Project X Designs, a new London-based Rolex customizer, has already won some high-profile fans including James Bond himself - Daniel Craig. Project X, which also produces its own Limited Edition Rolex designs in small runs, began with a custom Submariner and Daytona a few months ago which have nearly all sold out. Two new Daytona models have just been released. Founder Daniel Bourn, 37, also launched the London Watch Company in 2003 which specializes in building collections of vintage "investment grade" Rolexes for private clients. Bourn is actually a former investment banker who developed an "obsessive compulsion" for collecting rare, modern and vintage luxury watches and decided to change careers.

Bourn launched Project X Designs (PXD), which has offices in Hanover Square, London W1, out of a desire to "provide a service to clients who appreciate the history and allure of original manufacturers' brand name – guaranteeing maximum performance with minimal maintenance – but who seek the individuality that contemporary high volume production does not offer." It's an aesthetic that appeals to celebs like Kanye West - The Classicist reported on his blacked-out Rolex earlier this year - and Craig, a diehard Rolex enthusiast as we noted last year, who owns PXD's custom Submariner.

PXD offers two distinct services via its website: the first, a bespoke service which, like a bespoke suit, tailors a new luxury wristwatch with unique features to the clients' own personal specification. For example, a leading Formula One Racing Team have commissioned a special Daytona - carrying the company logo on the reverse together with the details of the race victory - for each of its Grand Prix winning drivers. Ex Bond actor Roger Moore also has a bespoke watch in development from PXD. The second element of PXD is the introduction of collectible limited edition (runs of 24) customized Rolex watches inspired by the retro styling of the classic Rolex models from the past.



The bespoke customization service offered by Project X Designs is the 'backbone' of the site whereby watches can be tailored to suit the clients' demands. At present there are 18 Rolex models to choose from and 19 options ranging from different straps to DLC (Diamond Like Carbon) blacked-out watch cases at £1,650. Clients may choose as many of the bespoke options as they wish - more options are in development and will be added to the site in the future. The super-cool DLC Daytona pictured above from the new series is priced at £10,750 or about $17,500.

Rapper, producer, designer, and tastemaker Kanye West could obviously have any watch in the world. The one he chose is a customized all-black Rolex Submariner by Swiss firm Black-Out Concept (above), on a black nylon NATO spec strap. Kanye made a decision a while back that Rolex would be his signature watch brand, but he wanted to add his own twist; Black-Out's version was perfect. "It looks hard, it looks really cool," he explained in naming the watch one of his 10 style essentials. "It's a new take on a classic watch." He also likes the fact that they take a Rolex and literally "paint it black" (coat it, actually).

Black-Out Concept was founded in 2007 by Fabrice Letellier in Geneva. An avid watch collector, racecar driver and all-round exotic car enthusiast with the means to indulge his passions, the idea was born when Letellier had some of his supercar collection given a matte black treatment, i.e. blacked-out. Next he decided to do the same with his Rolex, and soon some of his fellow car and watch aficionados followed suit. Obviously there was a market for it. Letellier contracted with one of Geneva's best watchmakers to perfect the black out process for timepieces, which is done using two low-friction, scratch-proof finishes used by the military, PVD and DLC (diamond-like carbon).

Black-Out also creates customized blacked-out cars, including Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bentley and Aston Martin; the Black-Out package on the latter (see the gallery) costs about $40,000. They do customized matte black motorcycles as well built on a Harley-Davidson base, blacked-out Vertu Ascent cell phones - basically anything you can think of that would look better in all black. In addition to the Submariner they also black out several other Rolex models, including the GMT II, Daytona, Milgaus, and Deepsea, as well as other brands like Panerai, Bell & Ross and Audemars Piguet. Letellier has his own high-end watch brand in the works as well.



