Newport Beach retreat

By Diane Wedner

Sept. 21, 2008 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

Lido Isle in Newport Beach was bought in the 1920s by W.K. Parkinson for $45,000. That buys one powder room in a house there today. The resort development of about 850 homes, connected to the rest of Newport Beach by bridge, was envisioned as a Mediterranean-style retreat, which explains streets dubbed Barcelona, Genoa, Nice and Ithaca.

The island features an array of architectural styles, including Cape Cod and Mediterranean. A yacht club provides year-round activities for seafaring residents and landlubbers too; membership costs $250 a year (plus a one-time $100 initiation fee). Mandatory homeowners association fees are about $650 annually.

The oversized lot that Kevin and Katherine Weeda bought several years ago allowed them to build their three-story, Tuscan-style dream house with a garden of olive and citrus trees. “We’re right in the center of the isle,” Katherine said. “You can jump on a bike, though, and be at the oceanfront in minutes.”

diane.wedner@latimes.com

To submit a candidate for Home of the Week, send high-resolution color photos with caption and credit information on a CD and a detailed description of the house to Diane Wedner, Real Estate, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A., CA 90012. Questions may be sent to homeoftheweek@latimes.com.

BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX

A taste of Italy

Location: Lido Isle, Newport Beach

Asking price: $6.5 million

Previously sold for: $1.6 million on April 11, 2001

Size: There are five bedrooms and seven bathrooms in 5,000 square feet. The lot size is 6,857 square feet.

About this house: The Weedas, longtime Lido Isle residents, tore down the Japanese teahouse-style structure that occupied the lot, opting instead for a taste of Italy. They accomplished that, along with designer John O’Neill, by creating a spacious great room for family entertaining next to the kitchen. French doors open to a loggia, which has a fireplace, and to a garden dotted with olive, Italian cypress, lemon and orange trees. To create a lived-in feel, the Weedas used Venetian plaster for the interior walls, and the floors are antique hand-hewn walnut and limestone. A home theater occupies the entire basement level, with soundproofed Ultrasuede walls and stadium seating.

Additional features: The house has an elevator, a professional kitchen, a dining room that doubles as a library, a pool, hand-carved fireplaces, Fortuny light fixtures and exposed wood beams.

Around the neighborhood: About 10 homes had sold on Lido Isle through July this year, according to MDA DataQuick. The median price was $2.1 million. From January through December 2007, the median price was $3.125 million. Currently, 29 homes are listed for sale. The least expensive, on the interior of the island, is $1.499 million and has three bedrooms and two bathrooms in 1,190 square feet. The most expensive, a bay-front home, is $12.9 million and has five bedrooms and seven baths in 6,150 square feet.

Listing agent: Rob Giem, Hom Real Estate Group, (949) 554-1214

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HOME OF THE WEEK UPDATE

Richard Neutra’s Josef Kun House

Location: Sunset Strip area of the Hollywood Hills

Size: Three bedrooms and two baths in 1,732 square feet. The property is 5,480 square feet.

Published on: Jan. 20, 2008

Listed then for: $2,295,000

Sold for: $2 million on Jan. 29, 2008

Morris A. Cohn House

Location: Pasadena

Size: Eight bedrooms, six bathrooms and two half-bathrooms in more than 11,000 square feet.