The Home Page | Grandma’s Cottage and Baseball’s Best

Missing Vin, Visiting Grandma, and Bennifer’s Digs

This edition of The Home Page was originally emailed to subscribers on August 14, 2022. To receive Sarah Sinclair’s real estate newsletter in your inbox each Sunday, sign up at independent.com/newsletters.

VIN SCULLY GOES HOME

Any baseball lover worth their salt shed a tear when icon Vin Scully passed away earlier this month. Even as a loyal San Francisco Giants fan, I’ve loved listening to Vin craft his play-by-play around the backstories and witticisms that characterized his folksy style for as many years as I’ve loved baseball. We all felt like we knew Vin, and that he loved us all. Defunct blog Curbed L.A. described Vin as “a walking civic landmark on par with the Hollywood sign …” Vin lived in a seven-bedroom home in rural-feeling Hidden Hills in the San Fernando Valley. Known as Vinny to the neighbors, and seen giving out candy on Halloween, Vin reportedly loved his haven so much that he happily drove the 60 miles round-trip to Dodger Stadium until his retirement in 2016. Scully’s passing was felt deeply, as much for his kindness as his iconic career. My friend John Zant penned this note of Vin’s generosity from his true-blue heart.

COASTAL GRANDMA ALIVE & WELL IN S.B.

You’ve heard of Coastal Grandmother style, right? The playlists on Spotify, and the calculatedly casual fashions in just about every blog and boutique. This article claims that the breezy, crushed-linen, slip-covered style is epitomized on the Cape Cod island of Nantucket, while they wax poetic about a $4.25 million cottage built in 1740. Well I found a satisfying dose of Coastal Grandma right here in Santa Barbara, with this positively adorable 1890s Victorian cottage near the Natural History Museum. I visited with Kat and Kylie from Hitchcock + Associates on Thursday and walked around saying “Wow!” nonstop as I marveled at the charming period details in every room. It’s located at 2680 Puesta Del Sol, one of my favorite streets in Santa Barbara. Check it out, but don’t delay. This cutie will be snapped up quicker than you can say “Coastal Grandma’s Cottage.”

BEN’S BACHELOR PAD

I don’t follow celebrity news, but sometimes the details that I miss in the tabloids catch up with me in the real estate blogs. Who’s dating whom, or who broke up with whom, or even who just got married even though they were engaged 20 years ago?! Such “news” is hard to escape when said newlyweds are out shopping for $50 million mansions. In this case, Ben Affleck is selling his bachelor pad shown above, reportedly because he and J-Lo are consolidating households. If you want something a little ritzier than the Coastal Grandma style, the seven-bedroom, nine-bathroom estate located in Pacific Palisades is on the market for a cool $29,999,000.

PAINT IT WHITE

One more nod to the Coastal Grandma style is this cozy bedroom image from Christine Cowles, our Style Specialist. Her latest column provides tips for home sellers hoping to give their house a heads-up in today’s more competitive housing market. To be sure, it’s still a seller’s market, but the recent frenzied days of multiple-all-cash-offers-above-asking-price are cooling to a more balanced state of affairs. Christine’s number-one tip? Paint it white. Sounds like a bright, crisp backdrop that pleases potential home buyers … and possibly Coastal Grandma’s favorite palette as well!

Enjoy your sunny Sunday: at home, in your garden, or out adventuring. Make sure to read this week’s Independent wherever you may be!

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