Singer-songwriter and rock-and-roll über-royal Joe Sumner has listed a quaint and casually polished California Craftsman cottage in the mega-trendy heart of Venice, Calif., at $2.995 million. Sumner, the eldest of Sting’s children and the frontman for Fiction Plane, purchased the property in August 2013 for $1.91 million. The property is represented by Jacqueline Cahen at Compass.
Sequestered behind a secured gate and concealed behind an impressively tall, visually impenetrable and carefully clipped hedge, the fully renovated and updated early 1900s cottage measures in at 1,896-square-feet with three bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. Interiors maintain some original detailing but are decidedly more modern than the exterior with wide-plank white oak floorboards imported from Europe and vaulted ceilings pierced by numerous skylights ensure natural light all day long. A detached structure at the back of the postage-stamp size .12-acre parcel houses a two-car garage with alley access plus a wood floored and skylight topped guest bedroom, office or art studio with en suite bathroom
A slender front yard presided over by a picturesque trio of towering palm trees and carpeted with a drought busting sweep of faux-grass leads to a charming raised porch and front door that opens directly into a small sitting room. Privately and quietly positioned at the rear of the house where it opens through French doors to a grassy courtyard between the main house and garage, the open-plan living and entertaining space includes a lounge area next to a full wall of built-in bookshelves, an exceptionally spacious dining area and a recently renovated kitchen fitted with de rigueur stainless steel appliances and marble countertops on crisp, white Shaker-style cabinets. Two guest bedrooms, one with original built-ins and shoulder high wainscoting, share a renovated bathroom while the master bedroom has a bathroom of its own with a marble-topped double-sink vanity.
More Dirt
Earlier this year the 40-something-year-old British musician splashed out almost $3.2 million for an itty-bitty contemporary residence on Malibu’s prestigious Point Dume. Fortunately for Sumner, unlike many of his nearby neighbors, his recently acquired property was spared in the fires that ripped through Malibu earlier this month and destroyed hundred of homes.
Listing photos: David Anderson for Compass