Of course, Black-Out aren't the only ones to offer blacked-out Rolexes; we've written before about Bamford & Sons' $30,000 PVD Daytona and other models, as well as Jacques Picard's $18,000 DLC Deepsea. (No, we don't know who thought of it first.) Black-Out doesn't actually sell watches, however, they customize yours at a cost of €5,000, or about $7,000, which includes Fed-Ex'ing to and from Geneva, and a set of three different straps including the NATO. So you can in fact get the look of the far more expensive models for much less - if you pick up a used Submariner in the $5,000 range - yet still have a watch that's every bit as exclusive, not to mention Kanye-approved. You can contact Black-Out's U.S. representative Christian Ginet at blackoutconcept@mac.com for more info.

For the first time ever, Vanity Fair is inviting civilians to nominate their favorite candidates for the International Best-Dressed List. Since its launch by fashion queen Eleanor Lambert in 1940, the List has been determined by an anonymous committee of tastemakers and a roster of influential voters (including yours truly for a few of the more recent years). Socialites and stars vie for a coveted position on the List.

Vanity Fair took over the list (and the voting process) in 2003 following Lambert's death. For 2009, the polling's going democratic in a "spirit of Obama-era transparency." You can vote for candidates for both best-dressed women and men on the magazine's website - Carla Bruni (right), Lydia Hearst, David Beckham and Kanye West among them - or write in your own choices. Winners will be announced in the mag's September issue.

From the Real Estalker:
--E Television presenter Giuliana Rancic has dropped the price on her Wilshire Blvd. condo in Los Angeles, shown above, to $749,000. The listing is here.

From the LA Times Hot Property:
--Ashton Kutcher has sold his former bachelor pad for $3.67 million, it was listed at $3.7 million.
--Fashion designer-turned-photographer Hedi Slimane has picked up a swank midcentury home in Beverly Hills for $4.1 million.
--Tawny Kitaen has listed her Newport Beach home at $3.45 million. The listing is here.
--Actor Kerr Smith has listed his home in Encino, California for $1,479,007. The listing is here.
--Soap opera actor Jerry Douglas has put his home in Encino, California on the market for $3.999 million. The listing is here.
--Jeremy Strick, the former director of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, has listed his Westwood-area home at $2.85 million. The listing is here.
--Reginald Hudlin, the first president of entertainment for Black Entertainment Television, has listed his Beverly Hills home for sale at $4.995 million. The listing for the five-bedroom home is here.
---Norm Zada, publisher of Perfect 10 magazine, has put his house in Beverly Park on the market for $24.5 million.

From the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties:
--A penthouse on the 165-unit cruiseliner known as The World, which calls itself the is a private residential community on a seafaring ship that travels around the globe, is for sale for $17.5 million. The listing is here. The apartment has prime views over the bow of The World and will accommodate up to 12 people. It includes dining areas with bar facilities and fully equipped kitchens with laundries plus 150 feet of private veranda and a private living area large enough to host your own parties. The listing is here.
--Tony-Award-winning producer Anita Waxman has dropped the price on her Lakeville, Connecticut home. We'll be checking out this one as our estate of the day on Monday.
--Sheik Abdul Aziz al-Thani of Qatar has cut the price of his Trump Park Avenue three-bedroom apartment to $10 million from $14 million. The listing is here.
--Alex Rodriguez, has gone to contract on his New York apartment. It was last listed at $10 million and was our estate of the day last October.

From Move Trends:
--Kanye West's six-bedroom home in teardown condition in Beverly Hills is back on the market. It first hit the market for $8.699 million last March and is now listed at $7.995 million. The listing is here.
--A Malibu home once lived in by Britney Spears and Kevin Federline is one the market for $11.75 million. The listing is here.

--The Inn at Jackson Hole, which was at $33 million back in September when we first mentioned it, has had a price chop to $26 million. It has 83 rooms and an onsite restaurant.
--Lindsay Lohan's former New York City apartment is listed for sale.
--Manny Ramirez has put his Boston apartment back on the market for $8.5 million. It was our estate of the day on Friday.

From the Daily Mail's Property:
--Sienna Miller has bought a cottage in the Cotswolds.
--Photographer Rankin converted an empty warehouse in North London into a space with his penthouse, a gallery and 11 flats but so far none of the apartments have sold.

