture was taken of them at Miller’s farmhouse in Roxbury, Connecticut before their wedding. 

Marilyn Monroe’s holiday home

Douglas Elliman

During their five-year marriage, Marilyn and Arthur also rented out this picture-perfect windmill house in the Hamptons. Used as a hideout to avoid the paparazzi during their very public marriage, the secret holiday home still features the rotating blades from when it was an operational windmill.  

Marilyn Monroe’s holiday home

Douglas Elliman

The quaint home is spread over 1,300 square feet and set over three floors. Boasting a country kitchen with windows that look out over the surrounding lawns, the charming retreat also features a cosy living room with wood-beamed ceilings and a small staircase leading to the upper floors.

Marilyn Monroe’s New York penthouse

City Realty

At the beginning of their relationship, the couple tried to make a normal life in the quiet Connecticut town, but a clash of personality and lifestyles soon saw Monroe and Miller heading back to New York. The newlyweds reportedly moved into this penthouse in New York’s Midtown East area and is said to be where Miller wrote the screenplay for The Misfits, the last film Monroe starred in.

Marilyn Monroe’s New York penthouse

Brown Harris Stevens

The plush penthouse features two bedrooms and just over 2,300 square feet of interior space. The luxury apartment is located in the 444 East 57th Street building, which is still popular with New York City’s wealthy residents. Built in the 1920s, the home also comes with a 1,000-square-foot private terrace with spectacular riverside views of the Queensboro Bridge. 

Marilyn Monroe’s Palm Springs home

Compass

In January 1961, Monroe divorced Arthur Miller and headed back to Palm Springs, California, where she is said to have rented out this beautiful home. Built in 1961 and designed by Charles Dubois, the star reportedly moved in not long after it was built, presumably to escape the media circus surrounding her divorce. 

Marilyn Monroe’s Palm Springs home

Compass

The 3,000-square-foot mid-century property features sleek open-plan living spaces with grey porcelain tiles and double-height beamed ceilings. Sleek and stylish, the four-bedroom home is surrounded by sliding glass doors that frame the beautifully landscaped grounds.

Marilyn Monroe’s Palm Springs home

Compass

Outside, the backyard dazzles with a large swimming pool set against endless mountain views. Flanked by a wraparound patio and a covered terrace, it would’ve been the perfect alfresco entertaining spot for Marilyn to host fellow Hollywood A-listers.

Marilyn and Joe DiMaggio

Bettmann / Contributor / Getty Images

Following her divorce from Arthur Miller, a heartbroken Marilyn was admitted to a psychiatric clinic in New York. It was her ex-husband, Joe DiMaggio, who secured her release, whisking her away to the Yankee’s Florida training camp to rest and recuperate. While DiMaggio longed for reconciliation, their relationship was a platonic one. But he stood by her and supported her during her battles with addiction, depression and anxiety. 

Marilyn Monroe’s final home

Mercer Vine

Around 1961, Marilyn finally decided to put down roots and bought her first home in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles. By then aged 35, the star paid a reported $80,000 (£71k) and lived there with her longtime housekeeper Eunice Murray. Offering the actress a break from the spotlight, the private home sits behind secure walls and features a gated entrance.

Marilyn Monroe’s final home

Mercer Vine

Featuring four bedrooms and three bathrooms, the 2,600-square-foot house includes many of the details Monroe selected herself, after a reported trip to Mexico to hunt down decorations for the Spanish-style home. The single-storey residence, which dates back to 1929, boasts plenty of beautifully manicured outside spaces too.

Marilyn Monroe’s final home

Mercer Vine

With arched doorways and original beamed ceilings, the living room still features the original blue-tiled fireplace from Monroe’s time at the house, while the kitchen is framed by a rustic wood ceiling and tiled floors. 

