Before her death, Marilyn Monroe-obsessed model Anna Nicole Smith purchased her idol’s former home in the Hollywood hills. When Lifetime set out to film a made-for-TV movie about the self-destructive starlet’s life in 2013, the house at 696 Sherwood Road was selected to be the on-screen version of the famous mansion.
The 85-year-old estate is one of about half a dozen Spanish Colonial-style homes lining the quiet street. Neighborhood lore says these were built for supervisors overseeing the construction of Midtown’s massive Biltmore Hotel project in the 1920s.
According to listing agent Kevin McGlynn of Dorsey Alston Realtors, the front two thirds of the four-bedroom, four-bathroom house is original, with the back third added about twenty years ago.
During the expansion, wooden beams were brought from a church in Savannah for the ceiling as well as for the distinctive floors in the main living space, which pair the beams with Saltillo tiles. During that renovation/expansion, the previous owners also brought in an architectural preservation specialist to ensure that the design choices were faithful to the period and style of the unique home. Current owner Linda Chmar says, “The paint colors, trim, heavy plaster in the front, and several other architectural details exist because the previous sellers wanted it to be very authentic.” To that end, they also had handmade tiles created for the stairs leading up to the turret room. Each tile is unique.
Upstairs, the turret houses a distinctive round bedroom with its own bathroom. Downstairs, a half-kitchen, full bath, bedroom, large office, and den/family room with a separate entrance can be used as an in-law suite or even rental.
The backyard, with its mature Italian Cypress trees and saltwater Pebble Tec pool, is one of Chmar’s favorite features. “When you’re in the backyard, it’s completely private. You’re in an in-town neighborhood, but you see nobody and nobody sees you. It’s very green and peaceful. You don’t even have to wear clothes in the pool or the hot tub,” she says with a laugh.
Her other favorite thing? The location. “It’s a true neighborhood street,” she says. “And at this stage of the game, we wouldn’t be anywhere in Atlanta where we couldn’t walk to the BeltLine.”
The 3,733-square-foot stucco stunner is currently listed at $1,279,000. Contact Kevin McGlynn (kevinmcglynn@dorseyalston.com, 404-352-2010) for more information
