I think one of the reasons for my success as a creative
force has been to some inherent restlessness in my soul, the ever-present
desire for new experiences and novelty. I know for a fact this is why I’ve had
so many ex-wives, ex-girlfriends, and ex-everythings. I get restless and bored
without some new interest driving me to learn or experience something totally
foreign to me.
So, I recently read a wild book about a guy in the mid-1800s
who decided to ditch his studies and head out on a ship to experience the life
of a sailor (Two Years Before the Mast, great read, totally recommend), and it
got me thinking – hey, the ocean is this crazy, mercurial thing that can’t be
tamed. I’m a crazy, mercurial thing that can’t be tamed. There’s probably a sort
of kinship I can form with this thing.
Long story short, I’ve decided to take up sailing. As I age
and I watch the other guys around me descend into drinking and golfing, in that
order, I figure at least the unpredictability of life on the waves will keep my
wits sharp and my liver semi-functional.
Once I set my mind on picking up the art of sailing, all that
was left was to relocate to a new house that would complete this impulsive
pursuit and make it easy to get from boat to home. I’ve travelled around the
world and lived all over, and one place I’ve wanted to come back to is the
beach cities in Orange County – there’s not a more beautiful place in the world
with more gorgeous divorcees per square foot.
With
real estate in the county looking as erratic as it is, I decided to just
dive in and go for it. My penchant for custom housing is well documented in
this blog; what I like in the look of my home changes about as often as my
hobbies. So, as I searched up and down the OC coast, Balboa immediately stuck
out with its amazing beachfront and the variety in how people designed their
properties over the years.
As I walked down the road, one particular custom
home on Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach caught my attention. The things I
look for in a house can be boiled down to: if it fits my lifestyle, if the
location is right, and if it has character. This house checked all my boxes: a
breezy beachy character with a ton of open space for bringing the boys back
after a hard day on the open water or a yacht club party with plenty of modern accoutrements
that say, “yes, I am a wealthy person who owns a boat.”
The house was constructed by Sailhouse Construction, a native
Newport Beach company that has been building incredible homes that are peppered
all over the peninsula and the larger Newport Beach area. The name alone was
enough to convince me that it’s probably fated for me to own one of their
properties, so we’re already in the process of trying to close a deal.
Images of myself with a captain’s hat, a big blue peacoat
and a corncob pipe stuck in my bearded face staring steely at a rough sea are
already playing in my head, so you can imagine how excited I am to get moved in
and start on the next adventure. I’m also pretty excited not to be living in
the boat I bought last week that’s languishing in the Balboa Marina, which in
hindsight may have been jumping the gun a bit.
If you’ve looked at these photos and said, ‘Man, I want to
look into some of these shiny digs’, give the construction company a look. They’ve
done some pretty incredible work.
Sailhouse Construction
(949) 281-6044
170 Newport Center Dr Suite 220, Newport Beach, CA 92660
Beep, beep, beep… Snake Robins rolled over in his bed and smacked his alarm clock. The clock read 5:15, not AM but PM. Hmm, he thought, I must have slept all day again. He really needed to get better about setting his alarm clock correctly. Oh well, he thought.
He had a dinner meeting with his friend Rob Reynolds in 45 minutes. He threw some clothes on and headed out the door. The restaurant was walking distance from his old house, so he strolled down the sidewalk in its general direction. His friend Rob was actually working on building his new home, that’s how they had met.
Snake’s fame had revamped within the past year after millennial celebrity Justin Boston had released a cover of his famous 70s song, “I Just Want to Rock”. All of the sudden his music was cool again. He went from being a washed up 70s rocker to a modern-day celebrity. On top of that he had made a pretty penny. So, it was time to ditch his old, run-down bachelor pad. The years of partying had not been kind to it anyways. Snake was moving on to something better, and that’s where Rob came into play. He was known for building some of the nicest houses in the city.
Snake entered the restaurant and saw Rob was already there. “I would complain about you being late but I wouldn’t expect anything different,” Rob said with a grin. Snake noticed it appeared he had already ordered because there were no menus on the table. “I was getting hungry, so I ordered for both of us, I hope you like burgers.”
A waitress approached holding a tray with two plates just as Snake was taking his seat.
“Two ultra deluxe burgers with extra sauce,” she set the plates down in front of the guys.
“We’ve had too many meals together,” Snake said laughing and putting his hands up in surrender. It was nice to have a friend that knew him so well, Snake thought.
‘I thought you might be hungry after a big night,” Rob said smiling.
“How do you know I had a big night?” Snake replied, to which Rob just raised his eyebrows. “Okay fine, thanks,” Snake laughed. “So, what do you need from me?”
“I’d like you to review these plans and sign on the dotted line,” Rob said. He slid a folder and a pen across the table to Snake. Snake began to look over the plans.
“Woah, I’m going to have a pool, cool!” Snake exclaimed.
Rob rolled his eyes, “Haha, Yeah, we’ve been over this, you are going to have a killer home! If everything looks good, you can sign there at the bottom and I can get started actually building your dream home.”
“This all looks righteous man,” Snake replied, signing his name at the bottom of the document.
“Great, now that I’m your new agent…” Rob replied taking the paperwork back.
“New agent?” Snake asked.
“Ya, you just signed papers giving me 30% royalties on your hits,” Rob replied.
Snakes face reddened, “what are you talking about?” He was pretty confident Rob was joking, but in his world he couldn’t be sure.
“Just kidding!” Rob started laughing hysterically. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you to read everything before you sign?”
Snake punched him in the shoulder and replied, “Let’s start eating, and tell me more about my new home.”
“Well, let me highlight some of my favorite features. In the basement, you are going to have a full-fledged recording studio with soundproof walls so that you don’t disturb the neighbors. You already saw the pool, and we’re going to put in some fountains that spray into it. O, and, there’s a secret room in the library! Like something straight out of a movie. Pull the right book and a door opens up to a little wet bar where you can host private parties.” Rob could tell Snake was pleased with the ideas and was excited to get the job started.
“Rob, what can I say, you work magic, I cannot wait to get into my new home.” Snake said as he was finishing devouring the burger. Snake went home thinking to himself, “I am sure lucky I met Rob and his team, this new house is going to be killer!”
Sailhouse Custom Homes
170 Newport Center Dr Suite 220, Newport Beach, CA 92660
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