Marilyn Monroe’s final home

Bettmann / Contributor / Getty Images

Not long after she moved into the property, the star tragically passed away in her bedroom at the age of 36 in 1962. She died alone from an overdose of barbiturates. The house was used as one of the on-screen locations for the Netflix film Blonde, with the death scene filmed in this bedroom garnering condemnation from some fans. This photo was taken in 1962, as police investigated.

Marilyn Monroe’s final home

AFP via Getty Images

A policeman stands in front of Marilyn Monroe’s house, where she was discovered dead in Brentwood. It is a cruel irony that the world’s most famous woman, from a broken home, always longed for a place to call her own. When she finally found one, her problems were too great for her to overcome.

Original Article – https://manofmany.com/tech/uber-robotic-delivery-units

She’s only been in the role a few months, but Sydney is already one of Uber’s most prolific workers. Each morning, she clocks in, loads up her run sheet and with a wink and smile, sets off for her daily drops. However, despite her happy-go-lucky nature, Sydney isn’t exactly the kind of employee most businesses are ready for. In fact, she isn’t even an employee at all. Like something ripped straight from the pages of a Westworld fan fiction, Sydney is a fully autonomous robotic delivery unit, tasked with keeping the residents of West Hollywood fed. Well, for the next 18 hours at least. Welcome to the future of food tech.

Image: Uber

It’s a bizarre sight for the uninitiated, but over the past few months, it has become fairly commonplace to see the delivery bots making their way through Greater Los Angeles. They nod, wink, smile and drive, seemingly with a personality that is entirely unique to each unit, and that doesn’t come by accident. The culmination of 12 months’ worth of hard work, Uber’s fleet of autonomous delivery vehicles is helping shape the next wave of innovative technology and at its helm stands a proud Aussie.

Dean Apostolopoulos is the man behind the new delivery bots, working to coordinate two live pilots that will bring autonomous food delivery to the Uber Eats platform in the US. The 31-year-old Victorian has spent the last 12 months getting the project off the ground, with the last six months serving as an initial trial phase. Now, he’s finally ready to take the technology to the world.

“As an Aussie, I’m very proud. I came through an engineering background, so I’ve always been in software engineering. All through my life I’ve had technology at my fingertips, like a lot of us now, and this was an area that I was passionate about,” he says. “I was part of a very small founding team that changed Uber’s vision and went down this path. We were a very small team, we’ve grown substantially over the last 12 months (to) a big team of engineers and business side people as well, putting all these pilots on the road and building some pretty awesome, magical stuff in the background.”

Dean Apostolopoulos | Image: Uber

For years, it has seemed like autonomous driving vehicles have been right around the corner, however, countless setbacks and apprehension surrounding Tesla’s Autopilot Mode have seen the future fail to reach fruition. Remarkably, despite being the pipedream of philosophers and futurologists for decades, autonomous transport has fallen down the pecking order, particular in recent years. In corporate enterprise, artificial intelligence has emerged as a fundamental driver of growth, an after-shock of the global pandemic. In fact, the sector’s widespread adoption of AI has led to a rapid rise in what is quietly being referred to as robotic process automation (RPA).

A recent report from Deloitte found that nearly 8 in 10 corporate executives said they had implemented some form of RPA, while a further 16 per cent revealed that they planned to do so within the next three years. Digitalisation has spread across the white-collar landscape with apparent ease, transforming customer and supply-chain interactions significantly and the tide doesn’t appear to be turning. For Apostolopoulos and Uber, however, the growth opportunity exists more in the service solution side of the equation, rather than as a people-moving transport application.

Speaking at the Los Angeles workshop, the product manager, Autonomous Mobility & Delivery for Uber revealed that live trials with partners Serve Robotics and Motional have helped demonstrate the viability of robotics in the food ordering and hospitality sector. Rather than waiting to find a delivery driver in a peak time period, or worrying about small-scale trips, the introduction of a robot helper opens the door for greater adoption and patronage. In West Hollywood, for example, customers can order through the Uber Eats app, receive a notification that their food is being delivered by a robot and track its journey in real-time. When it arrives, a notification is sent and they simply meet the robot on the street, enter a pre-messaged code and unlock the cooler to receive their food.

