Yes, the Olympics are over. But for those swim-meet addicts who didn't find the synchronized diving remotely silly, the one thing missing this time around was Lenny Krayzelburg, the four-time Olympic gold medalist whose striking good looks and self-effacing charm made him a media darling during previous Games.
Krayzelburg has listed his contemporary Sunset Strip-area home for $5,675,000.
A unique waterfall above the entryway shoots into layered pools at this three-bedroom, 3 1/2 -bathroom home. The great room is 45 feet long, with 12-foot ceilings and a glass fireplace that is visible from inside and outside the house.
Porcelain floors accent the white Venetian plaster walls. There's stainless steel in the kitchen and bathroom, and there are views of the pool and garden from the master suite.
The home has two guest suites and ample parking. The property is fenced and gated and sits near the top of prestigious Doheny Estates. The exterior and interiors were designed by Roy Sklarin of Beverly Hills.
Krayzelburg, 32, captain of the U.S. swim team at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, announced his retirement in June. He won three of his four gold medals at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, in backstroke. The fourth was in the 400-meter medley relay at Athens. But injuries plagued him, and he had several surgeries on his shoulder, preempting a return to the Games.
He has founded a swimming school in Los Angeles and was a co-founding member of SwimRoom.com, a social networking site.
Philip Buck of Hilton & Hyland, Beverly Hills, has the listing.
Not too shabby for Brentwood
Ah, those delicate teacups, quiet floral wallpapers, glittering chandeliers and, of course, the omnipresent white-on-white slipcovers on the big cushioned sofa.
Rachel Ashwell, who created the Shabby Chic style in 1989 and is the mastermind behind the stores of the same name, taught us how to live a more genteel life.
Now Ashwell has listed her Brentwood home for sale at $4,395,000 -- and why, yes, it does kind of look like one of her showrooms. The woman clearly walks the walk, dances the dance, lives like she decorates.
Except she doesn't actually live there. According to public records, she lives in Malibu Colony. And since she hasn't yet invited me over, I am unable to report on how well her white slipcovers have held up to the beach sun or red wine spills. (In the summer of 2007, she was asking $20,000 a month to rent her 1,700-square-foot ocean view-less Colony place.)
