Mailonline: LA House extensions and work 'nearly complete'

This really is a major build, but it looks like things are fairly close to completion. With all the climate and environmental problems in CA (not to mention COVID) I can't help but wonder if this is a wise investment right now. I know he wants to do it for his kids, and he can easily afford it, but he's investing a lot in a place he might not want to live in much longer. I guess he can afford to hold onto it and see what happens.

(I think the DM has gotten it wrong again. $100million for the house in Cabo? I don't think so. They're mixing it up with the Casamigos sale, no?)

I think quite a lot of this article is misleading - that looks like a giant's version of a wendy

    house to me! And we know that George likes investing in property so this is not surprising 

    given the amount of land he has there..


Ps Wonder how the Brignoles house is looking

Wow. I forgot all about that one. He really is becoming a real estate magnate! I wonder how they decide where to live. Probably work commitments are the deciding factor, but what will they do once the kids start school?

Don't forget that they have huge numbers of friends and family to stay - hence the Italian

properties.

This really is beautiful

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Not sure why, but I like this place the least of all the houses he owns. I liked the Cabo house a lot, but that's gone. Now it's a toss-up between the Studio City and Sonning homes, with the Lake Como place a close second. Somehow this property doesn't thrill me - not that it matters what I think!

So would you say that you were a modern house fan, Lizzy? Cabo was and the LA one is  
   also modern but described as Mock Tudor. Also the NYC flat. But the rest seem to be Grade II 
   listed at least...

I like all styles of architecture, but I probably lean a bit more to the cleaner lines of modern houses. What really attracts me (excluding beachfront property) is greenery. I like properties with lots of trees and shady spots. That might be why I don't like this new place as much. It has a dry and dusty look - to me.

[size=34]George Clooney's $1million property extension nears completion as play cottage and two villas take shape next to his Studio City home... with former bachelor pad transformed into a family estate[/size]

• The Hollywood star is believed to have spent in excess of $1million to transform the Studio City home he originally purchased from Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks in 1995
  
  
• The original property, a secluded six bedroom villa covering 7,354-square-foot, now boasts a large play cottage and two villas for live-in help with four-year old twins Ella and Alexander 
  
  
•  Additionally, the celebrated actor has applied to build a funicular or cable railroad, an outdoor pizza oven and a water feature on the property, according to planning documents
  
  
• Aerial photos suggest much of the building work is complete, with the play house having progressed significantly since it was last photographed November 2020
  
  

By JASON CHESTER FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 10:30 EST, 13 January 2022 | UPDATED: 11:06 EST, 13 January 2022

   

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George Clooney's $2.2 million bachelor pad has finally been converted into a palatial family estate, more than a year after the actor paid almost half that sum to extend the property. 
The Hollywood star is believed to have spent in excess of $1million to transform the Studio City home he originally purchased from Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks in 1995. 
The original property, a secluded six bedroom villa covering 7,354-square-foot, now boasts a large play cottage and two villas for live-in help with four-year old twins Ella and Alexander, his children with wife Amal Clooney. 




Impressive: Aerial photos of George Clooney's Studio City home suggest work is nearing completion on a $1million extension (pictured left: The property in November 2020, and right: the same property in January 2022)
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Happy couple: Clooney wed Lebanese-born human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin in 2014 and they became parents to twins Ella and Alexander in 2017
Additionally, the celebrated actor has applied to build a funicular or cable railroad, an outdoor pizza oven and a water feature on the property, according to planning documents, although it is unclear if these outdoor additions have been finalised. 


Aerial photos suggest much of the building work is complete, with the play house having progressed significantly since November 2020, when the development appeared to be a work in progress.  

The neighboring villas also features notable improvements, among them newly tiled roofs, wooden decking and brickwork exteriors. 
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Impressive: The new play house (left) includes stone pathways connecting it to two newly built villas (right), developed for live in help
[size=18]George Clooney's LA mansion undergoes $1.1m renovation



