The former Hollywood Hills home of actor Orlando Bloom, which was targeted by the infamous “Bling Ring,” is hitting the market for $5 million, Mansion Global has learned
The four-bedroom home in the Outpost Estates neighborhood of Los Angeles sits on three-quarters of an acre of land, with a terraced garden, refreshed landscaping, and views of the city’s downtown. Built in 1940, the 3,250-square-foot ranch-style home with a blue shingled roof was recently renovated by the seller, Blueview Real Estate, which acquired it through a foreclosure in 2022.
Tucked away from the road and painted black, the home melts into the landscape, accentuating the ample grounds, according to Claire and Sam O’Connor of O’Connor Estates, who are listing the property.
In 2007, it was Bloom who had painted it black, which reportedly upset the neighbors, and it’s been kept that way over the years.
“When Orlando did it, it was very controversial, and now it’s pretty trendy to have a black house,” Sam said.
“It does a great job camouflaging the house,” Claire added. “Even when you’re there it doesn’t stick out from the landscape.”
But the house has been known to draw attention for other reasons. In 2009, it was raided by the infamous “Bling Ring,” a group of teenagers who robbed celebrity homes and later dramatized in a Sophia Coppola movie by the same name. The group reportedly stole Rolexes, some Louis Vuitton luggage, and art, according to Curbed.
It was the watch collection that hurt, the “Lord of the Rings” actor told James Corden on the “Late Late Show” last year.
“I’ve been collecting watches since… I started making movies, I’d buy one each movie,” he said. Bloom actually managed to retrieve five of the 10 stolen watches on his own, by tracking down the fence and wearing a wire to meet him. Later that day, the fence called him to return to the shop. “There was a box on the table in his office,” Bloom said. “I opened it and I started to cry.”
Bloom, who lived in the home along with now ex-wife Miranda Kerr at the time of the robbery, sold the home in 2014 for $3.9 million.
Then in 2022, the buyer defaulted on a hard-money loan he’d taken out in 2019, and lender Jeff Martin, a former Hulu executive who now owns Blueview Real Estate, took possession of the home for the outstanding loan amount of $3.1 million later that year, Martin confirmed.
Martin was captivated by the size of the lot and the original architecture, “It had a really great floor plan and initial footprint. It just needed to be updated,” he said. “We basically did a gut remodel.”
To brighten the space, which already had plenty of natural light, Martin replaced the floors with white oak flooring, and outfitted the kitchen and bathrooms with all-new custom cabinetry, while retaining original elements like wood ceiling features in the bedrooms and wall molding in the dining room, per Martin.
A big part of the project was updating the landscaping to enhance the existing outdoor space, which includes a pool surrounded by a red-brick patio, which was redone, a stone staircase leading down the hillside, a pergola, and an outdoor dining patio off the kitchen.
The home leaves plenty of possibilities for a new buyer, with a fourth-bedroom that feels separate from the home, and can be used as a recording studio, fitness room or office, according to Claire.
But the original sunlit charm of the home remains unchanged. “Every room has a room to the outside so it’s a very lovely flow,” Sam said.