“Going viral” doesn’t always just happen, as a Realtor found out when he helped whip up a frenzy online for an unusual and elaborately furnished home for sale in Oklahoma City.
Ronnie Jordan, co-owner of OKC Metro Group, knew the home was special, and when Zillow Gone Wild featured it as You Never Know What’s Going on Inside a Home, Part 30, it went viral. With five bedrooms, five baths and magic in every room, it’s listed for $1,593,000, or $2,450,000 with all the furnishings.
“Of all my real estate listings over the years, 17405 Hawks View Court has been the most viral property with thousands of comments and tens of thousands of reshares on social media,” Jordan said. “This listing is a real estate agents’ dream.”
The home, which first garnered local attention after Jordan showed it to other agents and brokers, is “a joyful cacophony of color and texture, which defies logic by managing not to feel overdone or crowded,” he said. “During the holidays, the place goes into high gear, and each room is a meticulously executed expression of celebration.”
The unusual owner of the funky listing
What almost no one in the online swarm knew was the unusual owner of the unusual 4,884-square-foot home in Oklahoma City’s Rose Creek neighborhood.
The owner is bestselling author, voice-over artist and energy guru Jarrad Hewett, a “multi-dimensional channel and energy expert who specializes in visionary teaching and energy work that allows reconnection and healing at every level of being,” Hewett said on his Facebook page. Hewett, who for years was the voice of the Disney Channel, as well as many other media, retail and commercial clients, was away from all the buzz this week in a remote area on retreat.
Several years ago, 405 Magazine christened it Jarrad Hewett’s House of Mouse in a feature that explained how the unusual decor came about. For Hewett, interior design became a recreational pastime, the magazine reported, “a de-stressor, and an ongoing source of creative joy.”
“What I love the most about this listing is how carefully my client curated every since item and brought it all together to deliver what I call a masterpiece,” Jordan said. “He really has spared no expense.”
A fateful trip to Dallas
Hewett said the decor and furnishings in his home were “always evolving,” and he was converted to color with a little help from his longtime friend, interior designer Grant Mathiews. At first, Hewett said he wanted his home to look “very traditional” with dark wood and 18th-century European design influences.
“Grant (Mathiews) and I had gone to Dallas to look for accessories, and we went to Jonathan Adler (furniture and home decor) and Nest (interior design) and it was like I’d literally turned a corner. I saw all of this color, and I thought, ‘I’m a creative person,’ and that was it. My direction changed,” Hewett explained to the magazine.
‘Willy Wonka’s opium den’: Commenters weigh-in on design
Comments left on Zillow’s Facebook post about the home ranged from agog to some gags. People either love it or hate it. It is, as Jordan said, “highly customized.”
Here is a sampling:
- “My father in law would have said, ‘This house is like a safe, I don’t get the combination.'”
- “Looks like it could double as Willy Wonka’s opium den.”
- “The only place I could possibly relax is the pool.”
- “My eyes hurt and may never be the same after that one. Could have done without 90% of everything that was in there.”
- “I can’t tell if I just had a full blown anxiety attack or if it cured my anxiety!?! (smileys)”
- “It’s so obnoxious I can almost hear the photos.”
Contact Senior Business Writer Richard Mize at rmize@oklahoman.com
