Travels with Grumpus

Consider this one by Philippe Starck. He’s been called the “most famous and prolific designer alive,” having designed homes, hotel interiors, furniture, luggage, household bric-a-brac and so forth. Chances are you’ve seen his name on something for sale in some store near you.

The house in question is the only known private residence he’s designed in the US. It’s a 3-bedroom, 2 1/2 bathroom, 2,500 square foot house on a 6,500 square foot lot in Mar Vista on the west side of Los Angeles. Amenities include a covered patio; decks; finished two-car garage, used as office and family room; and ocean views. Sound fancy? Well the sellers are asking US$ 1.695 million for it.

Now if that sounds like a lot of money to you, let me put it in a bit of context. US$ 1.695 million is about HK$ 13.2 million. In this town, for slightly more money than that, you can buy a 1,351 square foot 3-bedroom apartment in a high rise, minus the brand name designer, patio, decks, garage, office and family room. For those of you who have never house hunted in Hong Kong, that 1,351 square feet includes your share of the building’s common area (elevator, lobby, etc) - so you’re probably looking at 1,050 square feet net for your 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and combined living/ dining areas.

I’ll take the Starck house, thank you.