From Berg Properties Big Time Listings:
--Tori Spelling and her husband, Dean McDermott, have sold their Westwood area home for $2.3 million. It was listed at 2.395 million when it was our estate of the day in October.
--Actor Tom Bresnahan has paid $1.68 million to purchase a Paul Williams-designed house in Los Angeles' Silver Lake area.
--Singer-songwriter Ruben Blades has put his five-bedroom house in Los Angeles' Windsor Square area on the market for $2.65 million. The listing is here.
--Jewel has sold her home in the Hollywood Hills, which had been listed for $1.75 million.

While many luxury labels are in the dumps these days, luxe French sport line Moncler is bucking the trend and opening new stores instead of shutting them. They recently opened their first freestanding US boutique in Aspen, and also just opened an impressive new shop in another ritzy ski resort, Gstaad. The Gstaad boutique features a luxurious alpine chalet theme with bluestone floors, pinewood ceilings and walls designed to evoke downhill skiiers in motion. Moncler, founded in France in 1952 and now based in Milan, has collaborated with the likes of Balenciaga, Yohji Yamamoto and Fendi, and is a favorite with stars such as Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, Victoria Beckham and Kanye West. It's high-end Gamme Rouge line (above) is designed by Italian fashionista Giambattista Valli. Last summer we reported that private equity firm The Carlyle Group acquired a 48% stake in the company.

Grammy Award-winning rapper, record producer and shameless self-promoter Kanye West plans to ditch his music career in favor of fashion.

West, 31, tells the London Daily Mirror he'll move to the British capital next year to begin at the bottom rung with an internship at Louis Vuitton's UK HQ in Bond Street - or so he hopes.

"I'm going to go and take an internship and just do something that's like completely normal," he tells the paper, "and just rap at the weekends or something."

If the Vuitton gig doesn't materialize, West will apply at other major European fashion houses in hopes of learning the rag trade. Any fashionistas out there want a major pain in the ass to fetch coffee and such?

From the LA Times Hot Properties:
--Celebrity manager Rick Yorn has sold his Brentwood house for $9.35 million.
-- Wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin listed his 3,881-square-foot house in Malibu for $3,895,000 originally, it just sold for $2.5 million.
--The home belonging to Kanye West's mom, Donda West is expected to get another price cut, to $1.595 million. The contemporary home in the Playa del Rey area of Los Angeles was originally priced at $1.945 million and was dropped to $1.745 million at the end of May. The listing is here.
--The Polaroid house, shown above, is located on Malibu's Carbon Beach, has been home to plenty of A-list parties but with Malibu's new paparazzi crackdown the home is looking for just one owner. The property has 80 feet of beach frontage and has approved plans to build a 6,000 square foot estate with a beachfront pool and spa as well as the existing home. It is listed at $32 million.

From the NY Post's Real Estate section:
--Fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger is about to list his Plaza apartment for $50 million. The apartment is located in the northeast dome on the 18th and 19th floors of the building and includes four bedrooms, a formal dining room, large living room, library and gourmet kitchen.
--Paul McCartney is looking for a New York City apartment closer to the Upper East Side apartment of his new flame Nancy Shevell.
--Denis Leary's TV series "Rescue Me" has just signed a six-month lease with Loft 14, the 10-story condominium building at 135 W. 14th St., where taping of their fifth season will begin this month. The lease is for $14,000 a month and the apartment has a real asking price of $2,375 million.

From Berg Properties Big Time Listings:
--Actor Chris O'Donnell has paid an undisclosed amount for a house in Pacific Palisades. The seller bought it last year for $4.675 million. He sold his last house in Pacific Palisades for $5.05 million.
--Jamie Foxx has sold his Tarzana home. It was our estate of the day back in June.
--Nicolas Cage's Bel Air home is back on the market, this time for $29.999 million. It hit the market last September for $35 million and was later pulled. The listing for the classic home which has been owned by both Dean Martin and Tom Jones is here.
--Glenn Frey has paid $7.75 million for a six-bedroom estate in Hana, Hawaii, on Maui.
--Kiefer Sutherland has paid $8.25 million for a t five-story town house in Manhattan's West Village.