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Previously: Building work appeared to be in its early stages when aerial photographs captured the estate in 2020
Builders have also installed a new steel staircase, extending the property's deck with a trellis and revising its windows. 
Clooney bought the original villa for $2.2 million from Nicks as his career began to take off in 1995.
He has since added to his property portfolio with a mansion on Lake Como in Italy and a sprawling four-acre estate on an island in the middle of the River Thames west of London that includes a 17th century home. 
In 2016 he sold the compound he shared with close pal and business partner Rande Gerber in Los Cabos, Mexico, for $100 million. 
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Home fit for a Hollywood king: The development features notable improvements, among them newly tiled roofs, wooden decking and brickwork exteriors
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Upgrades: In addition to the new buildings, Clooney has also applied to build a funicular or cable railroad, an outdoor pizza oven and a water feature (the property is pictured in 2020)
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Success: Clooney bought the original villa for $2.2million as his career began to take off in 1995 (pictured that year)
Clooney wed Lebanese-born human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin in 2014 and they became parents to twins Ella and Alexander in 2017.  
The actor, who is reportedly worth $500 million, recently admitted he once turned down $35 million dollars for one day's work starring in an airline commercial.
Clooney revealed his wife had dissuaded him from taking the eye-watering paycheck because it was associated with a 'questionable' country - although he didn't specify which.
A human rights lawyer, Beirut native Amal studied at Oxford University and specialises in international law - which she is permitted to practice both in the US and UK. 
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Won't be long: New photos suggest the development is nearing completion as Clooney looks to transform his property into a suitable family home 
In a recent interview with The Guardian, the Ocean's Eleven star said: 'Well, yeah. I was offered $35m for one day's work for an airline commercial, but I talked to Amal about it and we decided it's not worth it. 
'It was [associated with] a country that, although it's an ally, is questionable at times, and so I thought: "Well, if it takes a minute's sleep away from me, it's not worth it."' 
The couple temporarily relocated to Australia with their twins in October while Clooney works on his latest film, Ticket To Paradise, with Julia Roberts.

Think maybe they're planning for their kids to be homeschooled, and the "playhouse" is actually mainly a really nice home classroom...?

Way2Old - It's possible. Until the twins are school age they really only need a nanny. When they get older I guess they'll have to decide whether to settle in one place so the twins can attend school or to hire tutors to home school them so they can keep traveling .If they home school the "playhouse" certainly looks big enough to house a classroom.

Late to the party, I know, but is anyone else wondering why the Daily Fail insists on calling one of those buildings a 'playhouse' when it looks to be the same size as a standard home?

Totally agree, Katie. Think I described it as a giant's version of a playhouse somewhere!

 Maybe their schoolhouse when they're there? If they were in the UK they would already be at   school....

I think there are a couple of things at play here. One is the rich people's "I can afford it so why not?" attitude - especially in LA, where every "improvement" becomes a status symbol that raises the value of the property a gazillion-fold.

The other factor is that they will soon need to decide how and where they're going to educate the twins. If they enroll them in an actual brick and mortar school somewhere they'll have to figure out how to tailor their work schedules around the twins' school schedule. As I see it the alternative would be tutors who could travel with the family. In that case the "playhouse" might actually double as a school.

PP - Children need a stable environment where they can develop routines and make friends. It gives them a sense of security and helps them become independent. 

I know George's kids are well loved and cared for, but I do think the gypsy lifestyle they live now will have to change as the twins get older.

I rather suspect George has probably figured it out. A while ago he said that things would have to change when the children went to school and they'd have to review where they'd be educated and it's interesting to know that neither of them were at private schools. I wonder those concerns are feeding into his thoughts of possibly only one project a year....

PAN - I have a feeling they'll be settling in the UK once the twins are school age. Didn't we see something recently about him filming more in the UK? (Buying/building a studio or making a deal with one? I don't remember which.) And yes, I agree that the twins' schooling is part of George's decision to cut back. 

I also think the UK is the better choice as right now the educational system in the US is a mess and doesn't look to be getting better for quite a while.

I suspect George may have reached both the age and the career achievements where he's happy not to be pushing the pedal to the metal any more. That would fit in well with having to compromise working hours with his children's need for education.

I agree. In one interview recently about his next project, 'The Boys in the Boat', he said something along the lines of that he wanted to direct it from home - and something along the lines of 'Look. The river's right outside my door!' 

Very convenient choice...

PAN - I think that's where I saw the bit about him using/building a studio near his home. I'm sure once virus restrictions are lifted there will be plenty of UK studios for him to work with.

Yep, Lizzy. He has two studios not a million miles from Sonning - at Shepperton and Pinewood - and all is virtually back to normal here (bar the request for masks in indoor settings e g shops) - and an enormous choice of country settings for location work...and of course the Thames is the home of some iconic rowing in the UK...

Good choice of home - and he's said that he's mostly ignored apart from the odd 'Morning, George' comment...

I really can't imagine the twins going to a brick and mortar school. At least not here in the US. They travel too much and the threat of kidnapping and paparazzi intrusion is just too high. I think socialization is terribly important for kids but poor Amal gets death threats and the press is unrelenting. Outside schooling is not impossible but the kids would probably need their own security detail. It would be easier to home school them.

Many high-profile celebrities have the same problem finding schools for their kids. I'm sure there are private schools, both here and in the UK, that are accustomed to dealing with students who have security issues. 

Not sure why, but it seems to me the twins would be better off in the UK - at least for now. This country is such a mess in so many ways I don't know why anyone would want to raise kids here if they had a choice.

I feel that this country is very close behind the US in the hot mess stakes, though!

Oh, Katie, please say that isn't so! I look to the UK as a place of sanity and stability. There are too many days when it seems that this country is on the brink of falling apart. Donald Trump opened the cages and let all the animals out and now they're running amok. It's going to take years, if ever, for us to get back to some sort of normalcy.