Robots like Sydney will be able to travel all day on a single charge and while they are designed to navigate real-world, urban environments, there is a safety net. All Serve’s vehicles are actively monitored by human operators, meaning that should any unit run into trouble, a pilot can take over controls and readjust the trip. Importantly, Apostolopoulos claims that the introduction of delivery robots is designed to complement the existing driver network, rather than replace it.

“We’re operating what we call a hybrid marketplace, so you may be matched with an AV or a human,” he explains. “But certainly, we’re working with merchants to bring the tech and learn the tech with them as well. There is a learning curve with any new advancements and new innovations, however, we’re certainly encouraged with consumer response and merchant response to all of it as well.”

“The way you want to look at it is demand is continually growing, and this will only supplement that demand,” he continued. “There’s going to always be a need for drivers on the roads and we actually firmly believe that there will be more drivers in 10 years on the roads than there are today.”

Image: Uber

In addition to working with Serve Robotics, Uber has also outlined partnerships with Motional in Santa Monica, which utilises autonomous vehicles that drive on roads with a safety driver, alongside announcing a new ten-year partnership with grocery delivery-focused enterprise Nuro, set to take effect in Mountain View, California and Houston, Texas. For a company like Uber, driven by innovation and built on a platform of industry-leading technology, it seems like a natural progression, but it’s not always as simple as ‘build it and they will come’. Apostolopoulos admits that there are difficulties in user adoption, with new different cultures, regions and environments more resistant to technology evolution.

“Our strategy is not just looking at what the next year looks like but how this changes what work looks like in the next 10 years,” he explains. “With all change things are gradual but then they happen. We’re seeing glimpses of how technology improves our lives back home and how our cities look are changing. I don’t know about you, but through the pandemic, I got used to food just showing up at my door and being there. Obviously going out to these robots is a different experience for people and something that they will adapt and learn with over time, that’s part of the challenge…I don’t want my kids to get a licence at all, to tell you the truth, they’re four years old, so hopefully within the next 10 years.”

Image: Uber

The other challenge Uber is hoping the robotics trend will address is that of climate action. Serve robots are powered by all-day batteries and can be charged by any available electricity source, producing zero carbon emissions. While it marks a critical step in the company’s 2040 mission of a fully electrified fleet, Apostolopoulos revealed that the form factors for each unit also serve Uber’s sustainable future, which is surging ahead at a rate of knots.

Farfetched as it may seem, the timeline checks out. For all its growth and success Down Under, Uber – the platform has only just celebrated its tenth birthday in Australia. A long way since the vigilante-esque ride-sharing days of old, the transport company is stretching far beyond simply getting people from A to B, setting sights on a global logistics, freight and of course, food delivery empire. Sure, Apostolopoulos‘ dream of a licence-less world for his kids might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it matters less. The future is arriving faster than you think and this time, there’s no one in the driver’s seat.

Original Post -https://wehotimes.com/city-of-west-hollywood-is-proposing-installation-of-neon-dog-at-william-s-hart-park-dog-park/

The City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Commission Regular Meeting (was) scheduled for Wednesday, September 14, 2022 at 1:3p p.m., the City of West Hollywood is proposing the Neon Dog project for installation at William S. Hart Park & Off Leash Dog Park, a property leased by the City of West Hollywood, owned by the City of Los Angeles. The proposed cost is $100,000.

The Neon Dog is a reconditioned, electrically rotating neon sign in the shape of a dog (10’6” high, 10’9” at its widest), and part of the City of West Hollywood’s Urban Art collection. The proposed project includes the installation of the Neon Dog atop a 12’-tall vertical support pole (with corresponding structural foundation and electrical connections) at the Park’s Sunset Boulevard entrance located between North Kings Road and North Sweetzer Avenue.