From the Real Estalker:
--Looks like neither Donald Trump nor the mystery buyer have picked up Ed McMahon's house. It is still listed at $4.6 million.
--Rumor has it that Cher has sold her Malibu mansion which was listed at $45 million.
--Stevie Wonder has put his home in Los Feliz on the market for $3.2 million.
--Nascar racer Denny Hamlin has put his North Carolina home on the market. It's our estate of the day later today.
----via Boston.com, quarterback Tom Brady is a real estate winner. He converted a Beacon Street town house into four condos and sold three of them saving the top floors floors for himself. As a result he earned back more than he paid two years ago for the building. His total proceeds were $7.95 million which is $1.71 million more than he paid for the entire building, according to public deed records.
--via Nashville City Paper, country singer Kix Brooks of Brooks & Dunn and his wife Barbara are the buyers in Nashville's biggest home sale of the year. They paid $5.45 million in August for a new house in Forest Hills.
--via the Real Deal, Moby sold his penthouse at the El Dorado, the twin-towered cooperative apartment at 300 Central Park West near 90th Street, for $6.7 million. It was our estate of the day in July of 2007 when it was priced at $7.5 million.
--Dane Cook has picked up a four-bedroom home in the Hollywood Hills for $7,078,412.

From the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties:
--Basketball player Allen Iverson has reduced the price on his Villanova, Pennsylvania home by 37%. We will be checking this out as our estate of the day on Monday.
--Basketball player Rasheed Wallace has cut the price on his Portland, Oregon home. It will be our estate of the day on Tuesday.
--Actor Matthew Modine has purchased a condominium in New York's Chelsea section for $1.7 million.
--Leonard Ross who put the Hearst estate in Beverly Hills on the market for $165 million has taken it off the market. He has decided to keep the home.

From the NY Observer's Manhattan Transfers:
-- A co-op penthouse in 1060 Fifith Avenue has sold for $48,836,000 setting a new co-op price record in Manhattan. Hedge fund manager Scott Bommer and wife Donya. The couple bought the home for $46 million penthouse back in January. The buyer is listed anonymously on the deed as Park View Trust.
--Writer Ian Buruma spent $1,495,000 on an apartment at the Kalahari on West 116th Street. He and Eri Hotta, who taught at Oxford until 2005, closed last month.
--Ben Stiller spent $10 million on a duplex in a prewar orange-brick co-op on Riverside Drive in the West 80s, the same building that his parents, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, have lived in for years.

Endless self-promoter Kanye West -- who proves he has a sense of humor about himself after all -- spoofs his persona in a new line of Absolut ads. The first time I saw the print ad (which looked like, but didn't have the Absolut references, what you see here), I didn't get it at all, and I had no idea what was being advertised. A little research showed me the light. I can't show you much here, since you need to be 21 to get into these sites. Log on and check them out for yourself. And don't lie about your age -- it's bad karma.

Forbes has just released its annual list of the world's highest-paid rappers, and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson has catapulted to the #1 spot with $150 million in earnings over the past 12 months - more than double that of rival Jay-Z at No. 2.

When Forbes inaugurated the Hip-Hop's Cash Kings list last year, Jay-Z was firmly at the top. But 50 raked in over $100 million after taxes on a single deal earlier this year, the mag notes, when his stake in Glacéau (parent co. of VitaminWater) was bought by Coca-Cola as part of a $4.1 billion takeover.

This isn't to say that Jay-Z's doing badly; he recently signed a 10-year deal with concert promoter Live Nation worth $150 million. Meanwhile, Sean "Diddy" Combs and Kanye West clocked in at Nos. 3 and 4 with $35 million and $30 million respectively.

From the NY Times Big Deal:
--The Wanamaker Munn house, a grand limestone and brick townhouse on East 90th Street that had been in the same high society family since the 1920s has been listed at $33 million. The home, shown at right, maintains much of its original details including 10 period fireplaces, a curved grand staircase and elaborate molding and woodwork. The listing is here.

