American Idol's Kara DioGuardi Lists Home for $1.65 Million

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(LOS ANGELES, CA) -- Prolific songwriter and "American Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi's Spanish-style home in the Hollywood Hills is on the market at $1,649,000.

The gated house, built in 1964, has city and canyon views, wood-beamed ceilings, an open floor plan, extensive decks and a spa. Three bedrooms and

3 1/2 bathrooms sit in 3,400 square feet. She added an outdoor cedar sauna to give the secluded property a spalike feel.

The guest unit has its own entrance, living room, kitchen and bathroom.

DioGuardi, 39, who joined the panel of the Fox singing competition in 2009, brings a wealth of experience to the role. She has written hundreds of songs, including more than 165 on multiplatinum albums, and worked with Celine Dion, Gwen Stefani, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Pink and "Idol" winner Kris Allen, among others.

A record producer and singer too, she owns Arthouse Entertainment, a publishing company.

She has used the house as a frequent site for her songwriting.

Public records show DioGuardi bought the two-story house in 2004 for $1,199,000. Last year she married Maine home builder Mike McCuddy.

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GAMBLER DECIDES TO SHOW HIS HAND

Professional poker player Joe Sebok, host of "Poker2Nite" on Fox Sports, and designer Kristan Cunningham of "Design on a Dime" fame have teamed up to outfit his new apartment on the Strand in Hermosa Beach, Calif.

Sebok recently signed a year lease on the two-bedroom, one-bathroom ocean-view unit south of Los Angeles at $3,150 a month. For the card player, who spends much of his time traveling and staying in hotels, it's the first place of his own.

But in typical Sebok social networking fashion, this is no ordinary client-decorator working relationship.

"The coolest part is we basically decided to do the whole thing on Twitter and Facebook," said Sebok, who has a large following on Twitter.

Sebok and Cunningham use social media as a communication and decision-making tool and as a way to allow others to track their back and forth. "It just made sense instead of having meetings," Cunningham said.

She will take videos of thrift store and flea market finds, for example, and put them online for Sebok and Facebook fans to see and comment on. Or she'll compile a collage of potential items for one of his rooms. The pair also go over costs online to show people how a look could be accomplished differently.

With tournaments, a TV show and a Web site, Sebok needs a primary residence that can serve as the nerve center for his businesses and a place to entertain friends. He envisions an environment that's "young, casual, hip -- a cross between modern and a beach residence."

With no previous decorating experience, Sebok turned to Cunningham, whom he met through an acquaintance.

"What I do best is help people figure out how to do things on a budget," Cunningham said. "He started with nothing but a mattress. We'll stay under $15,000 with sheets, art and accessories."

To keep costs down, many of the furnishings are being purchased from big-box stores. "Everything we buy can't be the ultimate lifetime piece, although there are some quality pieces that can go along with him to other places," Cunningham said.

One of the challenges of designing the space has been working within 750 square feet.

"Both bedrooms are barely big enough to hold a bed," Cunningham said. "We decided to take his bedroom and make it about the bed, just a bedroom. The second bedroom is going to be a men's dressing room/closet with a large bench that could also be a guest bed."

She thought it would give the unit a more luxurious feel to devote the square footage to something so indulgent. "The space only needs to work for him."

But the center of attention is the living room, which has windows along the beach side. "This apartment is purely about the view," Cunningham said. "That's why he chose it."

Cunningham put 30 feet of sectional sofas in the 19-foot-wide room, providing space for friends to come over and lounge.

Sebok was ranked as the 17th most influential person in poker last year by Bluff magazine with tournament winnings in excess of $1.8 million. He is president of PokerRoad.com.

Cunningham became the host of HGTV's "Design on a Dime" in 2003.

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TV WRITERS SWAP SCENES

Television writers Krista Vernoff and Kevin Maynard have listed their Los Angeles home at $1,995,000.

The 1947 contemporary in the Los Feliz section of L.A. recently underwent a $300,000-plus renovation. The open floor plan connects the living room, an informal dining area with seating for 16 and the updated kitchen. There are five bedrooms, five bathrooms and a media room in 4,355 square feet. An outdoor living room centers on a fire pit. The swimming pool is solar heated.

Vernoff is an executive producer and head writer for ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" (2006-present), for which she won a Writers Guild of America Award.

Maynard, a story producer and writer, includes Showtime's "Dexter" (2006) among his credits.

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FORMER REDFORD HOME ON MARKET

A Malibu beach home once owned by actor-producer-director Robert Redford has come on the market for $13.8 million.

The gated two-story, built in 1948 and extensively upgraded, has walls of glass, living areas that open to patios, and stone and hardwood floors. There are five bedrooms, 4 1/2 bathrooms and two fireplaces in 5,329 square feet.

Redford, 73, received the first Robert Redford Award for Engaged Artists from the University of Southern California's School of Theatre in February for his social activism. He is currently directing "The Conspirator," a historical drama. He starred in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969), "The Way We Were" (1973) and "The Sting" (1973), for which he was nominated for Academy Awards.

Redford sold the house on Malibu's Broad Beach in 2001 for about $6 million. It sold again in 2004 for $8.5 million, according to public records.

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