The famous Collar & Leash neon dog sign was originally located at 8555, Santa Monica Boulevard. A crane removed it from the Collar & Leash parking lot on Tuesday, June 24, 2020. It was deinstalled and carefully placed in the back of a truck and was taken to Ontario California for much needed repairs in preparation to become a permanent art installation in West Hollywood.

On January 21, 2020, the City Council accepted a gift of the Collar & Leash neon dog sign from Joseph Chan and Charles Chan Massey. The neon sign was sited at the city and there are plans to conserve it very much like the Rocky & Bullwinkle sculpture that is now on display on Sunset Boulevard. The Neon dog sign will return it to a new location in the city.

William S. Hart Park & Off Leash Dog Park is a fenced-in park between Sunset Boulevard and De Longpre that allows dogs to play off-leash in a tree-lined space with mulch on the ground, located at 8341 De Longpre Ave, West Hollywood.

Original Article – https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2022-09-23/how-the-southern-california-starter-home-is-shrinking

For decades, the single-family home has been Southern California’s ultimate lure — a chance to live a life of sun and sand from the comfort of your very own property.

Most buyers’ ticket into that life is the starter home. Something modest but not minuscule. Two bedrooms, maybe three. A picket fence in front and a yard out back for the kids and dog to play.

But the starter home has changed. As home prices have soared and higher mortgage interest rates have made everything less affordable, wish lists have become more and more wishful, and buyers have been forced to find something smaller and less practical.

Want two bedrooms? How about one, plus an office that might fit a twin-size bed. Want a backyard? How about a space shared with the rest of the condo complex. Want to paint the exterior of your townhouse? The homeowner association won’t allow it, but feel free to spruce up the inside.

Making compromises has always been a part of house hunting, but in a market where some two-bedroom homes are selling for $1 million or more — often for hundreds of thousands over the asking price — middle-class buyers are forced to take whatever they can get.

“Beggars can’t be choosers,” said Zach Zyskowski, a TV producer who bought his first home last summer.

His search started with two-bedroom homes in West Hollywood and Mid-City, but he quickly realized that everything was out of his price range.

“Anything under $1 million was hard to find,” he said. “There was nothing that was both nice and unique, and I wanted something that wasn’t cookie-cutter.”

Zyskowski decided to switch strategies. He stopped searching for homes on the market and got creative, asking friends if anyone was planning to sell in their respective condo complexes. He ended up buying a one-bedroom condo directly from a seller in an off-market deal.

In the end, he sacrificed space for character. His new home is in El Cabrillo, a Spanish-style courtyard complex built by movie mogul Cecil B. DeMille in the 1920s.

It’s a bit small at 800 square feet, and he uses a pull-out sofa in the living room to host guests. But the stylish building, which has been featured in shows such as “Hollywood” and “Chuck” and enjoys a spot on the National Register of Historic Places, more than makes up for it.

“Would I have loved something bigger? Yes, there’s always more you can want,” he said. “But I’d rather have something smaller and nicer than bigger and boring. I was just amazed I could buy a place at all.”

For Elena Amador-French, smaller wasn’t an option. A planetary scientist for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, she grew tired of working on the Mars Rover from her dining room table during the pandemic. The newborn baby didn’t help.

She and her husband started house hunting last year and set their sights on Altadena, a community tucked into the San Gabriel Mountains filled with charming Craftsman, English Tudor and Colonial Revival-style homes.

With a budget of $800,000, they wanted a house with character — as long as it had two bedrooms. But their search played out like many others: putting in an offer, watching dozens of other buyers drive up the asking price, and seeing the house sell for hundreds of thousands more than they could afford.

“You just have to laugh at a certain point. We couldn’t get upset because we couldn’t even compete,” she said.

They switched strategies and aimed for a duplex, which didn’t have the appeal of the single-family lifestyle but also didn’t have dozens of buyers swarming every open house.

In the end, they paid $970,000 for an 1,800-square-foot duplex with three bedrooms and three bathrooms in an east Pasadena complex.