From the NY Times Big Deal:
--Dan Aykroyd and his wife Donna Dixon have listed their New York apartment for $7 million. The couple seems to be in move mode. As we learned earlier this year, their Hollywood Hills home is also on the market for $4.2 million. It turns out that their NY apartment is one I covered a few weeks ago as an estate of the day. Check it out here.

From the NY Post's Gimme Shelter:
--Steven Spielberg is snapping up properties near his East Hampton estate. He is negotiating to buy two properties that would add an additional six acres to his compound.
--Former "Saturday Night Live" cast member Chris Parnell has sold his one-bedroom condo loft in SoHo for $1.8 million and is headed to Hollywood.
-- New York University selling a luxury apartment at The Pierre hotel for $7.6 million. The buyer is Ali Fayed, the brother of Harrod's owner Mohamed Fayed. The 19th-floor two-bedroom co-op was being used as faculty housing for a lucky professor and his family. Fayed also bought an adjoining one-bedroom unit for $2.6 million.
--The penthouse apartment of Hollywood casting director Vic Ramos, who died last October at age 77, is on the market for $3.3 million. The apartment is a three-bedroom duplex with a glass-enclosed den, two fireplaces, a greenhouse and a fully landscaped garden with an outdoor fireplace. The listing is here.

From the NY Observer's Manhattan Transfers:
--A three-bedroom apartment that belong to Washington Post publisher Kay Graham has finally been sold, six and a half years after her death, for $2.3 million.
--Mexican radio and music publishing mogul named Rogerio Azcárraga Madero has picked up a couple of new apartments in New York, a $5.3 million penthouse duplex at 715 Park Avenue and a $8.26 million Plaza apartment. He owns many apartments throughout the city which he rents out.
--A 17-room, seven-bedroom duplex penthouse at 1060 Fifth Avenue, on the corner of 87th Street, will sell for around $46 million which is the most money ever paid for a New York City co-op.

From Big Time Listings:
--Action star Jason Statham is the latest celebrity buyer in the Broadway Hollywood Building in Los Angeles picking up an eighth floor unit in the building.
--Marlon Wayans has sold a condo unit in Los Angeles' Sherman Oaks area for $650,000 and has also bought into the Broadway Hollywood building, purchasing a ninth-floor unit in the building.
--Looks like actor Chris Parnell has moved into my neighborhood, he paid $620,000 for a two-bedroom, tri-level town house in Silver Lake.
--Kanye West's six-bedroom Beverly Hills teardown may be sold. The home is now listed as "looking for backup."
--Debbie Harry has paid $580,000 for a co-op apartment in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood.
--It's looking more likely that Jason Lee is in fact the buyer of Robert Cray Los Feliz home.

From the Real Estalker:
--The listing for Greg Norman's $65 million Florida estate is up. We'll discuss this later as our estate of the day.
--An update on Michael Jackson. He has had to pay a $3.8 million settlement to his manager Dieter Wiesner that was payable on November 15 and remains in default on the $23,000,000 loan secured by Neverland Ranch. Rumor has it that people are looking to buy the place including Simon Yates, a British discount clothing store owner and of course, the subject of nearly every real estate rumor of late, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
--via Newsday, Tommy Hilfiger may have finally sold his East Hampton home. It has been listed for a while at $24.5 million and Mariah Carey rented it this summer for $350,000. Newsday reports that the buyer paid $2 million more than list price in order to keep the furnishings. It was our estate of the day back in October 2006.
--via new blog Real Sedated. Actress Anna Farris and Ben Indra have put their home on the market for $1.995 million (the same price the couple bought at in November 2005). The virtual tour is here.
-Ricky Martin has put his house in Golden Beach, Florida on the market for $22.5 million. He bought the home in April 2007 for $16.25 million and seems to be looking for a quick flip. The listing is here.
--Ashley Olsen has picked up a four-bedroom home in the Hancock Park area of Los Angeles for $1.575 million.
--from the NY Post, Madonna has filed suit against her Central Park West building's co-op board. She says that the board wrongfully blocked her from buying a neighbor's apartment.

