Had to highlight my two fav quotes.
This Beach Boy's now singing in the key of luxe
The music of the Beach Boys will always be associated with the good vibrations of Southern California. More than 20 years ago, however, front man Mike Love traded sand for snow when he moved to the ski town of Incline Village, on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe.
There he lives in an 18,000-square-foot, six-bedroom home with wife (and Chicago native) Jacquelyne Piesen, their 18-year-old son Brian, and 11-year-old daughter Ambha. The property also includes a guest house, a three-car garage, music studio, basement workout facility, conference room, media room, steam room and swimming pool and hot tub with panoramic views of the lake.
There is also a sizable animal population at the house, including three dogs, a cat, some fish and a couple of birds. "We used to have a gecko, but the cat got a hold of it," Love says.
The interior decor was overseen by his wife, who also has her own clothing line. As it happens, the couple first met exactly 20 years ago this month. "She was a registered surgical nurse when I met her, and worked for a doctor in Chicago.
But then she decided to join Dr. Love's practice! It was in Hawaii -- she was talked into joining a bikini contest in Hawaii, and I was asked to lend a hand in the judging of the contest."
The family also has a second home in Pebble Beach, Calif. -- although Love, who just turned 66, is frequently on the road performing. He and the Beach Boys come to the Rosemont Theatre to perform with the Chicagoland Pops Orchestra March 24.
1. Most luxurious feature in your home: One of the most lavish features of the home is the waterfall and pond in the entryway [inside the house], in which we have some rather large koi fish and a statue of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi.
2. One thing you have in your house from your childhood: My mother bequeathed to me a Steinway baby grand piano that belonged to her and my family growing up. It's in my living room, and I've had that piano since my mother passed away about 26 years ago. It's an 1880 model, so it's quite valuable.
3. What's the oldest thing in your fridge or freezer? I am primarily a vegetarian, so we don't have, like some people will go out -- my mom used to do this -- they'll go out and buy a side of beef and cut it up and put it in the freezer, and it'll last the year, or more. We have a cook who comes in five days a week, so there aren't too many leftovers. Although I do come across some buttermilk cartons or salsa that's been in there too long.
4. One thing on your nightstand: We have the controls for our [Select Comfort] Sleep Number bed. I like it pretty firm -- around 80-85.
5. If we came unexpectedly, would we find your bed made? If the maid had been there.
6. Favorite household chore: You know, I do dishes. If we have a meal - whether it's Thanksgiving or Christmas and the families are here, or a dinner party, or just lunch at home -- rather than put them in the dishwasher, I prefer to soap them up and do the dishes right there. Maybe it's because I don't know how to operate our dishwasher very well. I'm just kind of old-fashioned that way.
7. Most high-tech gadget or appliance in your home: We have a four-level house, so we have two elevators: one from the garage to the studio; and one that services all four levels in the middle of the house. We use them all the time, especially when we have luggage.
8. What would we find in your garage? A Bentley Continental, an Audi Q7 SUV (shown here), and a Turbo Porsche that's 3 years old that has under 10,000 miles on it. I've always really liked great cars. Back in the '60s, I had a '48 MG, which I still have -- it's in Pebble Beach. I also have a '39 Rolls-Royce, a Jaguar XKE and a Jaguar sedan.
9. I can't live without my ( fill in the blank): Hot tub. I have a magnificent hot tub. We drain the pool in the winter because it gets so cold it'll freeze. But the hot tub is another story. Those jets work on my stiff back, which gets that way sitting on a plane a lot.
10. Messiest room in the house: Probably would have to be the drawers in my closet, where I keep socks, underwear, pajamas, T-shirts, you name it. They're not always neatly arranged. My sock drawer is a nightmare.
11. Biggest surprise we'd find in your closet:
I have some of my wardrobe from the '60s, but that's in storage. For our first album cover, we wore these plaid Pendleton shirts, so I have that, and some pretty wild things I've worn over the years. 
12. Favorite place to watch TV: The place I watch TV most often is the master bedroom. But our family room has a big-screen, and the theater room with a big-screen, and there's a nice TV in the kitchen.
----------
home&
garden@tribune.com 
Author