“There’s still a piece of me that wants a single-family home that I can truly make my own.”

— Elena Amador-French

It didn’t have the charm of a single-family home, and it didn’t quite check off all the boxes; they couldn’t fit a swing set for their daughter into the outdoor space, and they weren’t able to add any personal touches to the exterior because of HOA regulations that require all houses to be painted the same color.

But it was an easier process that ended with more space for less money.

“There’s still a piece of me that wants a single-family home that I can truly make my own,” she said. “But this was so much less of a battle.”

In today’s market, it makes sense to settle. Homes that check all the boxes — hip neighborhood, plenty of space, interesting architecture — are still attracting plenty of offers and often selling for over the asking price. But for buyers willing to let go of the dream of single-family housing and redefine what a starter home can be, there are plenty of options.

Condos are regularly on the market in L.A. in the $300,000 range, a fraction of what some single-family homes are commanding. Other buyers are opting for tenancy-in-common units, arrangements in which residents share ownership of a building.

As more buyers choose alternatives, condo price increases are outpacing single-family home price increases. In August, the median sale price for L.A. condos was $675,000, a 7.1% jump year over year, according to Redfin. During that same stretch, single-family homes increased 0.4%.

The same is true for townhouse prices, which have increased 6.7% year over year for a median of $700,000.

For many Southern Californians, single-family homes are simply out of reach. The Times has published a “What Money Buys” series for the last five years that highlights homes on the market at certain price points in different neighborhoods. Now, those stories read like a time capsule.

For example, a 2019 piece featured homes on the market for $800,000 in a handful of L.A. neighborhoods including Jefferson Park and Cypress Park. Both areas had a five-bedroom home listed for around $800,000.

The Jefferson Park home ended up selling for $850,000 in 2019. Now, Redfin estimates that the home is worth $1.28 million. The Cypress Park home grew even more valuable, selling for $800,000 in 2019 and now worth an estimated $1.45 million.

Those prices have become standard. In Jefferson Park, there are no five-bedroom single-family homes on the market for less than $1.2 million. The $800,000 price point now buys a two-bedroom home — or a three-bedroom fixer-upper.

The change becomes even more pronounced at lower price points. A 2017 entry in the series explored what $500,000 buys in the L.A. neighborhoods of Van Nuys, Leimert Park and Boyle Heights. Every single home on the list had at least 1,000 square feet, and most had three bedrooms. One had four.

Five years later, Redfin values all the properties on that list at $750,000 or more, with a few valued north of $850,000.

A look at the options currently on the market in those three communities finds no three-bedroom homes for $500,000 or less. The closest thing is a three-bedroom townhouse in Van Nuys asking $550,000 — cash offers only.

For comparison, a 2022 story exploring homes at $500,000 highlighted much smaller options including a 648-square-foot bungalow in East L.A. listed at $485,000 and a one-bedroom condo in downtown L.A. asking $509,000 (plus $813 in monthly HOA dues.)

Spoiler alert: Both homes sold shortly after the article ran, and the East L.A. bungalow sold for $10,000 more than the asking price.

More buyers are settling for two-bedroom homes as a starter, and it’s driving up prices.

In L.A., the median two-bedroom home — the typical size for starter homes — sold for $765,700 in August, a 10.1% increase year over year, according to Rocket Homes. That outpaces one-bedroom homes, which increased 8.8% year over year, and three-bedroom homes, which increased 9.1% year over year.

Earlier this year, Compass agent Allie Altschuler sold a two-bedroom home in the hills of Eagle Rock for $1.442 million — or $293,000 more than the asking price. What it lacked in bedroom count, it made up for with unique features such as a breakfast nook with a built-in booth and a separate structure in the backyard that can be used as an office or studio.

“Younger buyers are OK with buying smaller homes because they know they won’t be in it forever,” she said. “Buying a house and living in it for 30 or 40 years isn’t the case anymore.”