From the LA Times Hot Property:
--Los Angeles Laker Luke Walton has moved up in Manhattan Beach paying $2,750,000 for a new house and selling his town house for $1,235,000.
--A home known as the Bette Davis estate in Palm Springs has been sold for $5 million, about the asking price when the property was listed in June.
--A home lived in by Alice Backes, a character actress from the 1950s to the late '90s, is now on the market for $1.39 million. The listing is here.

From Bill Gaynor of Legacy Properties:
--Rock and roll impresarios Janet and Jack Boyle recently purchased a 5500 sq ft ocean front home in Kennebunkport for $3.55 million.
Dr. Neil Warren of E-harmony.com fame recently moved into another Kennebunkport estate. Neil and Marilyn Warren completed the construction of his 12,000 sq ft home that they paid $3,000,000 for in and is said to have invested another $3 million in the finish work.

From the NY Post's Gimme Shelter:
--Rumor has it that Britney Spears has been looking for a West Village loft in the $9 million price range.
Jessica Simpson has also been spotted touring New York listings including one on West 17th Street with a $3.99 million price tag.
--The co-op apartment that served as the office of late historian Arthur Schlesinger has already gone to contract after only two weeks on the market. The two-bedroom apartment had a $1.5 million asking price.
--After selling the townhouse on East 62nd Street that he owned for 20 years, director Martin Scorcese has bought another vintage home just two blocks away. He paid $12.5 million for a six-bedroom townhouse.

From US Weekly:
--Parents-to-be Nicole Richie and Joel Madden recently made an offer on a home in a gated Southern California community only to be denied by their potential neighbors over fears of the swarm of paparazzi that follow the couple.

From Berg Properties Celebrity Big Time Listings:
--Singer Michelle Branch has sold her five-bedroom, 5,296-square-foot house in Calabasas, Calif. for $2,940,000.
--Is Nicole Scherzinger, formerly of the Pussycat Dolls, the owner of the house that Daisy Fuentes sold last year in the Hollywood Hills?

From The Insider:
Earlier this week I mentioned that Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch had entered the early stages of foreclosure but his representative says that he is just in the middle of refinancing.

From the NY Observer's Manhattan Transfers:
--Bruce Willis has bought the three-bedroom apartment of Donald Trump enemy Eugenia Kaye at Trump Place's 220 Riverside Boulevard for $4.26 million. Willis was reportedly renting a condo at Trump International on Central Park West for around $50,000 a month.
--Even though Mark Rachesky, the chairman of Leap Wireless, paid $20 million last year for an 18-room apartment at 998 Fifth Avenue, he and his wife, Jill, have now paid $33,444,500 for a duplex at 834 Fifth Avenue, where Rupert Murdoch owns a triplex penthouse. The couple haven't listed their 988 Fifth Avenue co-op yet. Billionaire Len Blavatnik, who we mentioned earlier this week for his possible $125 million apartment purchase, also bought an apartment there last year for $27.5 million.
Acotr/writer Peter Masterson and his wife Carlin Glynn have sold their penthouse duplex at 1165 Fifth Avenue for $10.875 million to hedge-fund star Brenda Earl.
--Mariska Hargatay spent $7 million last month for a a penthouse at the block-long O'Neill Building in the Flatiron District. Rock manager Cliff Burnstein and Sabra Turnbull also recently bought in the building, taking the second top-floor penthouse, for $7,215,000.

From the Real Estalker:
--The Real Estalker Mama does some digging and unearths the fact that Will Ferrell is the owner of one of the homes formerly owned by serial real estate lover and leaver Ellen DeGeneres. His home in the Hollywood Hills was listed at $9,900,000.
--Cinematographer Lance Accord has listed his gorgeously secluded home in the Beachwood Canyon area for $2.325 million (that's the pool, shown above). This one is amazing, check out the property website here.
-- Hillary Swank is looking for a place in New York and may have picked up a two bedroom unit in "Superior Ink" building in the far West Village (via NY Mag).
--Kanye West has relisted his home in Beverly Hills. He bought in February for $7,150,000 and has now relisted at $8,699,000. The property is in tear-down condition but does include plans for a two-story contemporary home. As the Real Estalker aptly notes, that's a whole lotta money for some plans.
--Star stylist Rachel Zoe has put her home on the market, it's our estate of the day later today.
--Robert C. Wright, the chairman and CEO of NBC Universal has put his penthouse at The Heritage at Trump Place" on the market for $14.75 million. Wright and his wife bought the nine-room residence in March 2007 for $10,695,000.
--Mariel Hemingway and Stephen Crisman have put their six-bedroom home in Westlake Village on the market for $3.199 million. The listing is here.
--Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis have purchased a 150-year-old mansion in Somerset, England.

