Yahoo Lifestyle Dr. Laura’s Longtime Santa Barbara Estate Is Up for Grabs at $23 Million
Almost four years after Laura Schlessinger’s longtime coastal California residence first hit the market for $22.85 million and subsequently failed to trade hands for $19.5 million when a contract fell through, the popular and sometimes controversial talk-radio personality is hoisting her seaside spread in Santa Barbara’s desirable Campanil Hill neighborhood back up for sale. The asking price is a slightly boosted $23 million, with the listing held by Andrea O’Loughlin of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties.
The SiriusXM host known to her fans simply as Dr. Laura and her late husband Lewis Bishop paid $6.1 million for the property back in summer 2005 and then embarked upon an extensive renovation of the premises, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
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Spanning nearly four acres, the gated compound is showcased by a main Cape Cod-style home that was built in 1982 and has six bedrooms and seven baths in roughly 8,800 square feet of living space. There’s also a one-bedroom guesthouse that Schlessinger soundproofed and used as a studio, plus a three-car garage topped by a guest or staff apartment and a fitness pavilion with a gym and guest suite.
Introducing the primary two-story dwelling is a double-height foyer displaying a crystal chandelier and a curving wrought iron-railed staircase. From there, a spacious fireside living room is lined with windows and a formal dining room has French doors spilling outside, while a wood-paneled billiards room is equipped with a wet bar. Other highlights include an eat-in kitchen outfitted with top-tier Wolf appliances, a cozy media room, and an upstairs primary suite with a private patio and an onyx-clad bath sporting a built-in soaking tub and two-person shower.
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Outdoors, the grounds are encircled by a quarter-mile walking trial and host a pool and raised spa, tennis and pickleball courts, and a waterfall-fed koi pond. Two expansive decks, one overlooking the tennis court and another on the roof of the guesthouse, offer picturesque views of the Pacific Ocean and Channel Islands.
The 78-year-old marriage, family and child counselor, who has been offering up her own brand of “no-nonsense” advice on satellite radio since 2011, is particularly ready to let the Santa Barbara property go now because she wants to move to a smaller home in the area. It’s time to “whittle down” a bit, Schlessinger told WSJ. And though it is bittersweet to think about selling, she added, “they’re going to hand me a check and I’ll change my mind.”
Click here for more photos of the Santa Barbara residence.
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