Cher is re-inventing herself again — this time as the flipper of a Palm Springs house she renovated and has listed at nearly $2.5 million.

“I’ve been coming to Palm Springs since I was a kid,” said Cher, 60. Her mother has lived in the area for 15 years.

“I’ve always loved the indoor-outdoor lifestyle you find there,” she said. “We designed this home to capture that feeling, and I’m very happy with the way it came out.”

The house, in the historic Las Palmas area of Palm Springs, was acquired in 2004 for $650,000, according to public records.

Steve DeChristopher Jr., a local architect, redesigned the house. The 1938 Spanish-style home got a sprinkling of Cher-style pizzazz when the original 2,000-square-foot floor plan was doubled by adding a master-bedroom wing with his-and-hers wardrobe rooms, a fireplace and a wet bar.

Its old-world charm was maintained although the house was updated. The one-story structure was walled and gated to give the four-bedroom, 4 1/2-bathroom estate a greater sense of security and privacy. The yard was re-landscaped to feature a pool, spa and custom grill for outdoor dining.

The longtime pop diva has been an active participant in designing and constructing her own homes, such as her 16,000-square-foot villa in Malibu. She is about to demonstrate her talents as an interior designer for the second time on that house, which she emptied in the fall by auctioning its furnishings.

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Actor Chad Allen, has sold his Sunset Strip-area home for $750,000.The house, built in 1960, has two bedrooms and 1 1/2 bathrooms in 1,100 square feet. There is a sun porch and two observation decks in the two-story house, which has views of downtown, the Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood sign.

The actor, 32, appeared in the May TV movie “Cradle of Lies” and has been on the series “Criminal Minds” and “Cold Case.” He also was in the 2006 film “Shock to the System.”

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A Los Angeles home once owned by Cary Grant has been sold for $3.2 million.Grant and actor Randolph Scott moved into the Spanish Colonial Revival estate soon after they met in 1932, but in 1934 Grant married actress Virginia Cherrill (who played the blind flower seller in Charlie Chaplin’s “City Lights”) and carried her over the threshold.

The house, in the Los Feliz section, was built in 1927 for David Pontius, president of the Pacific Electric Co.

Grant and Cherrill divorced in 1935. Grant, who married five times, died in 1986.

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Britney Spears, who filed for divorce in November, has purchased a home in a gated Beverly Hills community for $7.2 million.The pop princess, had been living in Malibu but wanted to move nearer clubs and restaurants.

The house she bought has six bedrooms and seven bathrooms in 7,400 square feet. It has an office, a media room, a maid’s quarters, a balcony and a lush yard.

Spears, 25, is expected to put her 9,000-square-foot Malibu home on the market.

She moved there from the Hollywood Hills after she married backup dancer-rapper Kevin Federline in 2004. The Malibu house, which Spears purchased for close to $6.9 million, has a tennis court, pool, spa, gym and outdoor kitchen.

Source:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/01/14/REGE6NFT2M1.DTL