From the LA Times Hot Property:
--Beck and his wife Marissa Ribisi have bought a home on the Estside for $7 million.
--Former hockey star Luc Robitaille and his family have bought a home in Santa Monica which was priced at slightly more than $4.6 million. Their house in Holmby Hills is still on the market for $3.849 million. The property webiste is here.
--Actor Malcolm Gets has listed his home in Los Feliz for $1.099 million. The listing is here.
--Michael Schur, Emmy-winning co-executive producer and writer on NBC's "The Office," and his wife, J.J. Philbin, co-executive producer and writer on NBC's "Heroes," have put their Miracle Mile home on the market at $1.649 million. The property website is here.

From the LA Times Hot Property:
--Marilyn Manson has put his five-bedroom Mediterranean-style home in Chatsworth on the market at $1.1 million. A bedroom is shown above. The home is relatively bland on the outside but inside it looks like an antique store met a flophouse. The listing includes pics of the recording studio with a bright purple rug.
--L.A. Clippers star Cuttino Mobley has pulled his home off the market. It was our estate of the day last month.
--Actor/director/real estate investor Vincent Gallo has purchased two units at the Biscuit Company Lofts in downtown L.A He bought the lofts for nearly $2.2 million and plans to use one as an office and another as living quarters.

From the NY Post's Gimme Shelter:
--New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez has reportedly been in talks with the owner of a seven-bedroom townhouse on the block between Madison and Fifth avenues. The home has no official sales listing but an insider says the price is between $39 million and $41 million. It all depends on whether or not A-Rod stays a Yankee.
--Kelsey Grammer is already looking for a buyer for his Hamptons home. It is our estate of the day later today.
--The co-op apartment that served as the office of late historian and author Arthur Schlesinger has just gone on the market for $1.5 million. The two-bedroom unit is located across a courtyard from Schlesinger's main residence, where his wife, Alexandra, still lives. The listing is here.
--Both Tyra Banks and Halle Berry have been spotted looking at a $8.5 million apartment in the 40 Mercer condo building in SoHo.

From Berg Properties Celebrity Big Time Listings:
--Johnny Damon has signed an $8 million contract to sell his three-bedroom apartment on the 39th floor of One Beacon Court. It was an estate of the day this summer.
--A 10,276-square-foot mansion in Bel-Air enclave that was owned until 2005 by St. Louis Rams co-owner Georgia Frontiere has been completely rebuilt and has just come on the market for $29,975,000. The listing is here, no interior pics unfortunately.
--Clay Aiken has sold his condominium unit in Charlotte, N.C. for just $71,000.
--Public records reveal that manager and producer Sandy Galin sold his Beverly Hills home to movie producer Roger Birnbaum for $16,500,000.
--Public records reveal that Tommy Lee paid $5,850,000 for a house in Calabasas.
--Public records reveal that Matt LeBlanc sold his house in Hidden Hills, California for $9,139,000.
--Chicago sports broadcaster and former NFL player Mark Malone has paid $700,000 for a Chicago loft unit that is in the same building as David Schwimmer.
--Chicago chef Charlie Trotter has paid $2.425 million for a Chicago condo.
--A Studio City home that once belonged to "Frasier" actress Jane Leeves is on the market for $2,995,000. The property website is here.
--a Hollywood Hills home that once was owned by Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli and that later was owned by Sammy Davis Jr. has sold for $2,793,500.
-The official sale price on Melanie 'Scary Spice' Brown's home in Los Feliz is $1,810,000.
--The exact price for basketball star Chris Webber's three-bedroom home in Malibu was $3,750,000.
–Public records confirm that 'Grey's Anatomy' actress Kate Walsh paid $4,750,000 for her new Los Feliz home.
--The sale price for Natalie Portman's house in Sea Cliff, NY was $1,750,000.
--Leeza Gibbons may have finally sold her home which was on the market for for $7,995,000.

From the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties:
--Cosmetics billionaire Ronald Lauder has sold one of his many Hamptons holdings: three acres in Sagaponack, N.Y., for about $3.74 million.
--Jane Magazine founder Jane Pratt has sold her Manhattan townhouse for more than its $3.65 million asking price
--The owner of Buffalo Bill's 492-acre onetime hunting camp in Cody, Wyo., has cut its price to $9.75 million after it failed to sell for about two years at $12 million. The listing is here.
--California Rep. Ellen Tauscher has put her Bay Area home on the market for $1.6 million, a $50,000 reduction from the last time she listed it. The listing is here.

From the NY Observer's Manhattan Transfers:
--Francois Pinault, who owns Christie's plus Gucci and is the future father-in-law of Salma Hayek, has just paid $16.9 million for the top penthouse at Barbizon/63 on East 63rd Street, the 80-year-old neo-Gothic women's hotel that has just been turned into superluxury condos. The home will be an over 5,000 square foot one bedroom sprawl.
--Lucie Arnaz Luckinbill has bought a two-bedroom apartment near Columbus Circle through the Lucille Ball Morton Trust for $1.15 million. The apartment is an investment and she is renovating it herself.
--Iinvestor Lily Lee Lee Wong paid $12.1 million for a 15-room, 115-year-old townhouse at 21 East 84th Street in June, and by the end of July she had listed the place for $24.5 million, more than twice what she paid. The house spent four years on the market before this summer's sale but was designed by Grant's Tomb architect John Duncan, and has original stained lead glass windows, six wood-burning fireplaces, and more than a half-dozen crystal chandeliers.

From The Real Estalker:
--Nicole Richie has put her West Hollywood condo on the market for $2.3 million. You can check out pics here.
--Kanye West was recently spotted checking out Tyler Perry's nearly undeveloped 22-acre property in the super luxe guard gatef Beverly Ridge Estates that is on the market for $15,000,000.
--It turns out that Britney Spears has not purchased a new house in Malibu but is renting for $35,000 a month with an option to purchase.
--"Lost" actress Cynthia Watros Gilliland and her restauranteur husband have put their Hancock Park home on the market for $3,799,000. The listing is here and on the realtor's main website it says it has already been reduced to $3,650,000.
--Producer Dawn Parouse and Jonathan Feldman are also selling in Hancock Park. Their lovely home is listed at $3,395,000 and you can check out the listing, with many pics here.
--Melissa McCarthy who played Sookie on the Gilmore Girls has listed her West Hollywood home For $1,515,000. The listing is here.

When celebrities decorate their homes, they tend to go all out with their designs. They have plenty of money on hand to do so, of course, but more importantly, these celebs are looking to make their homes into retreats that can serve as a sanctuary in a world filled with paparazzi. Singer Kanye West's brand-new New York apartment, which is being designed by Claudio Silvestrin, is tranquil and minimalist to an extreme degree, with the sort of layout that only a ridiculous amount of money can buy.

Above, a view of the kitchen is shown. More pictures are after the jump.

[via just jared]

If you are still dreaming of attending the Super Bowl or one of the many, many parties in the Detroit area, it's not too late. I checked in at Cheap Premium Tickets to see what the various events were going for. Tickets for the game now sell for upwards of $2,450 each, in pairs. Tickets to the parties are a little more reasonable but if you want to see Tommy Lee guest DJ at The Vault it will run you $548 ($1,158 gets you access to the VIP section to party with Penthouse Pets). Tickets to the Pepsi Smash starring Kanye West and Nickelback run $366 each for VIP.